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On his first trip as president, will he see a theme park or reality?

While the Western Wall remains under the administration of a state-sponsored religious entity that prohibits the free worship of its citizens, President Obama should not visit the site. To do so would be a tacit endorsement of the laws and policies that limit civil liberties in Israel in favor of religious control of public prayer, life-cycle events, and, in cases involving conversion, even questions of citizenship.

Statistics are one way to tell the story: In 1984, 87% of Irish Catholics went to weekly Mass. In 2011, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said 18% of Dublin Church members attend services. Images are another option: gaggles of green-bedecked youngsters and young adults line the St. Paddy’s Day parade route, but in Dublin’s cathedral youthful faces only speckle the crowd.

Another non-doctrinal barrier to Mormon gender equality falls.

His biographer says yes.

As American Catholics cite sex abuse response as top priority, questions from Argentina.

The Pew Forum found that the nones overwhelmingly saw religious organizations as “too focused on rules,” “too concerned with money and power,” and “too involved in politics.” Not on the list: a desire for a stricter moral code.

The irony is that the hire seems a mirror-image mimicking of what conservatives typically allege of the university hiring process: that only liberals/radicals, regardless of scholarly accomplishment, need apply.

The influential founder of Mars Hill says “the ship has sailed.”

Rebuffing the religious right? Don’t count on it.