pewforum.org Religion News on the Web

Religion News on the Web

Selected religion-related news from around the Web
Reuters: Evangelical Christians gain political clout in traditionally Catholic Brazil
When televangelist Silas Malafaia gathered 40,000 followers outside Brazil’s Congress this week, it wasn’t just to raise their arms to the sky and praise the Lord.
AP: Opponents of Cuomo's abortion bill step up in NY, call it stealth measure to expand procedure
Gov. Andrew Cuomo's high-priority proposal to strengthen the existing right for women to have abortions after six months of pregnancy when the fetus is viable outside the womb is energizing not just his liberal Democratic base, but opponents who call it a stealth expansion of abortion.
AP: A decade later, Southern Baptists adapt to different political climate, culture, influence
A decade ago, the Southern Baptist Convention was riding high.
Sunday Herald: The new battle over religion in schools
The issue has been brought into the spotlight by a petition which has been lodged at the Scottish Parliament, supported by Secular Scotland – a lobby group campaigning for French-style separation of church and state – calling for a system in which parents would have to choose to "opt-in" if they want their children to participate in religious observance, for example in assemblies.
Observer: Turkey's protesters proclaimed as true heirs of nation's founding father
Among the tents, snoozing youth and pleasant shady trees of Istanbul's Gezi Park there are portraits of one man in a European suit. Wherever you look Mustafa Kemal Ataturk – founder of the Turkish Republic – gazes sternly at you.
Globe and Mail: New religious-freedom watchdog faces uphill battle
After he was released from more than a week of detention by Sri Lankan police last month, Muslim leader Azath Salley personally telephoned Ottawa’s High Commission in Colombo to thank Canada for condemning his arrest.
Wash. Post: A Catholic campaign: ‘The new evangelization’
Gallagher felt anxious as he set out on a rainy Sunday afternoon to knock on doors in Georgetown, inviting people to a barbecue and, hopefully, to Jesus Christ.
AP: In print and on stage, the Bible makes surprise comeback in secular Norway
It may sound like an unlikely No. 1 best-seller for any country, but in Norway — one of the most secular nations in an increasingly godless Europe — the runaway popularity of the Bible has caught the country by surprise.
Reuters: Insight: Steeped in tradition, Israel's ultra-Orthodox face reform drive
A small rock lies on the desk of Dov Lipman. It was hurled at the member of parliament by a fellow ultra-Orthodox Jew and is a constant reminder of the deep divisions within Israel that Lipman says must be overcome.
AP: Groups debate GOP bill requiring ultrasounds for abortion at Capitol hearing
A bill that would require physicians to provide or arrange an ultrasound for women seeking abortions was heatedly debated Wednesday in packed Assembly and Senate hearing rooms.
NYT: A spiritual center of power is a required stop on Iran's campaign trail
Qum, home to some of Iran’s most influential clerics, is not just Iran’s holiest city, but one of its most powerful, a Shiite Vatican in the desert that can make or break any Iranian political career.
NYT: A high-risk pregnancy is terminated. But was it an abortion?
The woman’s doctors urged an end to her pregnancy, saying her life could be at risk and that the fetus would not survive anyway.
Orange County Register: In Africa, evangelicals join war against AIDS
"Behold, how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity."
AP: Legal experts expect Cincinnati Archdiocese to appeal jury finding for fired pregnant teacher
A jury found an Ohio archdiocese discriminated against a teacher fired after becoming pregnant via artificial insemination, leaving legal experts expecting an appeal they say could have a much wider legal impact.
USA Today: Muslim college carves niche in USA
Abass Darab closes his eyes, unwraps the prayer beads from around his wrist and clutches them in his lap. A half-minute or so later, he opens his eyes. He is ready, he says, "to help people know what my school stands for."
WSJ: Abortion bill sets up fight in N.Y. senate
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to introduce contentious abortion legislation on Tuesday, and his aides and women's rights groups have identified Republican state senators whom they will pressure to support it, according to people familiar with the matter.
Globe and Mail: Anti-blasphemy law creates a tinderbox in Pakistan
Tucked in a corner of old industrial Lahore – Pakistan’s second-largest city of 10 million and the capital of Punjab province – is the Christian neighbourhood of Joseph Colony, home to more than 100 families and the latest example of the country’s ongoing struggle with blasphemy laws.
NYT: Protests in Turkey reveal a larger fight over identity
Across this vast city, a capital for three former empires, cranes dangle over construction sites, tin walls barricade old slums, and skyscrapers outclimb the mosque minarets that have dominated the skyline for centuries — all a vanguard for more audacious projects already in the works.
Chicago Sun-Times: Same-sex marriage sponsor vows to press ahead after blowback for not seeking House vote
The lead House sponsor pushing same-sex marriage pledged Sunday to press ahead on the issue after facing fallout from a divided gay and lesbian community frustrated by his decision not to put the issue to a vote before state lawmakers went home for the summer.
NYT: As Syrians fight, sectarian strife infects Mideast
Renewed sectarian killing has brought the highest death toll in Iraq in five years. Young Iraqi scholars at a Shiite Muslim seminary volunteer to fight Sunnis in Syria. Far to the west, in Lebanon, clashes have worsened between opposing sects in the northern city of Tripoli.
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