religion

Tuesday evening, a plume of black smoke rose out of the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, signifying that the first round of balloting to elect a new pope had passed without any nominee receiving the necessary two-thirds majority.

This week at the Vatican in Rome, cardinals from around the world are convening to elect the next pope, which could happen any day now. Who is most likely to succeed Pope Benedict XIV? As of now, there is no clear favorite, but a few cardinals have emerged as the top choices in various betting markets.

In stunning news, Pope Benedict XVI announced Monday morning from the Vatican that he will resign his position as head of the Catholic Church, effective on February 28. This has already set off a flurry of speculation, largely because no pope has voluntarily done so since the year 1415. The news is still coming in, but here's what we know so far:

Bill Nye the Science Guy has taken the internet by storm with Twitter rumors that he was killed in a balloon accident (sparked by The Onion) and his new Web series for Big Think. Most recently, however, our favorite childhood TV scientist sparked a lively debate through his video blog, pitting science against creationism, and America, obviously, had something to say about it.

If Weight Watchers isn’t working for you, there’s an alternative, especially if you have strong faith. Pastor Steve Reynolds has developed a weight loss system called Bod4God, a diet and fitness program designed around the Christian faith. What would Jesus do? He’d put down that doughnut, stat!

From Rick Santurom’s faith based run for president to current commander-in-chief Barack Obama actually invoking Jesus more than his born-again predecessor George W. Bush, we’ve been hearing a lot of religion talk over the last few years from our politicians.

No one can accuse Pope Benedict XVI of being old-fashioned, even if his beliefs on doctrine are strictly traditionalist. The Pontiff proved he holds his traditional views in a very modern social landscape by praising the usefulness of social media communication.

Students will only accept the theory of evolution if they feel in their gut that its actually true, according to a new study conducted by Ohio State University. Researchers found that am immediate internal confirmation, or a “gut feeling”, heavily affects whether a person believes evolution is a true and proper theory.