The pros and cons of gay marriage are frequent topics of discussion and conflict. The topics are especially sensitive when it comes to same sex couples having children. According to the Census Bureau, of the country's nearly half a million same-sex couples, nearly a quarter -- 28 percent -- are raising children.

Many of the best known Christmas traditions were actually adapted from pagan practices and given new Christian meanings.

In response to multiple attacks on foreigners, the UN, the Red Cross, Oxfam, and Care International have pulled their staffs out of Iraq. Yet other humanitarian aid workers remain, risking their lives to help the needy. Their work is difficult, not only because of the violence, but because many Iraqis are suspicious of them, wondering whether aid workers are really occupiers.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that under their constitution, same-sex couples are legally able to marry. Opponents of gay marriage want an amendment to the constitution defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. Correspondent Kim Lawton explored the implications of the ruling with Scott Keeter, associate director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.

There's a movement under way among many Catholic women and women scholars to revise the reputation of Mary Magdalene. For centuries, she was reviled as a prostitute. But now, with the discovery of ancient text, several recent movies and novels are portraying her as an important figure in early church history.

There are more than eight million illegal immigrants in this country. And while there is a lot of discussion about controlling U.S. borders and enforcing the laws, there are also those who say these immigrants are often exploited, and denied basic rights. Are they a drain on the economy -- or poor people deserving compassion?

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, in Washington, celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tribute to survivors of the Nazi persecution of the Jews. They honored the survivors, their families, and those who rescued them at the end of World War II.

The consecration of Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson caused international debate over the role of gays in the church. Some Episcopalians are celebrating what they see as the church's openness and diversity, while others are lamenting what they believe is departure from Christian teaching. We visit one parish that is wrestling vigorously over what to think and how to respond.

The story of a group of American soldiers, all conscientious objectors and Seventh Day Adventists, who volunteered to expose themselves to deadly viruses and bacteria, rather than go to war. Over a 20-year period, beginning in the 1950s, the army used them to test vaccines against biological weapons. Most of them recall the experience without regret.

Hindus around the world are about to celebrate Diwali, the Festival of Lights. For some Hindus, Diwali coincides with a special worship service for the powerful goddess Kali, who represents opposites such as life and death, creation and destruction. We spoke about Kali with Kamanashish Chakraborty, a founding member of the Washington Kali Temple in Burtonsville, Maryland.

Elaine Pagels, historian of religion at Princeton University, has written best-selling books on what are called "The Gnostic Gospels." But when her only child was diagnosed with a terminal illness, faith became a personal matter.

For the first time in 40 years, the “Greatest Story Ever Told” is being retold in a new round of films with religious themes. The first is THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. Visual Bible International, a faith-based media company, has produced a verbatim adaptation from the GOOD NEWS BIBLE — an accessible translation written in 1966.

RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY profiles Peter Steinfels — Catholic, THE NEW YORK TIMES religion columnist, and author of the book A PEOPLE ADRIFT. Steinfels discusses the challenges facing the U.S. Catholic Church, from the sex abuse scandal to ordination of women, that he fears may send the church into an “irreversible decline” if they are not acted upon.

Deep in the West African nation of Mali, where the savannah grasslands meet the Sahara, lies Timbuktu. It’s an impoverished town of about 30,000, most of them nomadic traders or subsistence farmers. But Timbuktu is rich in history — long ago, it was a place of high Islamic scholarship, and it still has a million manuscripts to prove it.

RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY previews upcoming U.S Supreme Court cases. At issue are recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools, state funding for religious education, and the case of Death Row inmate Delma Banks.

After the 1967 war between Israel and the Arab states around it, the internationally approved "Green Line" defined the border between Israel and the Palestinian Arab territories. Now, the Israelis want to wall themselves off from the Palestinians. But in some places, the wall is going not just along the "Green Line" but well into the West Bank for one reason -- to include Israeli settlements.

He insists he is a monk, not a politician. But as this renowned Vietnamese Buddhist leader toured the U.S. he spoke not only of Buddhist practices but also of American policies in the Middle East.

Correspondent Kim Lawton went to New York to prepare a special report on the lingering effects of 9/11: The feelings of vulnerability and the grieving that will not -- perhaps should not -- go away.

John Collier is a Texas artist who is making sculptures for St. Peter's Catholic Church in New York. His life work is religious art, but these sculptures are a tribute to the events of September 11th.

With 2003 as its eleventh year, the program called Seeds of Peace brings together the children of people who are often enemies, so that they might learn what they have in common. So that they might one day fight for peace rather than against each other.