4. Sen. John Kerry runs for president, setting the stage for several archbishops and bishops to warn that they will deny Communion to Catholics who openly oppose church teachings on moral issues such as abortion and gay unions. A task force of U.S. bishops leaves the decision up to local bishops.

5. The Anglican sex wars escalate, as a Lambeth Commission report does little to close the global rift caused by last year's installation of a noncelibate gay bishop in New Hampshire. More Episcopal parishes flee, uniting with Third World dioceses.

6. Church-state conflicts continue to hit the U.S. Supreme Court, which upholds the Pledge of Allegiance's "under God" language on technical grounds and the right of Washington state to block scholarships used for ministerial studies.

7. Religious groups debate the role of American troops in Iraq, while Shiite clerics emerge in leadership roles that are crucial to that war-torn nation's future.

8. The United Methodist Church's split on homosexuality is demonstrated by the trials of two lesbian pastors. Karen Dammann is acquitted in Washington state and Beth Stroud is found guilty in Pennsylvania. Some mainline Protestant leaders publicly call for amicable splits in their denominations.

9. The Catholic dioceses of Portland, Ore., and Tucson, Ariz., go into bankruptcy because of sex-abuse scandals, while the largest financial settlement in such a case is reported in Orange County, Calif. Former Springfield, Mass., Bishop Thomas Dupre became the first bishop indicted, but the statute of limitations had run out in his case.

10. The Presbyterian Church (USA) votes to pull investments from companies profiting from Israel's occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict decreases somewhat from recent years.