religious freedom
East-West Travelblog: Who owns the word ‘Allah’?
By Kimberly Winston — September 8, 2015
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (RNS) See this book? It was in my hotel room here in Malaysia. It’s in hotel rooms around the world. But here, this book is banned if it is written in Malay, the official language of the country’s 30 million people.
Kim Davis emerges as lightning rod for religious freedom among some Republicans
By David Jackson — September 5, 2015
Many Republican presidential candidates took a hard line in support of Kim Davis, echoing their criticism of gay marriage. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee called Davis' arrest the "criminalization of Christianity."
Why this Christian says Christianity is harmed by Kim Davis and her fans (COMMENTARY)
By David P. Gushee — September 4, 2015
(RNS) Many Christians seem to be leading with the back of their hands to gay people, not with the embrace of God's love. And it just makes us look like haters to everyone else.
With Ky. clerk in jail, gay couple receives marriage license
By Mike Wynn — September 4, 2015
MOREHEAD, Ky. — William Smith and James Yates obtained a license from Deputy Clerk Brian Mason on Friday morning. As they exited the courthouse, they were greeted by supporters chanting "love has won."
Ky. clerk’s office will issue marriage licenses Friday — without the clerk
By Mike Wynn — September 3, 2015
ASHLAND, Ky. -- But Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, whom U.S. District Court Judge David Bunning has placed in the custody of U.S. marshals, said she will not authorize any of her employees to issue licenses in her absence.
Lawyers for Ky. clerk seek new way to block marriage licenses
By Andrew Wolfson — September 2, 2015
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Lawyers filed an emergency motion to stop enforcement of an order requiring county clerks to issue marriage licenses to gay couples while Kim Davis' case is on appeal.
Clerk Kim Davis cites God, crowd jeers gay couple (UPDATE)
By Mike Wynn — September 1, 2015
MOREHEAD, Ky. — Defying the Supreme Court, county clerk says she was acting under "God's authority" while continuing to deny marriage licenses to gay couples.
Do ISIS’s atrocities against Christians, Yazidis and Shias really amount to genocide?
By Brian Pellot — August 6, 2015
Religious freedom advocates are calling for President Obama and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to label ISIS’s actions against religious and ethnic minorities “genocide.” Does the label fit? 13 experts weigh in.
Southern Baptists urged to engage with politics, but be civil
By Heidi Hall — August 5, 2015
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) Speaker after speaker reiterated the point that it is a Christian’s duty to ensure biblical principles are being upheld by elected officials.
Marijuana ministries * Chicken blood * Chocolate snakes: July’s Religious Freedom Recap
By Brian Pellot — July 31, 2015
Cannabis churches are billowing out across America. Chicken huggers are suing to keep ritual bird blood off Brooklyn’s sidewalks. And a South African prophet is being prosecuted for turning congregants into snakes and snakes into chocolate.
Religious freedom key to global security, experts tell Georgetown symposium
By Sara Weissman — July 16, 2015
WASHINGTON (RNS) When three in four nations restrict religious speech and practice, it's a "crisis," said the director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs.
US pastor held in Iran overlooked in nuclear deal, his wife laments
By Reuters — July 16, 2015
Iranian-American Saeed Abedini was sentenced by an Iranian court in 2013 to eight years in prison for allegedly compromising Iran's national security by setting up home-based Christian churches there.
When thin-skinned Zoroastrians sue Snoop Dogg, we all lose
By Brian Pellot — July 8, 2015
Members of India’s Parsi community are suing Snoop Dogg and others for featuring a Zoroastrian symbol in a new music video they’ve deemed “insensitive” to their faith. Whatever comes of this baseless lawsuit, free speech will suffer.
New Hawaii law legalizes traditional ‘clean burial’ practice
By Reuters — July 1, 2015
HONOLULU (Reuters) Under a new law in Hawaii, the dead can now be put to rest following an ancient Hawaiian custom called "clean burial" in which only a person's bones are buried.
Eritrea’s gross religious freedom violations force many to flee, UN report says
By Fredrick Nzwili — June 10, 2015
(RNS) The religious abuses are among a host of widespread human rights violations that are forcing its citizens to undertake deadly voyages to Europe through North Africa, the U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights said.
