As part of efforts to reform Islamic jurisprudence as well as define the future path of global Islam, religious scholars, led by the Indonesia-based Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), are discussing the religious legitimacy of the United Nations and the nation-state, thus hoping to counter notions of a caliphate and a transnational Islamic state, writes journalist and […]
According to its constitution, the Eastern African nation of Burundi is a secular state, but the discourse of the country’s political leadership is permeated with religious references, reports the French Observatoire Pharos (November 22), based on information from local media. Religion is being turned into a public and political issue. An evangelical vocabulary is being […]
Seeking advice from a spiritual father is nothing new in the Orthodox tradition, but these religious figures have come to present new characteristics in the modern context and often to be associated with “fundamentalist rigorism,” writes Efstathios Kessareas (University of Erfurt) in an article combining analysis and criticism in the journal Religion & Gesellschaft in […]
After a long period of neglect, European religious buildings are finding new patrons and organized efforts at protection, reports Itxu Diaz in the magazine First Things (November 18). “The closure of many religious buildings has propelled them toward an uncertain fate, as they are left at the mercy of patrons, private entities, or local, national, […]
American evangelicals are exporting the pro-life movement to Israel in the midst of court decisions at home and politics abroad that are signaling a more favorable climate for such activism, reports the Washington Post (November 18). Although Israel legalized abortion four years after America’s Roe vs. Wade decision in 1973 and has been vocal in […]
1) The Republican Party and the Christian right are finding new support among Native Americans under the influence of Pastor Robert, a liaison to the First Nations peoples in New Mexico for the Republicans. Estimates of the Native American response have varied, but most observers see the once solid Democratic hold on this population slipping. […]
While the Catholic Church in Canada has experienced a sharp growth in hate crimes directed against it, Canadian politicians and the country’s media have been largely silent about this trend, writes Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun (October 13). Citing a Statistics Canada finding that there has been a significant increase in hate crimes against […]
The massive influx of refugees and other migrants into Europe over the past several years has had a significant impact on evangelical and mainline churches, as they have rethought and retooled their ministries to meet the needs of such newcomers. Ken Chitwood reports in Christianity Today (October 3) that many churches have played important roles […]
The publication of some Yezidi sacred texts for various purposes over the past 50 years, as well as the experiences of a growing Yezidi diaspora, are giving rise to a process of canonization of Yezidi holy scriptures, reports Thorsten Wettich (University of Bremen) in the Zeitschrift für Religion und Weltanschauung (5/2022). Persecutions against Yezidis by […]
Hindu nationalist themes and plots are finding their way into an increasing number of Indian film productions, reports the New Yorker (October 10). Known as “Bollywood,” the global Indian film industry has long featured more traditional themes in its standard and ornate song and dance productions compared to Hollywood, but lately films critical of Hinduism […]
