Parents are financially better off if they split up under the current UK tax system, according to a new report.

New research shows that 44 per cent of people claim to know someone who has been the victim of domestic abuse. The survey, carried out on behalf of Cosc, a Government organisation mandated to prevent domestic, sexual and domestic violence, also showed most people were unwilling to intervene in situations of abuse if they related to someone outside their family or circle of friends.

Aggressive atheists have used the terrorist outrages of September 11 as an excuse to attack all religions, according to the former head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Lord Carey.

Children living with both biological parents or adoptive parents who attend religious services regularly are less likely to exhibit problems at school or at home, according to new research from the US.

The overwhelming majority of Irish people (92 per cent) believe that children have the right to be raised by a mother and father where possible, according to a new Red C poll commissioned by The Iona Institute.

Three international gay rights organisations are jointly urging the UN body that reviews implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) to incorporate the radical “Yogyakarta Principles” in its recommendations.

Ireland is the EU country with the highest birth rate, according to new figures from Eurostat, the EU's official statistics body.

A UK atheist group has launched an advertising campaign on public transport across Britain.

Five Roman Catholic adoption agencies have decided to go against Catholic teaching and change their policies to allow applications from homosexual couples, after the coming into force on January 1st of the UK Government's new Sexual Orientation Regulation (SOR).

The absence of fathers in the lives of children is set to cause “huge problems”, according to Brendan Dempsey, the southern regional president of the St Vincent de Paul Society (SVP).

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has criticised attempts by the Government to ensure that the European Union does not decide sensitive social issues.

The number of divorces granted has risen by a third between 2000 and 2007 and by six per cent in 2007 compared with 2006, according to figures released by the Courts Service. The statistics, published in the latest issue of Family Law Matters and reported in The Irish Times showed that there were 3,684 divorces granted in 2007, compared with 3,467 in 2006.

Regular attendance at Mass and other religious services cuts the risk of death by nearly 20 per cent among women aged 50 to 79, according to new research from the US.

Pope Benedict's Christmas address to the Curia which dealt, among other things, with marriage and the differences between the sexes, has been badly misquoted in a series of media outlets which claim the Pope suggested that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

A ruling that a Christian registrar, Miss Lillian Ladele, had been discriminated against by her Council when she objected to registering same-sex civil partnerships has been quashed by the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) in the UK.

Miss Ladele intends to appeal the ruling to the Court of Appeal. Miss Ladele's legal team say her colleagues shunned her. They also claim that a witch hunt was mounted against her because of her Christian beliefs on marriage.

The original tribunal accepted the claims, but that decision has been reversed by the EAT, chaired by its President, Mr Justice Elias.

The EAT did accept that Islington had acted in an improper, unreasonable and extraordinary manner but ruled it did not amount to religious discrimination.

The ruling states: “The council were not taking disciplinary action against Ms Ladele for holding her religious beliefs; they did so because she was refusing to carry out civil partnership ceremonies and this involved discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation.

“The council were entitled to take the view that they were not willing to connive in that practice by relieving Ms Ladele of these duties, notwithstanding that her refusal was the result of her strong and genuinely held Christian beliefs.

“The council were entitled to take the view that this would be inconsistent with their strong commitment to the principles of non-discrimination and would send the wrong message to staff and service users.

“There were clearly some unsatisfactory features about the way the council handled this matter. The claimant’s beliefs were strong and genuine and not all of management treated them with the sensitivity which they might have done.”

The director of the Christian Institute, which backed Ms Ladele's case, said: “Gay rights are not the only rights. If this decision is allowed to stand it will help squeeze out Christians from the public sphere because of their religious beliefs on ethical issues.”

The solicitor for Ms Ladele, Mark Jones, said: “Lillian Ladele intends to appeal the judgment given by the tribunal today.”

He continued: “The evidence showed that Lillian performed all of her duties to the same high standard for the LGBT community as she did for everyone.

“This case has been about the shortfall between the principle of equal dignity and respect for different lifestyles and world views, and Islington Council’s treatment of Lillian Ladele - conduct which the tribunal felt moved to describe as extraordinary and unreasonable.

“The case has also been about the reason why Islington Council decided to designate Lillian Ladele a civil partnership registrar, without informing her, when she had asked not to be made one; when the council expressly knew it would conflict with her religious belief (a religious belief it accepted was worthy of respect); and when the evidence showed that her involvement was not even required to help the council provide its civil partnership service.

“The council has since then pursued Lillian Ladele in disciplinary proceedings which it has made clear may ultimately lead to her dismissal.”

Recapitalising familes "is an investment which comes with a guaranteed return", according to the Primate of All-Ireland, Cardinal Sean Brady. In his Christmas message, the Cardinal said that, in order for future prosperity to built on more solid foundations, family and community life needed to be rebuilt.

The UK Government has admitted that children brought up within a marriage setting are better off than children brought up in cohabiting or single parent families.

Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire has put a moratorium on new holiday displays, after an atheist sign placed next to a nativity scene sparked a controversy.

An unmarried sperm donor father in the UK whose son was taken away by his lesbian mother during family court proceedings has been permitted to ask publicly for his safe return after restrictions on identifying the parties was lifted.

More than a third of Britons continue to believe in the virgin birth, according to new poll commissioned by Theos, the public theology think tank.