Father Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher to the Papal Household, discusses Christian financial obligations to the state in his Gospel commentary at Zenit.org.

In Pakistan's Daily Times, Syed Mansoor Hussain writes about the rising presence and popularity of the Taliban in Pakistan, and how this parallels conservative Christian power in the United States.

God-o-Meter's Dan Gilgoff comments on a report from CNN's Political Ticker that Gov. Palin has agreed to an interview with James Dobson, founder of "Focus on the Family."

E. J. Dionne writes an interesting op-ed in the Washington Post about Catholics who support Obama.

The New York Times reports on the persecution of Muslims in the Xinjiang region of China.

At RESET - Dialogues on Civilization, Elisabetta Ambrosi and sociologist Roger Friedland discuss how Obama is working to transform religion into "an instrument for social justice."

A report in the San Francisco Chronicle details the divide among "churchgoing African Americans" in the battle over Proposition 8, a state ballot measure to ban gay marriage in California.

State Senator Ernie Chambers tried to sue God, only to have his suit thrown out because the Lord was never properly served.

Slate's Harold Fickett reports on the types of people who join monastic communities today, and how the Catholic Church is bringing them in.

Janet I. Tu of the Seattle Times reports on the defrocking of Ann Holmes Redding, an Episcopal priest and one of the first African-American women ever ordained in the Episcopal Church. She is being removed from her post because she has declared herself a Muslim as well as a Christian.