Ron Csillag
Ron Csillag is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Ron Csillag
NEWS STORY: Ontario Muslims Tussle Over Sharia Courts
By Ron Csillag — July 7, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service TORONTO _ It may be a long, hot summer for Muslims in Ontario as activists make arguments for and against proposed tribunals that would use Islamic law to settle family, marriage and business disputes in the province. Detractors fear the panels _ legal under the province’s 1991 Arbitration Act _ […]
NEWS STORY: Reform Rabbis Denounce Bush on `False’ Weapons Claims
By Ron Csillag — June 25, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service TORONTO _ Reform rabbis meeting here for their annual conference condemned the Bush administration for using “false claims” of weapons of mass destruction to justify the war in Iraq and for failing to implement a plan to end “chaos” in the country. The Iraq resolution adopted by the 450 rabbis […]
Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — June 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Bank Unveils Islam-Friendly Investments TORONTO (RNS) The Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has announced a new financial instrument tailored specifically to meet the needs of Muslim investors. In a press release, the bank says the Shariah-Compliant Equity-Linked Note was released after a lengthy period of research and consultation, and is […]
Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — June 10, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Harper Seeks Changes to Hate Laws QUEBEC CITY, Quebec (RNS) Conservative leader Stephen Harper says laws protecting gays and lesbians from hate crimes need to be amended to allay the concerns of church groups and others who fear their freedom of expression and freedom of religion might be harmed. “There […]
NEWS FEATURE: A Spiritual Traveler’s Guide to Pluralistic Curacao
By Ron Csillag — June 8, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service WILLEMSTAD, Curacao _ For once, the postcards don’t need embellishment: The Dutch colonial buildings, their clay-red roofs set against an azure sky, are arrayed in a technicolor palette of maize, turquoise, emerald, hot pink and aquamarine. Residents are fond of saying that the many-hued buildings lining St. Anna Bay in […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — May 13, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Faith to Cause Most Tension, Poll Shows MONTREAL (RNS) For the first time in years, religion has surpassed language as the expected cause of social strife in the coming years, according to a poll conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies. The poll, conducted by Environics between March 29 and […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — April 30, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Renegade Anglican Parishes Split VANCOUVER, British Columbia (RNS) Priests from four western parishes opposed to same-sex marriage rites have quit the Anglican Church of Canada nearly two years after the Diocese of New Westminster approved a rite of blessing for same-sex couples. The priests _ and the parishes they serve […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — October 30, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Anglican Priests Charged for Defying Bishop Over Gay Unions VANCOUVER, British Columbia _ Seven Anglican priests who have been at odds with their church’s stand on same-sex marriages have been charged with a variety of ecclesiastical offenses in an issue that continues to cause turmoil in the worldwide Anglican Communion. […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — September 4, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Canadian Missionary Freed in Lebanon (UNDATED) A Canadian missionary jailed in Lebanon July 10 was acquitted of spying for Israel on Monday (Sept. 1). A Lebanese military court found Bruce Balfour, 52, a Christian missionary from Calgary, not guilty of collaborating with Israel, a charge punishable by 15 years in […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — September 4, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Canadian Missionary Freed in Lebanon (UNDATED) A Canadian missionary jailed in Lebanon July 10 was acquitted of spying for Israel on Monday (Sept. 1). A Lebanese military court found Bruce Balfour, 52, a Christian missionary from Calgary, not guilty of collaborating with Israel, a charge punishable by 15 years in […]
Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — April 30, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Faith Groups Address Same-Sex Marriage OTTAWA (RNS) The world’s major faiths all understand marriage as being between one man and one woman, an interfaith coalition has told Ontario’s Court of Appeal. In one of three legal cases challenging the traditional definition of marriage, the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and Family […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — January 9, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service Mosque Apologizes for Christmas E-mail TORONTO (RNS) A Somali mosque here has apologized for a Christmas Day message that said wishing someone Merry Christmas is comparable to congratulating them for committing murder or engaging in adultery. “The board (of Khalid Bin Al-Walid Mosque) sincerely apologizes for the distress that this […]
NEWS DIGEST: Religion in Canada
By Ron Csillag — January 1, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service More Catholics Than Protestants Support Same-Sex Marriage OTTAWA (RNS) A public opinion poll shows Catholics are more supportive of gay marriage than Protestants, leading one pollster to predict the Liberals could actually benefit from the Vatican’s recent intervention by appealing to Canadians’ widely held support for a separation between church […]
NEWS FEATURE: Jews for Jesus Canadian Campaign Sparks Debate
By Ron Csillag — January 1, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service TORONTO _ A tense three-week game of theological warfare played out on the streets of Toronto and its Jewish suburbs over the last month as Jews for Jesus pressed an aggressive campaign to win Jewish souls for Christianity. About 15 followers of the evangelical group came to Toronto to conduct […]
NEWS STORY: Census: Numbers Rise But Proportion of Canadian Catholics Declines
By Ron Csillag — January 1, 2003
c. 2003 Religion News Service TORONTO _ Canada is still largely a Roman Catholic country, but the secularism that has been the hallmark of West European nations has gained a foothold here. And like the United States, Canada also is becoming increasingly evangelical. Data culled from the 2001 Canadian census, released May 12, show that […]
