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1. Muslim converts in America

Yesterday's Washington Post profiles a handful of Hispanic immigrant women who converted from Catholicism to Islam. "Across the nation, thousands of Latino immigrants are redefining themselves through Islam. … Precise numbers are not available, but estimates range from 40,000 to 70,000."

Some of their reasons for converting are typical of any immigrant convert: Encounters with new religious ideas and a search for belonging in a new culture. But those aren't the only reasons. "In Islam, some say they see a devoutness and simplicity they find lacking in Catholicism. … Latino women find what most Westerners rarely see—a respect for women, unlike, some converts say, the machismo culture in which they were raised." These women are happy to trade their halter tops for the hijab.

Before evangelicals think that nominal Catholics might simply be prone to convert, a Dallas Morning News story is ready to rebut those notions. Eric Meek was a Southern Baptist Texan who was featured in a short documentary on white Christians who converted to Islam. "Islam is everything I wanted Christianity to be," Meek says in the documentary. "It's got such a magical attraction to it. It's a way of life that chooses to worship an unseen God through a process of daily living."

The Dallas Morning News admits it hasn't discovered any sort of trend. There are few white, Texan, Christian converts to Islam. Only time will tell if Islam will turn out to be everything Meeks wanted Christianity to be. Hopefully, the Morning News will keep us informed.

2. Gay marriage ban short of votes in Senate

The Senate's same-sex marriage amendment stands little chance of passing. "The amendment would prohibit states from recognizing same-sex marriages," writes the Associated Press. "To become law, the proposal would need two-thirds support in the Senate and House, and then would have to be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures." Fewer than 50 Senators support it, and the amendment needs two-thirds support to pass. So, with pundits suggesting the Republicans will lose seats in Congress and could lose the majority in one or both houses, Weblog wonders: Is this the end of the Federal Marriage Amendment, the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning?

3. Iowa prison ordered to close Bible program

Prison Fellowship's InnerChange Freedom Initiative was ordered to stop its program at Iowa's Newton Correctional Facility and to repay the state $1.53 million. The suit was brought by Americans United for the Separation of Church and State. The judge issued a stay on his order while Prison Fellowship appeals the ruling. Prison Fellowship responded saying, "This decision, if allowed to stand, will enshrine religious discrimination. It has attacked the right of people of faith to operate on a level playing field in the public arena and to provide services to those who volunteered to receive them."

4. La. Senate sends abortion ban to governor

Louisiana governor Kathleen Blanco is expected to sign a bill that would ban all abortions except those necessary to save the life of the mother or to prevent permanent harm to the mother's health. Doctors found guilty of performing abortions could be sentenced to 10 years in prison and $100,000 in fines. One caveat: The bill would take effect only if the U.S. Constitution is amended to allow abortion bans or if the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

5. Going to church by staying at home

"A growing number of Christians across Washington and around the country are moving to home churches—both as a way to create personal connections in the age of the megachurch and as a return to the blueprint of the Christian church spelled out in the New Testament, which describes Jesus and the apostles teaching small groups in people's homes," writes The Washington Post.

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June (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50