In fact, Muslim women had been competing for decades with little controversy. Many Muslims never have considered pageants incompatible with Islam. But since the 1990s, pageants in Islamic countries and Muslim beauty queens have become a subject of media fascination. (In the interest of full disclosure, we should note that PNB started this trend in 2001.)

At Miss Universe 2005, Indonesia's Artika Sari Devi was a center of attention. She was not the only Muslim competing, but when she wore a one-piece swimsuit in a sea of bikinis, she was seen as a living symbol of conflicts between religion and pageantry.

Her compromise did not please everyone among her fellow Muslims in Indonesia. Some said her participation was wrong in any case, while others said their faith did not forbid her from wearing a bikini.

Meanwhile, in the mostly Christian U.S. pageant environment, other changes are brewing. Since about 2000, some American contestants have complained to PNB about group prayers backstage at pageants. Some of these women were non-Christians, but most were Christians who objected to the denominational slant of the prayers. To our knowledge, none of these complaints have been formalized or taken to court, but the possibility is there.

Perhaps in anticipation of a more secularized pageant world, Christians have become active in organizing their own contests. They vary in their attitudes toward beauty and swimsuits, but they put faith and morals at center stage.

Lori Randall, Mrs. Christian World 2005, is one of this new breed of Christian queens. She comes from a conservative denomination, but has the strong support of her home church in Oklahoma. In fact, her pageant itself is seeking closer ties with churches.

Will pageants ever become a non-issue to most Muslims? Will there ever be a Christian swimsuit contest? Will an avowed atheist ever win a major crown? Religious questions are often fascinating, and that's certainly true in the pageant world.