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Palestinian children hold candles as they stand in front of the Christmas tree after it was lit next to the Church of Nativity, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on Dec. 15.
By Tara Todras-Whitehill, AP
With calm gradually returning to the West Bank, Bethlehem has again become a magnet for Christmas...more

Faith & Reason: Join the conversation

National Association of Evangelicals head was under fire.
Will Catholics take up the challenge in bedrooms, clinics and courts?
Was it really the election? Sound off.
Readers debate: 10 Commandments, Advent.
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In-depth reports

Know your nature verses? Bible publishers go green.
Touched by an angel? Most feel protected.
Maps, charts break down differences, similarities in USA.
Those who don't attend service find faith outside it.
Pastors fear today's Christians don't see themselves as sinners.
Survey: Americans freely change, or drop, their religions.

Religious leaders

Maps, photos let you follow Benedict XVI's first U.S. trip.
What the Tibetan Buddhist leader teaches.
Ingrid Mattson: 1st woman-convert to lead Muslim group.
New bishop, 'new dawn' for Episcopals?

On Religion: Columnists' opinions

Some environmentalists have their own fixation with the apocalypse -- just not the biblical one. This involves the wrath of nature and the ecological end times. But fear is an ineffective tool for any cause.
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