Religion_Belief

HAN_05.JPG

Hebrew Day School students have a dress rehearsal for their Hanukkah play at their school in Silver Spring, Maryland, Wednesday, December 9, 2009. Hanukkah, also known as Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is held for eight nights, beginning on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, and may occur from late November to late December on the Gregorian calendar.(Astrid Riecken/The Washington Times)

20091207-220605-pic-236314743.jpg

White House science adviser John Holdren. (Associated Press)

20091207-215237-pic-462999704.jpg

** FILE ** Danish cartoonist Kurt Westergaard sits in the offices of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which published cartoons that outraged many Muslims. (AP Photo)

20091110-182707-pic-806315007.jpg

** FILE ** A Peace Corps volunteer works with local women in Liberia. About one-third of Peace Corps applicants are selected for service. (Peace Corps)

20091101-163415-pic-377271591.jpg

The Chevy Cobalt is on the assembly line at the Lordstown Assembly Plant in Lordstown, Ohio. (Associated Press)

20091010-210709-pic-88839974.jpg

** FILE ** Investigators examine a sweat lodge at the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona, Ariz., where two people died in October 2009 after being overcome during a spiritual retreat. (AP Photo)

20090924-192732-pic-938429412.jpg

Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny says a Jewish “conspiracy” is to blame for him losing his bid for the post of UNESCO secretary general, for which he was long considered a favorite. (Associated Press)

20090901-212234-pic-139692905.jpg

Lower the Cost of Textbooks is one of about 30 groups on Facebook protesting the skyrocketing costs of college texts. A new law requires publishers to release more information on pricing and to reduce selling materials as a package.

20090821-212154-pic-859622208.jpg

** FILE ** Evangelical Lutheran Church in America voting members (from left) Orinda Hawkins-Brinkley, Diane Yeager, Marj Ellis and Steven Schnittke, along with others, pray during the church's General Assembly in Minneapolis in 2009, at which the denomination approved resolutions in support of gays.

Lutherans_Gays.jpg

Bishop Duane Pederson of Rice Lake, Wisc. joins more than 1,000 other voting members in a song during the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America assembly on Wednesday at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

Temple.jpg

In this file photo, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints bedecked the grounds of the Mormon Temple in Kensington for its 2008 Festival of Lights Christmas celebration. (The Washington Times) **FILE**

20090720-200640-pic-586806397.jpg

** FILE ** Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, meet in New Delhi in 2009. (Associated Press)

20090719-210157-pic-139419644.jpg

Joel Ng, 5, joins her dad, Ulane Eng (second from left), for meditation Sunday on the Mall as Falun Gong practitioners and their supporters mark the 10th anniversary of a Chinese crackdown on the spiritual movement. It has gained millions of followers since its 1992. founding. (By Astrid Riecken/The Washington Times/File)

20090707-232456-pic-567081836.jpg

FILE: ASSOCIATED PRESS/BRITISH LIBRARY A reader examines a page from the earliest surviving Christian Bible. The book, known as the Codex Sinaiticus, was divided among four repositories around the world, but it has been reunited digitally for online research.

DONOHUE.jpg

William A. Donohue, president of the Catholic League, is shown in this February 2004 photo speaking at a news conference after seeing "The Passion of the Christ" in New York.

20090521-194733-pic-277456493.jpg

** FILE ** Christian Bale gets a closer look at the Hydrobot Terminator in the movie "Terminator Salvation." (Associated Press)

20090520-202150-pic-137560977.jpg

The Rev Jim Wallis led a protest against the Republican tax plan at the Hart Senate Office Building, reading Bible verses before he was escorted away by Capitol Police. (Associated Press/File)

20090519-002324-pic-859441912.jpg

Getty Images Greg Paulus set several high school football records at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse, N.Y.

20090514-185836-pic-582635268.jpg

Mentor Debra Rowe escorts Jason Wren (center) into Providence St. John Baptist Church as part of a program to keep citizens on the right path after incarceration. They are accompanied (from left) by Reginald Hutchinson, Ms. Rowe's son, Alphonso Allen, and Andre Tillman. (James C. Allen)