Another of these cases involved a conservative Virginia clergyman, Pastor Ed Johnson, who had been suspended without pay for denying church membership to an unrepentant homosexual. Johnson was serving as senior pastor at South Hill (Virginia) UMC up until last June, when he was required to take an involuntary leave of absence.

But last year teens accounted for just 24 percent of unwed births, down from 50 percent in 1970, she commented.

The increases in unmarried births have been among women in their 20s, she said, particularly those 25 to 29.

Many of the women in that age group are living with partners but still count as unmarried mothers if they haven't formally married, Ventura noted.

The 20s are the prime childbearing years, regardless of whether the mother is married or not, she said.

The hate-crimes legislation, which was approved by the House in September on a vote of 223-199, is attached as an amendment to an otherwise good bill - the Children's Safety Act.

That act, which is intended to protect children against violent and sexual crimes and create a sex-offender registry, is worthwhile, according to Bob Knight, director of the Culture and Family Institute.

However, the hate-crimes amendment is offensive.

The convention upset conservatives, however, by refusing to vote for a resolution that would remove the ambiguity from the denomination's regulations regarding whether or not a minister could bless same-sex unions.

Episcopal Church in USA (ECUSA)

The fallout from ECUSA's 2003 consecration of openly homosexual Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of New Hampshire continues to roil the denomination, home to 2.5 million of the worldwide Anglican Communion's 77 million members.