The 'freedom principle' is not some alien liberal implant into historic Christianity, says Giles Fraser. It is the essence of the Easter and Passover message.

The new immigration system in Britain is throwing church workers into confusion because the UK Border Agency does not understand religious activities, says the EA. But there are larger concerns, too.

Patients' and hospital groups have expressed anger that a nurse who exposed serious mistreatment of elderly hospital patients has been struck off the medical register for misconduct.

United Church of Christ leaders in the USA have hailed a unanimous decision by the Iowa Supreme Court to reject the state's ban on same-gender marriage as unconstitutional

Chaplaincy teams in the National Health Service are good value and bring added benefits and resources to clinical treatment, say health specialists responding to a call to stop their official funding.

The National Secular Society wants to end taxpayer funding for chaplaincy in the NHS. Matt Wardman subjects the figures to scrutiny, and is left with a lot of questions.

It can be hard to quantify the benefit of having chaplains, says Mark Vernon. Their work is not amenable to a cost-benefit analysis. But that does not mean it has no value or effect, just that it has to be assessed in human rather than statistical terms.

Health is not is not a reductionist industrial process, says Stephen G. Wright. It is about attending to deep human, relational and spiritual needs. This is what NHS chaplaincy is about.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams is calling on all Christians to hold special services this Easter in aid of Shelter’s work with homeless and badly housed families.

New data from the Office of National Statistics shows that by 2031 three out of five adults in Britain may be unmarried. The shift reflects significant changes in social and family structure.

Sweden's parliament has backed a proposal to introduce gender-neutral marriage, becoming the fifth European country to do so. The Church of Sweden will bless same-sex unions but not call them marriage.

Following protests from across the world at Pope Benedict's pronouncement that condom-use could aggravate the problem of HIV/AIDS, the British government has been challenged on its position.

The Vatican has amended comments made about condoms by the Pope, but the change in tone is unlikely to stem critics who say his anti-contraception stance is damaging the fight against HIV-AIDS.

Anglican women from around the world attending the 53rd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women have called on church and society to act for greater gender equality and recognition.