Like people born with an innate interest in athletics, animals or alcohol, I was born with an innate interest in God and the billions of people who claim to know him (or her). Exhibit A: My first memory is as a 4-year-old praying with my elder cousin, the one who later became a nun. Exhibit B: My bedside table currently holds 15 books. Nine of them have to do with religion or spirituality. Exhibit C: My cell phone has a section for clergy.

You can find my religion reporter street cred on the “About” page, but here is full disclosure: I was born and raised Catholic, although for years I’ve been what one might call “Catholic under protest.” That means I strongly disagree with some Church teaching, yet cannot leave the faith. This no doubt bugs any number of too-young-to-know-better priests and a couple of should-know-better bishops I’m acquainted with, but after many a vocal battle with the Almighty, I’ve accepted that I’m Catholic for good.

Things I love: The Church, usually through the Pope, holds up a high moral standard in a world that all too often lacks any standards whatsoever. She frequently and fervently offers a voice to the voiceless in a world that would prefer to marginalize the poor, the immigrant, the uneducated, the unborn. (Not only that, but according to some pundits, Pope B-16 is the only person who truly gets what’s up with the economic crisis.)

And … things that grate: The Church forbids former priests to return to active ministry after they left the priesthood to marry – while allowing married Episcopal priests to convert to Catholicism and pastor parishes with their wives and children in tow. (Feel free to shout out, “What??? That makes no sense!”) And don’t even get me started on the bans on outdoor weddings or lay preachers.

All that said, God Blogging (and more) is not solely a Catholic blog, although with 25 percent of Arizona’s population claiming that faith as their own, news of the Church is of interest and will be discussed. What I really hope to do is spark local conversation about a broad swath of religious and spiritual practices – primarily in Christianity, Judaism and Islam - by providing a sampling of religion news and commentary on that news.

In addition, I hope to hear readers’ personal stories of faith and from local religious leaders about what’s available for believers/searchers in Pima County or what concerns they have about religion and society. Information can be shared in post comments or by going to the “Contact” page for my e-mail.

God Blogging will be active Monday through Friday, with one to three posts a day. On Wednesdays, the blog will serve as the launch pad for a local online Happiness Project, an experiment that won’t work without reader participation – so make sure you check in each Wednesday. (Hand-holding during this project will be provided by Gretchen Rubin an author, lawyer, guest blogger at Slate and founder of the original Happiness Project. Yes, she is an overachiever, but having talked to her on the phone, I can report that she’s the nicest overachiever I’ve ever spoken to.)

The “and more” in the blog title allows for occasional off-the-religious-reservation posts about politics, culture, parenting and the University of Arizona. (I was the higher education reporter for the dead-tree version of the Tucson Citizen for nearly two years, and am still in withdrawal, thus random UA posts.) So, feel free to jump in anytime with just about anything, but let’s all play nice and love our neighbor out here in the blogosphere.