Posts in Religion News
Can French politicians make Notre Dame great again?

Rebuilding Notre Dame will be a painstaking task. Estimated to cost in the billions, the cathedral has also become a political pawn in a broader fight between traditionalists and secularists. In a country divided politically — the recent European election was another reminder of this — the fate of Notre Dame very much rests in the hands of the country’s warring lawmakers.

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American anti-Semitism is growing from new, surprising sources

A recent poll found that only 80% of Americans believe that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust.

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The real story of America's bloody struggle for religious freedom

We talked with Steven Waldman, founder of BeliefNet and author of the new book Sacred Liberty, about America’s battles for religious freedom— how the notion that the US was founded with religious liberty in mind is wrong— our current challenges for preserving it, and much more.

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Interfaith Ramadan events aim to counter hate

From the White House to London and Brooklyn, interfaith iftars — the fast-breaking meals of Ramadan — are trending this year.

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A Closer Look at North Korea’s Deadly Regime

(COMMENTARY) When we think of North Korean armed forces, most of us envision a formidable parade of clean-cut, perfectly uniformed soldiers marching in lock-step. However, like the “Potemkin Villages” a few tourists manage to see, those tidy uniforms are nothing more than window dressing for the bankrupt regime.

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Inside the 17th century paintings that show sexuality and purity of Hindu gods

(ART REVIEW) The exhibition shows the interactions of humans with Hindu gods like Shiva and the mischievous side of Krishna, with his lover Radha and stealing butter and the clothes of women bathing outside.

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Lag b'Omer: the Jewish holiday of faith and folklore

The annual pilgrimage is the 33rd day of Judaism's somber seven-week "counting" between Passover and Pentecost and marks the ceasing of a plague that killed 24,000 disciples of Rabbi Akiva ( c. 50–135 CE), a sage martyred by the Romans during the genocidal persecution of the Emperor Hadrian. 

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Modi's second term likely to keep choking philanthropy, especially from Christians

(NEWS ANALYSIS) India’s Hindu nationalist and populist Bharatiya Janata Party won reelection Thursday in a sweeping parliamentary majority. Here’s what that means for religious minorities, other marginalized groups and the organizations working for their welfare.

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Why Kashmir’s small Sikh community boycotted Indian elections

The region has long been plagued by atrocities against Kashmiri Muslims, some of whom advocate for separating from India, and ethnic Kashmiri Hindus, who support India’s military occupation and takeover. Caught in the conflict is a tiny minority of Sikhs, who say their voices are not being heard.

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A Reporter's Notebook: the Israelis wishing a generous Ramadan to Palestinians

“I think we have arrived at the days of the Messiah,” Jewish community spokesman Naom Arnon said at an iftar dinner that marks the end of the day’s Ramadan fast, hosted by the Judea and Samaria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a joint Israeli-Palestinian group to promote business ties and economic cooperation in the West Bank.

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In India, a controversial candidate is testing religious divisions

Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, a Hindu in Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party accused of aiding a terrorist attack against Muslims, is contesting for a seat in parliament in a region crucial to the BJP’s victory.

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After petition, Kenyan church's pro-life billboards removed

Eleven NGOs petitioned the Kenyan government and won to force a Kenyan church to remove billboards aimed at expecting mothers considering abortion.

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‘Why I’m Not a Terrorist’: Victim of Extreme Hate in Sri Lanka

“I had all the reasons and justifications to join a terrorist group because of what has happened to me,” said Raghu Balachandran, a Christian who witnessed the murder of his father and brother in Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war between Tamil Hindus and Sinhalese Buddhists.

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'Death is a part of life' Christian author Rachel Held Evans wrote before passing

Evans, known for her progressive take on the faith, was only 37 when an infection quickly turned fatal. Her last blog post, about Lent and before she announced any illness, was a reminder that we will all return to dust.

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Muslim families are suing Israel to bury their dead in a coveted cemetery

Jews, Christians and Muslims have buried their loved ones in Jerusalem’s Bab al-Rahma Cemetery for hundreds of years, but more recently Israel has banned burials, citing the need to protect Jewish antiquities. Now, Palestinian families who claim to own the land are suing Israel.

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Deep dive answers about Sri Lanka's Easter attacks

In the wake of the Easter terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, we spoke to Nishan De Mel, the executive director of Verité Research in Colombo, for a deeper analysis of who’s behind the attacks, what they may want, what they were targeting, and what this all means for South Asia and Sri Lanka’s religious groups and stability.

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Easter attacks killed Nigerian Christians too

(NEWS ANALYSIS) Reports claim that more than 40 Nigerian Christians were killed in the week leading up to Easter, and many more remain missing. Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari was quick to send condolences to Sri Lanka, but slower to respond to Islamist attacks on Christians in his country.

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Rohingya woman may soon become first in India to attend college

The 21-year-old Rohingya refugee is inspiring girls to study more and aim higher. She wants to become a human rights activist to speak up for the rights of Rohingya people, a stateless, Muslim-majority ethnic group from Myanmar.

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Easter bombings come after wave of attacks against Sri Lankan Christians

In the past two years, Sri Lankan Christians have been attacked by various hardline Buddhist and Hindu groups. Christian organizations reported 89 cases of discrimination, violence and threats against Christians in 2018, with 40 cases already in 2019.

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