Gay marriage is not a campaign issue in Minnesota, but the Catholic archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis recently sent a message opposing it to every Catholic family in the state. Father David McCauley says it's an effort "to make Catholic people aware of Catholic teaching."

There is debate and discussion going on within religious communities about rhetoric, teachings, tolerance and anti-gay sentiments in society.

A new book chronicles the people and places across Africa and Asia where Islam and Christianity meet and often clash.

"In a lot of places where there had been conflict in the name of religion there is now peace in the name of religion, and that's a hopeful sign."

Should hateful and offensive speech that is religiously motivated be accepted as legitimate public discourse protected by the Constitution?

"You cannot understand caregiving unless you do it," says Arthur Kleinman. "Acts of caregiving come as close to what I think religion is as I could name."

A senior researcher at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life says atheists, agnostics, Jews, and Mormons stand out for their knowledge of world religions other than Christianity, while Mormons and evangelical Protestants do best on questions about the Bible and Christianity.

Novelist Allegra Goodman says entering into the minds of religious people is "a very rich place to be as a writer." Her new book is "The Cookbook Collector," and we spoke with her at the National Book Festival in Washington, DC.

Some ethicists and philosophers say economic sanctions should be subject to the same moral scrutiny given to the use of military force and should require the same level of ethical justification as acts of war.

"We want to prove to America that we are not terrorist suspects," says Imam Mahdi Bray. US Islamic groups have launched several projects to fight extremism within their own communities, particularly among young people.