Worshippers at about 500 British mosques have heard sermons condemning the sexual grooming of children after a number of paedophilia cases involving Muslim gangs.

A Baptist pastor who is about to become Wellington's new Dean of the Anglican church comes with a chequered past, including convictions for fraud and burglary of a parishioner's house - all while he was a Bay of Plenty pastor.

Rodney Hide is an anti-theist. He just doesn't believe in God. He is pleased there isn't one.

A nun has admitted breaking the arm of a 9-year-old at Sunday School after the girl failed to get an action song right.

A nun accused of breaking a 9-year-old's arm told a Sunday School teacher "it was me'', a court has been told.

A nun broke the arm of a 9-year-old girl during a Sunday School class, a court has been told.

A former Catholic brother will be extradited to Australia to face 252 sexual abuse charges alleged to have been made against 35 complainants, a judge ruled today.

Of all European countries, you might have thought, France would have taken gay marriage in its stride.

The Anglican Church should be free from state interference when selecting its leaders, their lawyer argued today.

The Anglican Church breached the Human Rights Act by stopping a homosexual man from entering a priesthood training programme, says his lawyer.

The Anglican Bishop of Auckland says he was following church rules when he turned Eugene Sisneros down for priest training because he was in a same-sex relationship.

A homosexual man is taking the Anglican Bishop of Auckland to the Human Rights Tribunal after being rejected for training as a priest.

The Boston bombings are tragic on a number of levels, it is tragic for those who have lost their lives, it is tragic for the families of the lost ones, and it is tragic for those who bore witness to the carnage.

The received wisdom is that the Tsarnaev brothers began their attack on the Boston Marathon to advance the cause of their fellow Chechens, writes Pete Lentini.

Gay marriage has been legalised by Parliament - but it is still banned by most of New Zealand's 10 main religions, a new Herald survey shows.

Gay marriage law author Louisa Wall won't be able to marry her same-sex partner in her own Ratana Church.

A month after his election as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, Pope Francis I is riding a wave of popularity that would leave many politicians drooling.

A church in central Auckland is auctioning one of its controversial 'Jesus coming out' billboards on Trade Me.