A More Secular Europe, Divided By The Cross
posted on June 18, 2013
Andrew Higgins of The New York Times reports on the religious divides within the European Union as the member-states struggle to forge a common identity. “In a continent divided by many languages, vast differences of culture and economic gaps,” Christianity provides a rare element shared by all nations within the EU. However, “religion has instead become yet another a source of discord.” He writes, “It divides mostly secular Western Europe from profoundly religious nations in the east.”
A Test Of Republican Loyalties
posted on June 18, 2013
Anne Kim and Ed Kilgore of Washington Monthly report that Senate Republicans will soon be tested on their commitment to repeal the Affordable Care Act from a traditional GOP supporters. Religious groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention, are pushing to “fix” the ACA in order “to ensure that church-sponsored health plans can participate in the ACA’s health insurance exchanges.” If Republicans support this position, it could signal that they have given up on the goal that “Obamacare must be repealed root and branch, not repaired or reformed.”
On The Ethics Of The Tibetan Self-Immolations
posted on June 18, 2013
José Cabezón of Religion Dispatches writes on Tibetan self-immolation in light of recent remarks made by the Dalai Lama. “Like many religions, Buddhism deplores suicide, but the Tibetan self-immolations are not simple suicides,” he writes. “Self-immolation represents an ultimate act of protest, a final moral boundary, which Tibetans — both monks and laity — feel their Buddhist faith allows them to cross.”
Lay Preacher Turned Union Boss Wages S.African Class War
posted on June 18, 2013
Reuters’ Ed Stoddard and Ndundu Sithole report on a lay preacher’s surge to prominence in South African labor relations. Joseph Mathunjwa, president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, “has won tens of thousands of followers portraying himself as a Christian soldier fighting for South Africa’s downtrodden miners.” Mathunjwa is seeking to “about double the current wages of the lowest-paid miners,” and they write that he has “tapped into a swelling vein of discontent among poor, black workers who have seen little improvement in their lives two decades after apartheid ended.”
50 Years After Abington v. Schempp, A Dissenter Looks Back On School Prayer
posted on June 17, 2013
At The Atlantic, Linda K. Wertheimer commemorates the 50th anniversary of Supreme Court case Abington v. Schempp, which banned Bible reading in public schools, by interviewing Ellery Schempp, who as a 16-year-old helped bring the landmark case to the courts. She writes, “Today, Ellery Schempp is a 72-year-old retired physicist from suburban Boston. … he is a Unitarian who also refers to himself as an atheist and secular humanist.”
Social Conservatives Still Control The GOP
posted on June 17, 2013
Molly Ball of The Atlantic writes, “Ever since Republicans got clobbered in the last election, some have suggested they dial back some of their hard stances in the culture war … And yet Republican politicians do not seem to have gotten the message.” Ball cites a recent proposed abortion ban in the House as well as this past week’s Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference, which “attracted a star-studded line-up of GOP pols.” She concludes, “Social conservatives will continue to wield major power in the Republican Party by their sheer numbers and their dogged activism.”
Ken Hackett To Be Nominated As Ambassador To Vatican
posted on June 17, 2013
The Huffington Post’s Jaweed Kaleem reports that “President Barack Obama will nominate Ken Hackett, the former president of Catholic Relief Services to be the United States’ ambassador to the Vatican.” In addition to his work at CRS, Hackett has also served on the board of directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation and volunteered in the Peace Corps in Ghana.
Wisconsin Republicans Pass Anti-Abortion Ultrasound Bill
posted on June 17, 2013
Brendan O’Brien of Reuters reports Wisconsin’s state assembly passed a bill that “mandates an ultrasound be performed on a pregnant woman at least 24 hours before an abortion.” O’Brien writes, “The bill, which also requires doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital, now heads for the desk of Republican Governor Scott Walker, who is expected to sign it into law.”
Writers tell us stories about where they discovered religion and politics in their states.
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