Social Issues
Federal agency sues Chipotle after a Kansas manager allegedly ripped off an employee’s hijab
By Claire Rush — October 2, 2023
(AP) — The manager's “offensive and incessant requests” that she remove her hijab, and his attempt to physically take it off, were “unwelcome, intentional, severe, based on religion, and created a hostile working environment based on religion," the complaint alleged.
Seattle Pacific University targets LGBTQ displays with new policy, say critics
By Kathryn Post — September 29, 2023
(RNS) — The new display policy permits freedom of expression within faculty and staff offices.
French schools’ ban on abayas and headscarves is supposedly about secularism − but it sends a powerful message about who ‘belongs’ in French culture
By Carol Ferrara — September 29, 2023
(The Conversation) — Catholicism, ‘Frenchness’ and secularism are often conflated in French culture, a scholar writes, while non-Christian traditions are viewed with suspicion.
What is an abaya − and why does it cause such controversy in France? A scholar of European studies explains
By Armin Langer — September 27, 2023
(The Conversation) — In some conservative countries, the abaya is part of expected dress. But in countries where Muslims are in the minority, the abaya can be a way for women to connect with their religious identity.
Survey: Mainline clergy are more liberal than their congregants
By Yonat Shimron — September 14, 2023
(RNS) — Mainline clergy are more supportive than their congregants of LGBTQ rights, more likely to have opposed the overturn of Roe v. Wade and less likely to believe America is in danger of losing its culture and identity.
Three dozen NC churches have agreed to leave the UMC under approved plan
By Yonat Shimron — September 8, 2023
(RNS) — After a judge dismissed their lawsuit, the 36 churches in the Western North Carolina Conference agreed to leave under the denomination's exit plan. They will formally exit in November.
Sixty years later, King’s dream still calls
By Bridget Moix — August 31, 2023
(RNS) — Six decades after King proclaimed his dream that we would all be ‘free at last’ from racism and violence, Black lives are still threatened every day by race-based killings.
Young Hindu professionals get a crash course in keeping the faith
By Richa Karmarkar — August 30, 2023
(RNS) — In the heart of Flushing, Queens, a group of young Hindus came together on a recent weekend to discuss the modern implications of ancient sacred texts.
An online assembly attempts to correct March on Washington gender gap
By Yonat Shimron — August 24, 2023
(RNS) — None of the speeches at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom were delivered by women. The “She Speaks” online assembly is intended to lift up the voices of women fighting for racial justice.
The ‘India problem’ under the surface at the Parliament of the World’s Religions
By Richa Karmarkar — August 18, 2023
(RNS) — Hindu organizations say they were uniquely singled out for their views on the contentious Indian political atmosphere, leaving some Hindus wondering why they must be tied to the politics of India at an event centered on cultivating harmony between the world's religious communities.
Are white evangelical pastors at odds with their congregants? A new study says no.
By Yonat Shimron — August 9, 2023
(RNS) — A new study shows white evangelical clergy are as conservative, if not more so, as the people in their churches.
How India’s religious violence is becoming a problem for American politicians
By Richa Karmarkar — August 9, 2023
(RNS) — US politicians are under increasing pressure to account for their courtship of Indian Prime Minister Modi, the leader of a strategically important ally and the world's largest democracy.
Richard Dawkins has abandoned science to justify his transphobia
By Hemant Mehta — August 1, 2023
(RNS) — It’s jarring to see the world’s most famous atheist use his massive platform to downplay or deny trans identities.
The Hindus fighting against ‘caste consciousness’
By Richa Karmarkar — July 17, 2023
(RNS) — An ongoing fight in the California Legislature and the courts focuses not on caste discrimination itself but whether efforts to end it only make it worse.
Supreme Court ruling in favor of mail carrier celebrated across religious spectrum
By Yonat Shimron — June 29, 2023
(RNS) — Many U.S. religious minorities said the ruling was a much-needed corrective to the challenges they face in balancing their work with their sincerely held religious practices.
