In the News, December 8, 2014

December 8, 2014

Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: the role of religion in Ferguson, Pope Francis' warnings against materialism ahead of the holidays, and reflections on religion and parenting. 
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Why Not a Jewish State?
by Fr. Drew Christiansen and Ra’fat Aldajani
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/why-not-jewish-state
The Israeli government has tried to frame the law that would designate Israel as a Jewish state as an attempt to resolve tensions between Israel's democratic and Jewish aspects. It seems far more likely not only to heighten those tensions, but also to further reduce prospects for greater Israeli security or peace in the region. 

Time to Challenge No-Fault Divorce
by Thomas Farr and Hilary Towers
First Things
http://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2014/12/time-to-challenge-no-fault-divorce-1
In a letter to the Holy Father and the recent Extraordinary Synod on the Family, almost fifty international scholars and religious leaders joined us in urging the Church to consider the effects of no-fault divorce, along with other barriers to faithful, lifelong marriage. 

Role of Religion in Fighting Global Poverty
BYU Radio
http://www.byuradio.org/episode/85cb1f0d-5f25-453a-9e65-5ba49cd5610a/thinking-aloud-role-of-religion-in-fighting-global-poverty
http://www.byuradio.org/episode/b8079794-5fe0-4a4d-8cde-ca78269528ba?playhead=1403&autoplay=true
Two excerpts of an interview with Katherine Marshall. 

AROUND THE WORLD
How ISIS Drives Muslims From Islam
by Thomas Friedman
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/opinion/sunday/thomas-l-friedman-how-isis-drives-muslims-from-islam.html?_r=0
What’s less visible than the growth of ISIS is the online backlash against the Islamic State by young Muslims declaring their opposition to rule by Islamic law, or Shariah, and even proudly avowing their atheism. 

A Sikh Principal, Too English for a Largely Muslim School
by Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/08/world/british-principal-who-resigned-believes-he-was-seen-as-a-threat.html?ref=world
In January, Balwant Bains stepped down as the principal of the Saltley School and Specialist Science College, saying he could no longer do the job in the face of relentless criticism from the Muslim-dominated school board. It had pressed him, unsuccessfully, to replace some courses with Islamic and Arabic studies, segregate girls and boys and drop a citizenship class on tolerance and democracy in Britain. 

Pope Decries ‘Material Slavery’ as Holidays Start
Associated Press
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/pope-decries-material-slavery-as-holidays-start/2014/12/08/9b26241e-7ef1-11e4-b936-f3afab0155a7_story.html
Pope Francis is praying that humanity be free of any “slavery” to material things as he visited Rome’s swank shopping area near the Spanish Steps. 

Mecca: The Greatest Paradox of the Islamic World
by Justin Marozzi
Spectator
http://www.spectator.co.uk/books/books-feature/9387692/mecca-from-shrine-to-shopping-mall/
A review of Ziauddin Sardar’s Mecca: The Sacred City argues that Islam’s most sacred city has been desecrated irrevocably by the Saudis. 

DOMESTIC
In Troubled Times, Does 'The Black Church' Still Matter?
by Michel Martin
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2014/12/07/368539135/in-troubled-times-does-the-black-church-still-matter
An interview with Reverend Raphael Warnock and Eddie Glaude, Jr., two prominent African-American religious thinkers, about the role of black churches in the wake of major protests and demonstrations inspired by events in Ferguson and New York City. 

Why a Conservative, White Evangelical Leader Keeps Talking About Racial Reconciliation and Justice
by Abby Ohlheiser
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/12/05/why-a-conservative-white-evangelical-leader-keeps-talking-about-racial-reconciliation-and-justice/
Russell Moore, a white evangelical leader in the Southern Baptist Convention is making the SBC—a socially conservative faith group founded in 1845 by pro-slavery Southern whites—an effective but unlikely voice on issues of racial reconciliation, even as the denomination remains very traditional on other social issues. 

God’s Work?
by William Saletan
Slate
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2014/12/creationism_poll_how_many_americans_believe_the_bible_is_literal_inerrant.html
The results of a new survey about evolution and creationism show far more nuance, variation, and doubt than is commonly supposed. Most Americans do believe God created us. But the harder you press about historical claims in the Bible, the less confident people are. The percentage who stand by young-Earth creationism dwindles all the way from other, less nuanced surveys’ 40 percent to 15 percent. 

Church on Sunday: Because Spiritual Education Takes More Than Good Intentions
by Christine Organ
New York Times Motherlode blog
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/church-on-sunday-because-spiritual-education-takes-more-than-good-intentions/
A mother’s effort to raise children that are spiritual, if not necessarily religious, through organized religion. 

‘Mama, Let Me Do Your Scarf So You Can Look Muslim’
by Stephanie Meade
New York Times Motherlode blog
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/mama-let-me-do-your-scarf-so-you-can-look-muslim/
Reflections on an interfaith family and a 6-year-old’s understanding of Islam.
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