Religion News on the Web
Selected religion-related news from around the Web
December 23, 2012
- The Christian Science Monitor
CS Monitor: Who's filling America's church pews
On a snowy 20-degree day in December, the visitors shiver as they move among vestiges of a long-closed Pizza Hut on this city's struggling main street.
December 19, 2012
- The Washington Post
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?
December 18, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: Monks lose relevance as Thailand grows richer
The monks of this northern Thai village no longer perform one of the defining rituals of Buddhism, the early-morning walk through the community to collect food. Instead, the temple’s abbot dials a local restaurant and has takeout delivered.
December 14, 2012
- The Associated Press
AP: Israel's Women of the Wall pray for equality
Israeli security guards at the Western Wall on Friday searched women worshippers arriving at the holiest place where Jews can pray for a seemingly inoffensive object — the Jewish prayer shawl, which under the Orthodox tradition can be worn only by men.
December 12, 2012
- The New York Times
NYT: German lawmakers vote to protect right to circumcision
German lawmakers on Wednesday passed legislation ensuring parents the right to have their boys circumcised, bringing a close to months of legal uncertainty set off by a regional court’s ruling that equated the practice with bodily harm.
December 07, 2012
- The Wall Street Journal
WSJ: When an idol divided India
This week, India marked the 20th anniversary of one of the most virulent acts of religious aggression in its history as an independent nation: The destruction of a mosque, the Babri Masjid, by thousands of Hindu activists in the northern town of Ayodhya.
December 04, 2012
- The Christian Science Monitor
CS Monitor: Watch your tongue: Prejudiced comments illegal in Brazil.
In an amateur online video, Afonso Henrique Alves Lobato describes how he and fellow members of his Evangelical church snuck into a spiritual center of Umbanda, an Afro-Brazilian faith that venerates deities originating from Africa in services led by a religious figure called a pai de santo.
November 27, 2012
- The Guardian
Guardian: Religion spreads the word
'My reverend told me that he had prayed for me and that I had been healed," Mary Jere says, her wide eyes glazing. "So I stopped taking the HIV medication."