Religion Unplugged

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Malaysia deports more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals despite High Court order

Malaysia deports more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals despite High Court order

Just hours after a Feb. 23 court hearing granted a temporary stay to Myanmar nationals in Malaysia to protect asylum seekers who fled religious and ethnic persecution, 1,086 Myanmar citizens were deported on three ships by Myanmar’s military at the Malaysian Royal Navy base in Lumut, on the West coast of Malaysia. The UN’s refugee agency, denied access to the immigration detention centers since August 2019, was not allowed to evaluate and separate asylum seekers from the group deported, which sources say include Chin Christians who had fled persecution in Myanmar.

Asia, NewsReligion Unplugged contributorFebruary 23, 2021Secondary Feature, Myanmar, rohingya, asylum seeker, refugees, immigration, Malaysia, myanmar coup, military coup, Chin Christians, Christian persecutionComment

Religion Unplugged's Full Conversation With Alabama's 'Fifth Girl' Sarah Collins Rudolph

Religion Unplugged's Full Conversation With Alabama's 'Fifth Girl' Sarah Collins Rudolph

Sarah Collins Rudolph, survivor of the racist Alabama church bombing that fueled Civil Rights activism, spoke with Religion Unplugged on racial reconciliation and how her faith has sustained her. Rudolph released a book about her story on Jan. 28 — including the full story from the bombing at the 16th Street Baptist Church in 1963.

Interview, Justice, North America, Religion, NewsMattie TownsonFebruary 23, 2021Sarah Collins Rudolph, Civil Right Movement, Civil Rights, racial reconciliation, black history month, Secondary FeatureComment

Peruvian officials, Vatican diplomat secretly obtained COVID-19 vaccines meant for doctors

Peruvian officials, Vatican diplomat secretly obtained COVID-19 vaccines meant for doctors

The Vatican’s diplomatic representative in Lima, Peru secretly obtained a Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, along with high-ranking Peruvian officials, meant for doctors and researchers working on a clinical trial.

South America, NewsReynaldo AragonFebruary 23, 2021Reynaldo Aragon, vacunagate, vacuna vip, Peru, COVID-19, vaccine scandal, Secondary FeatureComment

Serbia's New Patriarch Brings Track Record of Peace-Building To Divided Nation

Serbia's New Patriarch Brings Track Record of Peace-Building To Divided Nation

(ANALYSIS) The Serbian Orthodox Church elected Patriarch Porfirije after its former leader died of COVID-19. Porfirije has won many international accolades for growing a drug addiction therapy program and building bridges between Serbs, Croatians and the people of Kosovo, a disputed Muslim-majority territory with many 13th and 14th century Serbian Orthodox holy sites.

Europe, NewsMladen AleksicFebruary 23, 2021Serbian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Porfirije, Mladen Aleksic, Primary Feature, Belgrade, Kovilj, Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, Secondary FeatureComment

Hindu temple's reopening in Kashmir spotlights Muslims caring for temples for decades

Hindu temple's reopening in Kashmir spotlights Muslims caring for temples for decades

After fleeing violence 31 years ago, dozens of Kashmiri Hindus returned to the Himalayan valley to see their childhood temple reopened. Their temple and others have been maintained by Muslim neighbors and protected from militant violence and the land mafia. “I believe if I safeguard the temple, God will keep me safe, it’s my duty to do that,” caretaker Mohammed Sideeq said.

Asia, NewsZaffar IqbalFebruary 22, 2021Zaffar Iqbal, Primary Feature, Hindu temples in Kashmir, Kashmiri pandits, pandits, Srinagar, Muslims in Kashmir, Hinduism, Islam, Hindu Muslim conflict, Secondary Feature, RechargeComment

U.K. Churches Viewed More Positively Since COVID-19 Pandemic, New Survey Shows

U.K. Churches Viewed More Positively Since COVID-19 Pandemic, New Survey Shows

A February survey shows that non-Christians in the U.K. have developed a more positive view of the church since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

Fazlun Khalid shows how environmentalism is intrinsic to Islam

Fazlun Khalid shows how environmentalism is intrinsic to Islam

Fazlun Khalid has worked for decades to raise environmental consciousness among Muslims and demonstrate what he sees as the inherently ecological nature of Islam and the environmental worldview it espouses.

Islam, Europe, NewsMeara SharmaFebruary 20, 2021Meara Sharma, Primary Feature, Islamic environmentalism, Islam, Islam and the environment, climate change, quran on environment, Fazlun Khalid, Secondary Feature Comment

Texas church partners with Jeep club to shelter elderly during winter storm

Texas church partners with Jeep club to shelter elderly during winter storm

Volunteers with the North Texas Jeep Club are partnering with OpenDoor Church in the Dallas-Forth Worth metroplex to provide transportation, food and shelter to the elderly as Texas faces widespread power outages.

News, North AmericaJillian CheneyFebruary 19, 2021Jillian Cheney, Primary Feature, church, Texas, OpenDoor, OpenDoor Church, Texas snowstorm, Joel Osteen, Lakewood Church, Dallas, Dallas Fort Worth, Jeep Club, North Texas Jeep Club, warming shelter, Secondary Feature Comment

Berliners debate renaming street honoring 'Nazi' pope after Israel's only female PM

Berliners debate renaming street honoring 'Nazi' pope after Israel's only female PM

Berliners are debating renaming Pacelliallee – a major street named after Rome-born Eugenio Pacelli, better known as Pope Pius XII, to honor former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir (1898-1978). Pius XII served as a Vatican ambassador in Berlin and has been accused of anti-Semitism and sympathizing with Nazis during the Holocaust. Meir was Israel’s first and only female prime minister.

Europe, News, Middle EastGil ZoharFebruary 18, 2021Gil Zohar, Primary Feature, Berlin, Berlin street pope pius xii, Golda Meir, Israel, Germany, Europe Comments

Americans say religion is more central to their identity than politics

Americans say religion is more central to their identity than politics

(ANALYSIS) A 2020 survey helps us understand just what matters most to Americans’ identities: politics or religion. The results are not exactly what this data journalist anticipated.

News, North AmericaRyan BurgeFebruary 17, 2021Ryan Burge, Primary Feature, politics and religion, white evangelicals, white catholics, US election, Secondary Feature Comment

One-Fifth of Black Americans Not Affiliated With Any Religion, Straying From Majority Black Churches

One-Fifth of Black Americans Not Affiliated With Any Religion, Straying From Majority Black Churches

According to a new Pew Research study released Feb. 16, one in five Black Americans (21%) are not affiliated with any religion and instead identify as atheist, agnostic or religious “nones.” The trend towards secularization is continuing to grow with each new generation.

News, North AmericaMattie TownsonFebruary 16, 2021Mattie Townson, Secondary Feature, Pew religion, pew research, black american religion, black church, Ministry Watch Episode 82Comment

Myanmar's asylum seekers in Malaysia face uncertain deportation to military regime

Myanmar's asylum seekers in Malaysia face uncertain deportation to military regime

Thousands of migrants and asylum seekers who left Myanmar for better opportunities in Malaysia are facing uncertain deportation. After Myanmar’s coup, the new military regime announced it would send three ships to collect 1,200 citizens from a Malaysian detention center that houses both migrants and asylum seekers. If deported, religious and ethnic minorities would return to the persecution in Myanmar that they fled.

Asia, NewsReligion Unplugged contributorFebruary 16, 2021Myanmar, myanmar coup, Malaysia, Rohingya, Chin refugees, Primary Feature, deportation, immigration, UNHCR, Kuala Lumpur, Myanmar navy ships, Secondary Feature, RechargeComment

Biden re-establishes White House Office for Faith-Based Partnerships

Biden re-establishes White House Office for Faith-Based Partnerships

On Feb. 14, President Joe Biden reestablished the White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships — an office largely ignored by the Trump administration — and announced Melissa Rogers as executive director, who served the same role in the Obama administration. The office was created by President George W. Bush two decades ago to improve communication with and ensure equal access to government funding by faith-based and secular civil society organizations helping local communities, in part to reduce the need for welfare spending.

News, North AmericaChelsea Langston BombinoFebruary 14, 2021white house faith partnerships, Chelsea Langston Bombino, Primary Feature, Secondary Feature Comment

R.R. Reno, Tim Carney Talk Future of Conservatism

R.R. Reno, Tim Carney Talk Future of Conservatism

What is the future of American conservatism? This question and others were discussed in a Feb. 11 webinar in the “Conservative Conversations with ISI” series.

North America, NewsJillian CheneyFebruary 12, 2021Jillian Cheney, Secondary Feature, ISI, Tim Carney, R.R. Reno, First Things, conservatism, conservative Christians, Donald Trump, Trump, Biden, Joe Biden, Christianity, Mitt Romney, Family Security ActComment

Exclusive: Museum of the Bible's ancient Hebrew prayer book likely looted from Afghanistan

Exclusive: Museum of the Bible's ancient Hebrew prayer book likely looted from Afghanistan

The National Museum of Afghanistan in Kabul claims a 1,200-year-old Hebrew prayer book at the Museum of the Bible was stolen from their collection in the nineties. It’s the latest in a series of scandals about looted and forged antiquities that has rocked the Museum of the Bible since its 2017 opening in Washington, D.C.

Asia, Middle East, News, North America, JewishGil ZoharFebruary 11, 2021Gil Zohar, Museum of the Bible, Steven Green, Jewish prayer book, Siddur, Afghan artifacts, Museum of the bible scandals, Christie's, fraud artifacts, Primary Feature, Secondary Feature, Ministry Watch Episode 82 Comments

Think U.S. evangelicals are dying out? Depends how you define evangelicalism

Think U.S. evangelicals are dying out? Depends how you define evangelicalism

(ANALYSIS) The share of Americans who self-identify as evangelicals has not changed in any meaningful way over the past decade. In fact, larger shares of Americans have said that they have had a born-again experience in 2018 than at any point since 1972, according to the General Social Survey. Moreover, their link with politics may in fact be a central reason evangelicals are not declining significantly as a share of the U.S. population.

North America, NewsRyan BurgeFebruary 10, 2021Ryan Burge, Primary Feature, evangelicals, US evangelica, US evangelicals, secularism, decline of religion, Secondary FeatureComment

The Most Powerful Church Outside Rome Is Fighting To Loosen Its Authority

The Most Powerful Church Outside Rome Is Fighting To Loosen Its Authority

The Catholic Church in Germany is already the most disruptive and wealthiest national church in communion with the Pope of Rome. Now, the bishops of the German Catholic Church are dropping a massive, controversial document onto the Vatican’s lap that seeks to break away from Catholic doctrine in the realms of sexual morality, ordination of women and episcopal authority.

Europe, NewsTimothy NerozziFebruary 9, 2021Timothy Nerozzi, German Catholic church, Primary Feature, Catholic schism, Pope Francis, Pope John Paul II, Vatican II, Catholics in Germany, The Synodal Way Comment

The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists

The military coup in Myanmar presents opportunities to Buddhist nationalists

(ANALYSIS) Myanmar’s military has held a prominent political position in the country for decades. For almost 50 years, the country was under successive military regimes. These regimes displayed an ambivalent attitude to the country’s main religion, Buddhism – Buddhist movements, which were on the whole in opposition to military rule, were severely repressed.

Analysis, News, AsiaAnders C. Hardig and Tazreena SajjadFebruary 8, 2021Anders C. Hardig, Tazreena Sajjad, Secondary Feature, analysis, Analysis, Myanmar, Buddhist nationalists, Buddhism, Buddhist, military coup, Christian, Muslim Comment

Pastors Charged with Child Sex Crimes Scar Victims, Shock Congregations

Pastors Charged with Child Sex Crimes Scar Victims, Shock Congregations

Nearly a dozen pastors and church workers in Florida and elsewhere have been charged with possessing child pornography and/or other sex crimes against children in recent months.

What Does It Mean For A Woman To Serve With The Synod Of Bishops?

What Does It Mean For A Woman To Serve With The Synod Of Bishops?

Sr. Nathalie Becquart, a French nun, was appointed as under-secretary for the Synod of Bishops on Saturday, Feb. 6. The decision has been divisive for Catholics. Becquart is the first woman to be appointed to the Synod, a Catholic institution established by Pope John Paul II as an advisory council for the pontiff made up of clergymen from around the world.

Europe, NewsTimothy NerozziFebruary 8, 2021Timothy Nerozzi, Primary Feature, Catholic church women, women in the church, female clergy, Sr. Nathalie Becquart, Synod of Bishops, Secondary FeatureComment