As their final assignment for the play, I had students respond to the question, “How would you feel if your religious freedom was taken away?” The responses varied, in both length and reaction. Nearly all of the teenagers in the class are self-described Christians, but their approach toward religion varies from conservative evangelical to tolerant progressives to near-agnostic. Their reactions to a potential scenario in which they were not allowed to practice religion freely ranged from the pragmatic to conformist to vigilant resistance.
Author: Martin Surridge
Uproar in Canada over face-veil ban (Al Jazeera English)
In Quebec a furious public debate has erupted over Muslim women who wear the niqab – face veil. Out of over 200,000 Muslims in Montreal, only a few dozen women wear the niqab, but under a proposed new legislation they could be barred from receiving public services.
Observations of Liberty in China (WWUB)
By Martin Surridge – The mass of strangers and suitcases pressed against me so tightly that I did not have to worry about the sharp turns and rapid acceleration of the train as it hurtled through the Beijing underground because the dozens of people breathing down my neck in the center of the carriage prevented…
French PM advised against total Islamic veil ban
EXCERPT from BBC News (link below): France’s top administrative body has advised the government that any total ban on face-covering Islamic veils could be unconstitutional. The State Council also said a ban could be justified in some public places. Prime Minster Francois Fillon had asked the council for a legal opinion before drawing up a…
Religious Tension Leads to Clashes in Jerusalem (From Al Jazeera English)
Tension over Religious Sites Leaves Dozens Hurt in Jerusalem Clashes
EXCERPT from BBC News (link below): Palestinians and Israeli police have clashed near the Jerusalem compound housing the al-Aqsa mosque, leaving dozens of people injured. A large group of Palestinians left Friday prayers and began marching to the mosque, carrying banners and waving green flags, witnesses and police said. Police tried to disperse the crowd…
Faith Healing Couple Guilty of Murder
EXCERPT from ABC News (link below): An Oregon husband and wife who relied on faith rather than medicine to treat their dying child were convicted today of criminally negligent homicide. Jeffrey and Marci Beagley of Oregon City said they thought their 16-year-old son, Neil, merely had the flu when they prayed and laid hands on…
The Winter Olympics and Inequality in Global Athletics
In high school, the only sports I played to any significant extent were soccer and basketball. A lot of my friends went snowboarding or skiing, but it was a long drive to the mountains and I could not really afford all the equipment, which cost hundreds of dollars. So I never spent much time on…
UN condemns Gaddafi jihad call
EXCERPT from Al Jazeera English (link below): The United Nations and European Union have condemned a call from Libya’s leader for Muslims to carry out jihad against Switzerland over a recent vote to ban the construction of minarets in the European country. Gaddafi said: “Any Muslim around the world who has dealings with Switzerland is an…
The European Attack on Religious Liberty
While they have been easy to miss, the news has been peppered recently with stories of serious threats to religious liberty not in the developing world, war-torn regions in the Middle East, or third-world countries struck by natural disasters, but in Europe, our own geopolitical backyard.