“Just plant the seeds in hope and faith, and you see early fruits that are terribly encouraging," says the head of the Lilly Endowment's religion division. Its efforts, according to one observer, "have paid off in deeper church life and more faithful ministry."

Two United Church of Christ pastors have written a book about their experiences in the ministry and their work as pastoral leaders.

You receive ashes on your forehead “to remember that life is short…you come from dust and will return to dust,” says Julie Bringman, director of Sunday night ministries at Foundry United Methodist Church in Washington, DC.

It was the Bible of the speeches of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr., says author Jon Sweeney. “It’s the basis of cultural identity in the United States more than any other book.”

Watch more about the history surrounding the 1611 publication of the King James Version of the Bible.

The Southern Baptists try to broaden their appeal, the Catholic Bishops maintain their sex abuse policy, and the White House defends the US military mission in Libya.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent for many Christians, and the imposition of ashes can serve as a reminder of human frailty, a public sign of religious faith, and an expression of pastoral care.

A journalist who has written extensively on the biblical and spiritual preoccupations of directors Joel and Ethan Coen says in "True Grit" they treat the Presbyterian moral code of fourteen-year-old narrator-heroine Mattie Ross with tenderness and empathy.

Mainstream Protestantism has declined sharply in the US, but the big speeches of our political leaders still routinely echo the nation's Protestant history.

Look back at excerpts from our conversations with reporters over the past 10 years on religion and its changing role in the world.