SHELBY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s administration has “fought against religion” and sought to substitute a “secular” agenda for one grounded in faith. Obama’s campaign seized on the characterization, calling Romney’s comments “disgraceful.” Romney rarely ventures into social issues in his campaign speeches but was asked about how he would protect religious liberty during a town hall-style meeting one week before the Michigan primary. “Unfortunately, possibly because of the people... Read more

SHELBY, Mich. (AP) — Mitt Romney is wading into the social and religious issues that have helped fuel rival Rick Santorum’s rise. At a town hall Tuesday in Michigan, the Republican presidential candidate repeatedly was asked about religious freedom, abortion, gay marriage and other topics he has largely avoided during the campaign. Romney has stayed focused on his business background instead. Romney criticized Santorum and said Michigan’s tea party voters won’t support Santorum when they learn more about his record.... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is apologizing for the burning of Muslim holy books in a pile of garbage at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. Press secretary Jay Carney says it’s a “deeply unfortunate incident” and doesn’t reflect the respect the U.S. military has for the religious practices of the Afghan people. Carney echoed military officials Tuesday in saying that the Quran burning at Bagram Air Field happened unintentionally, and that an investigation was being undertaken to understand... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — In the latest salvo in Israel’s simmering cultural war between religious and secular Jews, municipal authorities in the bustling metropolis of Tel Aviv have outraged the country’s religious establishment with a decision to launch bus service on the Jewish Sabbath. The effort — likely to be blocked by the government — comes as the country’s powerful religious minority faces increasing pressure over what many perceive to be attempts to impose religious tenets on the rest of the... Read more

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut (AP) — Yale University is objecting to the monitoring of Muslim student association websites by the New York Police Department, while Muslim leaders call for investigations and student groups at Rutgers University express outrage. The Associated Press reported Saturday that an NYPD intelligence unit visited websites, blogs and forums of Muslim student associations at Yale and other universities. Yale President Richard Levin says such surveillance is “antithetical to the values” of Yale and the country. The Council... Read more

BOSTON (AP) — A retired Massachusetts judge on Tuesday defended her decision to order a mentally ill woman to have an abortion and be sterilized against her wishes, and she blasted Boston University for rescinding a job offer after her ruling sparked controversy. Christina Harms said she believes the schizophrenic woman would have chosen to have an abortion if she had been mentally competent. In her ruling, she granted a petition from the woman’s parents to have their daughter declared... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — The mayor faced off with the president of Yale University on Tuesday over an effort by the city’s police department to monitor Muslim student groups for any signs that their members harbored terrorist sympathies. The Associated Press revealed over the weekend that in recent years the New York Police Department has kept close watch on Muslim student associations across the Northeast. The effort included daily tracking of student websites and blogs, monitoring who was speaking to... Read more

DUBLIN (AP) — Northern Ireland politician Ian Paisley is recovering from his recent near-death experience and remains a “hearty and strong man,” one of his sons said Tuesday in the family’s first comment on the Protestant evangelist’s 16-day hospitalization. Ian Paisley Jr. said his 85-year-old father was out of intensive care at the Ulster Hospital near Belfast. He credited the prayers of thousands of supporters with aiding his medical fightback. “My dad is making very, very steady and good progress.... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Villanova University has canceled a workshop on personal narrative by a gay performance artist, saying his shows aren’t in keeping with the Pennsylvania school’s Catholic values. Artist Tim Miller, once dubbed the “patron saint of the gay performance world” by the Los Angeles Times, said he was scheduled to lead the five-day workshop for students in April but the university abruptly scrapped it Sunday. He said his workshops focus on personal narrative and the students guide the... Read more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Leaders of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination have endorsed an optional alternative name for the Southern Baptist Convention: Great Commission Baptists. The measure still must go up for a vote at the annual convention this summer. SBC President Bryant Wright formed a task force last fall to study the idea, saying he was concerned the name Southern Baptist was hindering the group’s ability to reach new people for Christ. One of the idea’s most ardent opponents... Read more