"Isn’t Obama’s Christianity a private matter? Isn't it peripheral to the real issues at hand? Not right now. The culture is desperate for adult guidance when it comes to religion."

Will General Petraeus enlist the aid of anthropologists and other social scientists to advise on religion, ethics and local cultural practices in Afghanistan?

"Just wars require right authorities. President Obama is the right authority. One can only hope he and his administration continue to reflect on whether on not this war is just."

Obama’s State of the Union address was low on religious rhetoric, yet he used civil religion to connect the theme of American uniqueness to the idea that the nation stands under some form of providential judgment.

Underlying the president’s State of the Union remarks was a powerful theme: that we are all human beings with many shared values.

It is ironic that the first State of the Union address from a black president contained such an affirmative nod to US economic imperialism using rhetoric so clearly dependent on Martin Luther King.

That those on the margins, for whom Hebrew and Christian scriptures declare God’s special affinity, could only peek through the cracks of the State of the Union address says more about us than the president.

Barack Obama's faith in the American spirit and in American civil religion was on full display in his State of the Union address.

"One important thing that religion brings to politics is a certain kind of realism about human nature and human possibilities."

Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly's Kim Lawton highlights some of the key religion news stories from the past year in this special annual feature.