Thanks to Pastor John Bechtel for forwarding information about a movement to expand the definition of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom to include more representation for religious ideas in government policy. It is yet another volley in the culture wars between secularists and those who would seek to abolish the sepaaration of church and…
Category: Current Events
Burma launches new crackdown on religious groups
EXCERPT: Burma’s military junta has begun a new round of anti-Christian campaigning, pro-democracy activists have claimed. On Jan 13 the Democratic Voice of Burma reported the Ministry of Religious Affairs had ordered the closure of the city’s house churches.
Human Rights Nightmare: Indian mafia gangs are deliberately crippling children for profit (DailyMail.co.uk)
EXCERPT: Now in hiding after being rescued from the hospital by a charity, Aamir is one of hundreds of Indian children deliberately crippled by gangs so they can earn extra money begging. He still struggles to talk about his experience.
Judge Bork predicts ‘terrible conflict’ will endanger U.S. Catholics’ religious freedom (CNA)
Former Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork has predicted that upcoming legal battles will have significant ramifications for religious freedom. He names as issues of major concern the continued freedom of Catholic hospitals to refuse to perform abortions and the likely “terrible conflict” resulting from the advancement of homosexual rights.
The role of religion under Obama (CS Monitor)
WASHINGTON – After decades of ceding God to the GOP, at least in the public square, Democrats – with President Obama in the lead – are speaking with a fuller religious voice. The watchword? Inclusiveness.
Barack Obama on Religious Tolerance and Persecution
Obama: Over time, what we are doing is setting up new norms and creating a universal principle that people’s faith and people’s beliefs have to be protected.
The Passing of Richard John Neuhaus (1936 – 2009)
On January 8, 2009, Richard John Neuhaus, 72, the intellectual force behind an influential coalition between Catholics and Protestants passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Lawsuit filed to remove “So help me God” from inaugural oath (USA Today)
A George Washington myth bites the dust: There’s no eyewitness documentation he ever added “So help me God” to the end of his constitutionally prescribed oath of office. The oath is in the news now that California atheist activist Michael Newdow – last seen in the headlines trying to knock “Under God” out of the…
RITSEMA: Tracking Pat Robertson’s Shift to the Left
OPINION – Pat Robertson, one of those Christian spokesmen that makes Christians cringe every time he opens his mouth, has struck again. At least he’s not calling for violence…this time.
New law in Russia ends jury trials for ‘crimes against state’ (LA Times)
Reporting from Moscow — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev paused in the last, quiet hours of a dying year to sign into law a controversial bill that eliminates jury trials for “crimes against the state,” a move that lawyers and human rights groups fear will be the start of a dangerous exertion of Kremlin control over government critics.