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After decades of debate and division, the US Episcopal Church this week said overwhelmingly that gays and lesbians are eligible to become bishops or serve in any other ordained ministry of the church.

“Being religious or spiritual has a very profound effect on our biology and our brain,” says neuroscientist Andrew Newberg. “It can change our brain and change ourselves over time.”

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Episcopalians will debate a proposal that would allow churches to conduct same-sex weddings in the six states that have legalized gay marriage. Most mainline denominations don't officially allow same-sex weddings. But the changing legal situation is adding new pressure.

Jazz musician Dave Brubeck says "when I write a piece, a sacred piece, I’m looking hard and trying to discover what I’m about, and what my parents were about and the world is about."

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"He deserves to pray. He has a right to faith, too," says Safiyyah Muhammad of her autistic son, Sufyaan. Their mosque in Irvington, New Jersey and other houses of worship are working to accept and include people with disabilities and special needs.

Patients at this hospital in Madurai, India are among the world's poorest people. It was founded by a pioneering eye surgeon who was a disciple of the spiritual teacher Sri Aurobindo, and its business success and social mission have long made it a model in public health textbooks.

Read more of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly’s July 1, 2009 interview in New York City with Riverside Church senior minister, the Rev. Dr. Brad Braxton, who resigned two months after his installation.