A third of the world—about 2.2 billion people—live in nations where
restrictions on religion have substantially increased, according to a
new report.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life study,
released August 9, also shows that intolerant countries are growing more
hostile to religious freedom, and tolerant ones are becoming more
accommodating.
(RNS) Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, an extensive new survey of
Muslims finds them as optimistic as other Americans, even as large
minorities of Christian Americans question Muslims' loyalty to the
United States.
(RNS) A proposed circumcision ban will not appear on San Francisco's
citywide ballot in November, a Superior Court judge tentatively ruled
Wednesday (July 27).
WASHINGTON (RNS) The third in a controversial series of congressional
hearings on the "radicalization" of American Muslims showcased on
Wednesday (July 27) a militant Somali group that some experts say poses
a serious risk to the United States.
(RNS) Abercrombie & Fitch violated civil rights law when the clothier
refused to hire a Muslim woman because she wears a headscarf, a federal
district court has ruled.
The Episcopal Church is rejecting charges that its top leader,
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, mishandled the ordination of
a former priest who is now accused of sexual abuse.
(RNS) In a potential blow to the proposed San Francisco circumcision
ban, the city's top lawyer has concluded it is unconstitutional to ban
the practice as a religious ritual, but allow it as a medical procedure.
The measure, now headed toward the Nov. 8 ballot, would ban nearly
all infant circumcisions.
(RNS) In a potential blow to the proposed San Francisco circumcision
ban, the city's top lawyer has concluded it is unconstitutional to ban
the practice as a religious ritual, but allow it as a medical procedure.
The measure, now headed toward the Nov. 8 ballot, would ban nearly
all infant circumcisions.
(RNS) Though national and local Jewish groups have strongly condemned
San Francisco's proposed ban on infant circumcision, a small but vocal
movement of Jews is trying to convince more of their own to abandon the
practice.
What they won't do, however, is join the San Francisco push to
outlaw the practice in their pursuit of a circumcision-free world.
(RNS) Young Jewish Americans volunteer enthusiastically for a
multitude of causes, but the vast majority do not connect their service
to their Jewish identity, Jewish institutions or Israel.
These findings, from a survey released Thursday (June 23), both
hearten and concern Jewish leaders.
A group of clergy and lawmakers is trying to overturn a nearly
decade-old policy that allows faith-based organizations that receive
federal funds to hire and fire employees on the basis of religion.
Critics
say President Obama has reneged on a campaign promise to repeal the
policy, which was put into place by President Bush in 2002.
Americans are tougher on politicians for their financial misdeeds
than their sexual ones, but men are more willing than women to tolerate
sexual misbehavior in their elected officials.
Research by a political science professor shows that affiliation with
a mosque increases Muslims' civic engagement. "The more religious
American Muslims happen to be, the more they participate in American
politics," said Karam Dana, who teaches at Tufts University.
WASHINGTON (RNS) The New Year's Day massacre at a Coptic church in
Egypt. Christian converts facing the death penalty in Afghanistan.
Swastikas painted on a Jewish synagogue in Venezuela.
Just steps from the Lincoln Memorial, a new building—topped by a
translucent white roof that resembles the wings of a giant dove—is
puzzling tourists and commuters alike.
What is it? Who works
there? The answer is the United States Institute of Peace, which is
often followed by some variation of "The what?"
Virginia Republican Eric Cantor, upon becoming House majority leader
this month, will be the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in
history. For many Jewish advocacy groups in Washington, however, it's a
mixed blessing.
