Saeed Abedini Sentenced, Contraception Mandate Lawsuits And More In Religion Reads

This morning in religion reads:

-- An Iranian court has sentenced Saeed Abedini, a U.S. Christian pastor, to eight years in prison (CNN Belief).

-- Lawsuits against the contraception mandate in President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law are growing and the issue will likely head to the Supreme Court. If you've haven't kept up with the piecemeal developments on the mandate and objections by Catholic and evangelicals groups, catch up via Ethan Bronner's thorough piece in the NYT.

-- Over the weekend, I came across an interesting read by Mark Silk about "how Mormons and evangelicals became Republicans."

-- The LA Times reports that Islamic fashion businesses are flourishing in Southern California.

-- Check out this heartwarming story by my friend and former colleague Frances Robles, who recently joined the NYT. It's about a Catholic church in Manhattan's Lower East Side that was closed and nearly demolished, but came back to life a dozen years later through an anonymous donor.