The Supreme Court is hearing two cases on marriage equality this week, 40 years after it granted women access to legal and safe abortions in the landmark case Roe v. Wade. The timing of these cases -- and the fact that both issues have spurred fierce and decisive culture wars...

The connection between marriage equality and cell phones is not immediately apparent, but Justice Samuel Alito made the link during a Supreme Court argument on California's Proposition 8 last month.

As Justice Alito said to Solicitor General of the United States Donald Verrilli:

Traditional marriage has been around for...

The other day I saw a little girl -- probably no older than 6 or 7 years old -- dressed in a vinyl leopard-print miniskirt, a skinny hot pink tank top and platform shoes. She was holding the hand of a woman who appeared to be her mother, who was...

Although I'm decades past the target demographic of Girls -- the HBO series that has triggered devotion, discomfort, and criticism in its two seasons on the air -- I'm a faithful viewer, brimming with likes and hates about the show's friendships, jobs, sex, clothes, parents, and apartments.

Besides all that,...

Ever since the Obama administration included a requirement for no-cost contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act last year, supporters and opponents have fought not only over the policy but also over how to frame the battle itself. For the most part, supporters have claimed that it's about women's health,...

When 11-year-old Madeleine Albright came to the United States at the end of World War II, she had already lived in Czechoslovakia -- where she was born -- Yugoslavia and England. The future secretary of state and her family had fled the war and the subsequent communist takeover of Czechoslovakia...

The realization that you are not the center of the universe -- that other people's needs are just as important as your own -- is a hallmark of being an adult. True, there are lots of 50-year-olds who throw tantrums if they don't get their way, but for most of...

At Monday's inauguration ceremony, a poet echoed a president, transforming themes of connection and equality into vivid images of color, texture, and sound. Richard Blanco was the perfect choice for inaugural poet, embodying the rich kaleidoscope of our nation's people. Blanco was conceived in Cuba, born in Spain, and came...

It may be surprising for some to find out that in the years before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, clergy were among the staunchest supporters of women seeking an abortion. Twenty-one ministers and rabbis created the Clergy Consultation Service on Abortion, an...

Two days after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., the Very Rev. Gary Hall climbed into the stone pulpit at Washington, D.C.'s National Cathedral and delivered a fierce sermon that grabbed headlines across the country.

"Enough is enough," Hall said. "We have tolerated school shootings,...

It's the beginning of the year, and resolutions are fresh. Exercise more. Lose weight. Spend less. Reduce stress. Gym memberships jump in January, and so do hopes that weight-loss programs and yoga classes will reshape our bodies and minds.

But New Year's resolutions don't come cheap. According to market research...

In many faith traditions, forgiveness refers to more than sin. It also refers to economic debt. The Hebrew Bible teaches the practice of Jubilee, where debts are forgiven every seven years. The Quran urges compassion for debtors in difficult straits, saying their debts should be postponed until they are "in...

Noah Pozner was curious about the whole wide world and loved superheroes. Emilie Parker loved to draw and dance. Charlotte Bacon had long curly red hair and a lively personality. Chase Kowalski loved to play outside and ride his bike.

It feels wrong to speak of children in the...

Twelve years ago Vermont became the first state to legalize civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. Back then the term "civil union" was unfamiliar to most Americans, and the Vermont law seemed radical to many. Its passage triggered fear campaigns and anti-gay ballot initiatives that energized conservatives and helped...

If you drop a frog into a pot of boiling water, it will shriek and frantically try to escape. Drop that same frog into a pot of warm water, however, and gradually turn up the heat, and it will drift off to sleep and die.

Some version of that second...

It's not every day that a TV commercial makes you think of theology and politics. But that's what happens every time I watch the ad for Liberty Mutual insurance. A man installs a window air conditioner that falls and smashes a car below. A woman opens the door of her...

Now that Mitt Romney has picked Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, the choice could not be clearer for voters in November. Ryan is the author of a radical budget plan that passed the House of Representatives in April and now constitutes Mitt Romney's economic platform.

The Ryan-Romney...

Religious liberty is a treasured American value. But over the past several months, it has become a lightning rod for debate. To hear the dire warnings of conservatives, you would think that religious liberty in this country is hanging by a thread. Catholic bishops and their allies are sending alerts...

Religion and reproductive rights are usually pitted against each other in public debates and the media. But in real life, they are not on opposite sides. According to the Guttmacher Institute, nearly 8-in-10 women who have abortions are religious, as are many of the doctors and nurses who provide abortion...

Religious liberty got a little stronger today. So did the health of women and their families.

The Obama administration issued a decision today that requires most employers to provide no-cost contraceptive coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act. The decision provides a conscience exemption for houses of worship and...