While we have tracked the emergence of the religious right in America, Fr. Robert Sirico writes in the National Review about the political power of part of the religious left which he describes as “a hyper-political movement that offers up the moral authority of churches and aid organizations to advance the ends of the Obama administration and its allies in Congress.”
Category: In the News
Article18: Norway — Personal Reflections on the Origin of a Tragedy
The fact of the matter is that the demon of terrorism is one that will practice whatever religion it must to satisfy its craving for violence. Terrorism knows no religion that it can’t corrupt. Violence can find a home in any religion, any belief system, be it Muslim, Christian, or Sikh and it is not partial to any one in particular, despite the ramblings in the media.
Circumcision Ban: Violating Religious Freedom? (Odyssey Networks)
A coalition including Jewish and Muslim groups have launched a lawsuit challenging a proposed ban on circumcision that is due to go before San Francisco voters in the Fall. The coalition asserts that a ban on circumcision, a ritual practice in both religious traditions, represents a violation of the right to religious expression, and that,…
Southern Mexico’s religious liberty forum spotlights local challenges to freedom of belief
Although they garner little attention from the international community, recent cases of violence directed toward Protestants in the region, among them Adventists, intensify the need to protect the region’s tenuous religious liberty.
Following Norway attack, Adventist religious liberty director urges caution in use of ‘fundamentalist’ label
Graz also urged caution in the use of the term “fundamentalist” to describe the individual alleged to have carried out the attacks, instead proffering the term “extremist” as a more accurate description of the type of ideology and behavior that falls far outside the norms of a religious community.
“There’s a risk that ‘fundamentalism’ will become blurred in people’s minds with the idea of ‘conservative Christianity’ — a confusion that could serve to widen the gulf of misunderstanding between different religious traditions,” he said.
Suit Seeks To Invalidate New York Same-Sex Marriage Law For Procedural Irregularities (Religion Clause)
EXCERPT: Liberty Counsel announced today that it has filed a lawsuit in New York asking a state court to declare the state’s Marriage Equality Act void and to declare void any same-sex marriages that have taken place under the Act. The complain in New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms v. New York State Senate, (Livingston Co….
State and Federal Legislators Introduce Bill to Outlaw Local Criminalization of Circumcision
California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) and Assembly member Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) have introduced a bill that would directly ban local bans on circumcision. In a press conference held in Los Angeles yesterday, July 21, 2011, Ma and Gatto said that the bill would render the San Francisco ballot measure moot.
Hermain Cain Opposes Murfreesboro Mosque Project (DNJ)
EXCERPT: Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain said Thursday an effort by local Muslims to build a large mosque here is an attempt to “sneak” Shariah law into the fabric of the U.S. legal system. “I think it is an infringement and abuse of our freedom of religion, and I don’t agree with what’s happening here…
Five-Day Work Idea May End Up in Trash Bin (Israel National News)
EXCERPT: A proposal to put Israel on a shortened work week, with Friday a half-day and Sunday a vacation day, may be buried before it gets off the ground. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has agreed on a Knesset committee to discuss the proposal by Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom, but it quickly ran into opposition…
A Muslim American Reflects on Osama Bin Laden’s Death (Washington Post)
EXCERPT: By Arshad Chowdhury Osama bin Laden’s many victims include, first and foremost, those who died on Sept. 11, 2001, and their grieving families, the soldiers sent to war and the loved ones they left behind, and a new generation forced to grow up in a more polarized and paranoid world. For all of them,…