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Monday's Religion News Roundup: Conversion Therapy Ban * Egypt Turmoil * Interfaith Struggles

Gov. Chris Christie is set to ban gay conversion therapy in New Jersey. The death toll continues to rise in Egypt. And the interfaith movement is struggling.
Monday’s Religion News Roundup: Conversion Therapy Ban * Egypt Turmoil * Interfaith Struggles
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, via Wikimedia Commons: http://bit.ly/1bMrCh8
Sarah Pulliam Bailey

The death toll in Egypt continues to rise close to a thousand.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, via Wikimedia Commons: http://bit.ly/1bMrCh8

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, via Wikimedia Commons: http://bit.ly/1bMrCh8

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will sign a state ban on gay conversion therapy. Christie, a Roman Catholic, says he believes people are born gay and homosexuality is not a sin.


A woman who allegedly gave morphine to her dying father has renewed a debate over assisted suicide.

The interfaith movement is struggling with a changing religious landscape.

Evangelicals are on a mission to save godless Massachusetts.

Thanks to a battle over a hymn, Presbyterians and Baptists are debating over whether God is an angry ogre.

A train has killed at least 37 Hindu pilgrims as they crossed a track in India.

Evangelical churches are being urged to confront abuse.

The trial of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, accused of killing 13 American soldiers four years ago, is nearing its end. Hasan could face the death penalty if convicted and could be the first person the military puts to death in five decades.

Pope Francis’s Brazilian trip was mentioned in more than 1.3 million tweets and received more than 36 million retweets, says Twitter’s Claire Diaz-Ortiz.

The word “Allah” is reserved only for Muslims and non-Muslims must stop challenging this “absolute” right, Malaysia’s home minister said. Also in Malaysia, authorities have revoked the immigration privileges of a Singaporean man who offended some Muslims by letting Buddhists use an Islamic prayer room.

Are atheists smarter than believers? Not exactly.

An Italian Jesuit priest who disappeared last month in eastern Syria may still be alive, after it said he had been killed by al Qaeda-linked rebels.

Young, American-born Jains adapt their ancient and ascetic Indian faith to life in the United States.


The kids of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby are making news, as his son writes about Christians in Egypt and his daughter has found love after struggling with depression.

“The Butler,” which Adelle Banks wrote about last week, topped the box office over the weekend.

 

Tweets from the weekend:

https://twitter.com/edstetzer/status/368561158069837824

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