LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – The United States as we have known it is no more; the religion of the Americans is continues to alter from year to year.For the first time ever, only 47 percent of the United States identifies as Protestant. And a startling one in five claim to be religiously unaffiliated.

"The unprecedented drop in Protestantism is down to dwindling figures of young people in churches, and a surge in white Christians becoming unaffiliated with religion," according to the Public Religion Research Institute

By Robert Mullen (NEWS CONSORTIUM), It is a sad and disheartening fact that many Christians suffer from constant-and often brutal-persecution today, most visibly in places like the Middle East where the Islamic State rules, or in Asian nations like India or China where Christianity is a minority-India-or where all religions are barely tolerated-China.

But the persecution of Christians is not a new phenomenon. It has existed since the time of Christ, not just when the Roman Empire first recognized that Christianity was a separate religion and not a sect of Judaism; and it continued on and off for centuries until the Edict of Milan made Christianity an officially recognized religion within the Roman Empire in 313 AD.  While these early persecutions were horrendous, they played a major role in shaping the future of Christianity and the Catholic Church. Cults dedicated to the martyrs and saints were important for spreading the word, and numerous written defenses of and arguments for Christians helped sway public opinion and increase conversion from Greco-Roman pagans, both of which were key factors in Christianity’s rapid expansion throughout Europe, the Middle East and North Africa

The earliest of these persecutions took place in Middle East, under the reign of King Agrippa I in the first century AD. During this time, many Jews saw Christians as just another sect, and many acts of violence were interpreted by the Jews as disciplining their wayward and misguided fellows.

Armin Rosen

The speech that Benjamin Netanyahu will give in front of Congress on Tuesday has already created a number of problems that the Israeli prime minister would never have had to deal with had he simply declined House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to address a joint session.

It has created a raft of issues on both sides of the US-Israel relationship, problems that were the sole creation of the speaking gig itself.

Critics allege that Netanyahu is using pliant US Republicans to undermine a sitting president’s foreign policy. Others allege that Boehner is trying to give Netanyahu a high-profile campaign stop in the hopes that one of Obama’s most eloquent public adversaries remains in power after Israel’s upcoming elections.

  Seventeen Assyrians fleeing the Islamic State extremist group were granted entry into Lebanon, reported the National News Agency on Tuesday. It said that they entered the country through the Masnaa border-crossing on Monday night. Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) meanwhile said that 23 Assyrians were still waiting at the border at al-Masnaa for permission […]

  SIDON, Lebanon: Remember the rubber playground floors where countless childhood days were spent playing? Well, these tiles were manufactured from recycled tires, and one Sidon activist is making sure the production keeps going. Tires in Lebanon are infamous for another use: They are often burned by demonstrators as an act of protest. Whenever a […]

  A soldier and a wanted individual were killed on Tuesday in an exchange of fire during a raid in the northern town of Bhannine, the Lebanese army said. It said in a communique that wanted fugitive Abdul Rahman Ahmed Tamer died after he exchanged fire with a unit from the army. The clash also […]

  BEIRUT: The Parliament’s Administration and Justice Committee approved an anti-corruption law that protects whistleblowers Monday, the committee said in a statement. “The Administration and Justice Committee held its anticipated session in which it followed the draft law for protecting corruption whistleblowers,” the statement said. “After discussion and examination, the committee approved the law with […]

  An Israeli military vessel violated Lebanon’s territorial waters at dawn Monday and threatened a Lebanese fishing boat. “In a new violation of Lebanese sovereignty and (U.N. Security Council) Resolution 1701, a gunboat belonging to the Israeli enemy violated the Lebanese territorial waters off Ras al-Naqoura at 3:40 am,” the Lebanese army said in a […]

  BEIRUT: Agriculture Minister Akram Chehayeb launched Monday a coordination committee for Lebanon’s dairy sector, after a week of heated protests by dairy farmers over the low demand for milk. The committee will include two representatives from local dairy factories, two dairy farmers and a ministerial representative. The committee, which will have a center in […]

 Lebanon has banned basketball fans from attending games after a fist fight broke out between players from rival teams.

Sports and Youth Minister Abdul-Muttaleb Hinnawi told the local Al-Jadeed TV on Monday that the decision was taken by the interior minister.

The decision came after a Sunday night game between Lebanon’s most popular teams, the Christian-backed Sagesse club and Sunni Muslim-supported Riyadi. During the match a fist fight between two players escalated into a brawl.

Local media said four players were injured and the game was halted with less than a minute left, with Riyadi leading 109-98. A few fans ran onto the court and joined the fight.