pewforum.org Religion News on the Web

Religion News on the Web

Selected religion-related news from around the Web
NYT: British House of Commons approves gay marriage
The House of Commons voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to approve a bill legalizing same-sex marriage in Britain, indicating that the bill is assured of passage as it moves through further legislative stages.
Reuters: German Catholic Church may back some "morning-after pills"
Germany's Catholic Church may approve some so-called morning-after pills for rape victims after a leading cardinal unexpectedly announced they did not induce abortions and could be used in Catholic hospitals.
NYT: New Archbishop of Canterbury takes office
On the eve of a divisive vote in Parliament on the legalization of same-sex marriage, Justin Welby, the former bishop of Durham, on Monday took over formally as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury, the spiritual head of the world’s 77 million Anglicans, saying he shares the Church of England’s opposition to marriage among people of the same gender.
NYT: More in France are turning to Islam, challenging a nation's idea of itself
The spacious and elegant modern building, in the heart of this middle-class suburb of Paris, is known as “the mosque of the converts.”
Reuters: Church should have more control over Russian life: Putin
President Vladimir Putin said on Friday the Orthodox Church should be given more say over family life, education and the armed forces in Russia, as he celebrated the leadership of its head Patriarch Kirill.
The Times: High Court opens way to Sharia divorces
The prospect of divorce cases being settled by Sharia and religious courts has been opened up by a landmark legal decision.
Wash. Post: Russian anti-gay bill sets off furor
On Friday, Ilya Kolmanovsky, who is straight, stood outside Russia’s lower house of parliament to protest an anti-gay bill.
NYT: Thousands rally in Paris for same-sex marriage
Thousands of people marched in Paris on Sunday to show their support for a same-sex marriage bill that lawmakers will begin to debate on Tuesday.
AP: Pope on social networking: the virtual is real
Pope Benedict XVI put church leaders on notice Thursday, saying social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter aren't a virtual world they can ignore, but rather a very real world they must engage if they want to spread the faith to the next generation.
AP: Court: BA discriminated against Christian staffer
Religious freedom is a right but not an absolute one, Europe's top court said Tuesday, ruling that British Airways discriminated against a devoutly Christian employee by making her remove her crucifix, but backing a U.K. charity that fired a marriage counselor who refused to give sex therapy to gay couples.
Telegraph: Christians face judgement day in Strasbourg 'right to wear the cross' case
Judges at Strasbourg will rule on Tuesday whether four Christians were discriminated against at work, including two women who claim they were forced out of their jobs for wearing the cross.
AP: Poll: Most of Ireland favors wider abortion access
Most people in Ireland want lawmakers to give women wider access to abortion, a poll revealed Thursday as senior clerics testified before a parliamentary committee investigating Ireland's ban on the practice.
NYT: At once Catholic and secular, France debates gay marriage
Frigide Barjot has made a career of mocking the establishment of France, dressing in fluorescent pink sweaters, playing in a band called the Dead Pompidous and hosting a philosophy soirée at which she handed out T-shirts with the logo, “Kierkegaard is my homeboy.”
Reuters: French Muslims join opposition to same-sex marriage
French Muslims have begun joining a mostly Catholic-led movement against same-sex marriage, widening opposition to the reform that the Socialist-led government is set to write into the law by June.
WSJ: Greek church fields calls to do more
In the basement of St. Varvaras church, Rev. Theodoros Georgiou issued instructions on a recent morning to volunteers preparing hundreds of packages of food for local families, as two phones on his desk buzzed with more calls about supplies for Greece's growing ranks of the needy.
Wash. Post: On road to modernization Church of England finds crisis
The surprising defeat last month of a measure allowing the ordination of female bishops has plunged the Church of England into a crisis with one issue at its core: Should religion adapt to fit an increasingly secular society, or should it be the enforcer of tradition in fast-changing times?
Reuters: French march for gay marriage, but fewer than those opposing the law
Supporters of same-sex marriage and adoption marched through Paris on Sunday to back the French government’s planned reform and counter unexpectedly strong opposition from conservative and religious groups.
Reuters: Hungary's Jews face down new extremism
A week after a leader of Hungary's far-right Jobbik party called for lists of prominent Jews to be drawn up to protect national security, Janos Fonagy stepped forward.
Times of India: Turban pride restored as Sikhs win school turban ban case against France in UN
The UN Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has ruled that France's ban on the wearing of "conspicuous" religious symbols in schools - introduced in a law adopted in March 2004 - violated a Sikh student's right to manifest his religion, protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Independent: Debate on Islam and evolution has to be called off after revolt by student societies
Organisers behind a British conference on Islam and evolution say they nearly had to cancel the event after receiving a torrent of opposition from Muslim students at one of the country’s top scientific universities, The Independent has learned.
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