Trying to balance public health and religious liberty, the Obama administration announced a plan to calm anger over a new rule that would require health insurance plans, including those offered by Roman Catholic hospitals, universities, and charities, to provide free birth control to female employees.

“By nursing our admiration for our military’s virtues, President Obama suggests, we can transform our beleaguered democracy into a more cohesive and mission-focused political community.”

"This economic wound will not heal without profound disagreement—that is the nature of democracy—but Obama hopes that we might bind it charitably and without malice."

“Obama is back on message. Echoing Franklin Roosevelt, he preached economic liberty to the poor and justice to the oppressed without pandering to religious prejudices.”

The September 30 killing in Yemen of radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki is reigniting an ethical debate: Should the US use armed drones outside combat zones? Watch excerpts from recent interviews on drones and the ethics of war.

As the debate over the federal budget continues in Washington, religious leaders such as Jim Wallis of Sojourners are urging members of both parties to protect the poor. "A budget is a moral document," he says, "and the common good has to outweigh ideological political battles in this town."

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.

Watch excerpts from potential GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann’s June 3, 2011 speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington.

Watch excerpts from former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney’s June 3, 2011 speech to the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington.

Watch excerpts from President Obama’s May 12 speech at the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast, along with comments on immigration reform by Rev. Luis Cortes Jr. and Bishop Orlando Findlayter.