Today's religion and world affairs news from the
United States and around the globe: tensions rise in Britain's Muslim community during Ramadan, investigators probe fires at six southern churches, and evangelical churches face a new reality.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
The Controversial Sovereignty Over the City of Jerusalem
by Drew Christiansen
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/controversial-sovereignty-over-city-jerusalem
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court made a milestone decision concerning the sovereignty of Jerusalem. In a 6-3 ruling, justices ruled that Congress had overstepped its bounds by requiring the State Department to list Israel as a birth country in U.S. passports for Jerusalem-born Americans--thereby refusing to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory.
AROUND THE WORLD
‘He’s Jesus Christ’
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-hes-jesus-christ.html?ref=opinion
Driven by his Catholic faith, Dr. Tom Catena left behind a comfortable home in New York to serve as the only doctor in southern Sudan's 435-bed Mother of Mercy Hospital. In fact, he’s the only doctor permanently based in the country's Nuba Mountains, which is home to a population of more than half a million people. (...) I’ve often criticized the Vatican’s hostility to condoms, even as a tool to fight AIDS, and we shouldn’t tolerate religious bigotry against gays (which the latest Supreme Court ruling may chip away at). But we also shouldn’t tolerate another kind of narrow-mindedness, irreligious bigotry against people of faith. Diversity is a virtue, in faith as well as race.
Ramadan Ding-dong
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21656232-foreign-conflicts-stoke-sectarian-squabbles-among-british-muslims-ramadan-ding-dong
While they may pale in comparison to the bloody sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, tensions between Britain's Muslim population, which consists of 400,000-odd Shias and 2.3 million Sunnis, are on the rise.
The Pope's Ecological Vow
by Paul Vallely
International New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/opinion/the-popes-ecological-vow.html
While Pope Francis' encyclical focused on the dangers of climate change, the issues he truly aimed to address might lay far beyond the guise of global warming. The document reveals his great concern for the rich world’s indifference to the environment as it pursues short-term economic gain, along with the mindset that the world is a resource to be manipulated for our benefit.
Ramadan Is Not a Time for Bloodshed
by Caner K. Dagli
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/06/ramadan-islam-isis/397097/
For most Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan marks a time of renewal, an opportunity to turn inward in spiritual reflection, upward to God in worship, and outward to others in acts of charity. Rather than respect this holy time, ISIS has actually increased the violence and killings in its supposedly holy conquest.
Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims?
by James Traub
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/26/narendra-modi-india-safe-for-muslims-hindu-nationalism-bjp-rss/
With Hindu nationalism on the rise in India--which is home to the world's second largest Islamic population--Muslim communities are beginning to fear for their own safety and religious freedom.
DOMESTIC
Episcopal Church Elects Michael Curry, Its First Black Presiding Bishop
by Brady McCombs and Rachel Zoll
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/27/episcopal-church-michael-curry-black_n_7679264.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
The Episcopal Church elected its first African-American presiding bishop, choosing Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina during the denomination's national assembly Saturday. (…) Curry's election is the second consecutive historic choice for the New York-based church of nearly 1.9 million members. He will succeed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was the first female presiding bishop and the first woman to lead an Anglican national church.
Investigators Probe Fires At 6 Black Churches In 5 Southern States
by Will Huntsberry
NPR Religion
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/29/418490411/arsonists-hit-6-black-churches-in-5-southern-states
Glover Grove Baptist Church, which is nestled in a quiet wooded area in South Carolina, burned to the ground on Friday--making it one of six church burnings in the south since the shooting at Emanuel AME Church.
Couples Personalizing Role of Religion in Wedding Ceremonies
by Samuel G. Freedman
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/couples-personalizing-role-of-religion-in-wedding-ceremonies.html
The recent boom in online ordination of wedding officiants, as evidenced by organizations such as Universal Life Church, speaks to the deeper transitions currently taking place in American views of marriage and organized religion.
With Same-Sex Decision, Evangelical Churches Address New Reality
by Michael Paulson
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/us/with-same-sex-decision-evangelical-churches-address-new-reality.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
The dramatic shift in public opinion, and now in the nation’s laws, has left evangelical Protestants, who make up about a quarter of the American population, in an uncomfortable position. Out of step with the broader society, and often derided as discriminatory or hateful, many are feeling under siege as they try to live out their understanding of biblical teachings, and worry that a changing legal landscape on gay rights will inevitably lead to constraints on religious freedom.
The Controversial Sovereignty Over the City of Jerusalem
by Drew Christiansen
National Catholic Reporter
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/controversial-sovereignty-over-city-jerusalem
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court made a milestone decision concerning the sovereignty of Jerusalem. In a 6-3 ruling, justices ruled that Congress had overstepped its bounds by requiring the State Department to list Israel as a birth country in U.S. passports for Jerusalem-born Americans--thereby refusing to recognize Jerusalem as Israeli territory.
AROUND THE WORLD
‘He’s Jesus Christ’
by Nicholas Kristof
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/28/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-hes-jesus-christ.html?ref=opinion
Driven by his Catholic faith, Dr. Tom Catena left behind a comfortable home in New York to serve as the only doctor in southern Sudan's 435-bed Mother of Mercy Hospital. In fact, he’s the only doctor permanently based in the country's Nuba Mountains, which is home to a population of more than half a million people. (...) I’ve often criticized the Vatican’s hostility to condoms, even as a tool to fight AIDS, and we shouldn’t tolerate religious bigotry against gays (which the latest Supreme Court ruling may chip away at). But we also shouldn’t tolerate another kind of narrow-mindedness, irreligious bigotry against people of faith. Diversity is a virtue, in faith as well as race.
Ramadan Ding-dong
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21656232-foreign-conflicts-stoke-sectarian-squabbles-among-british-muslims-ramadan-ding-dong
While they may pale in comparison to the bloody sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, tensions between Britain's Muslim population, which consists of 400,000-odd Shias and 2.3 million Sunnis, are on the rise.
The Pope's Ecological Vow
by Paul Vallely
International New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/opinion/the-popes-ecological-vow.html
While Pope Francis' encyclical focused on the dangers of climate change, the issues he truly aimed to address might lay far beyond the guise of global warming. The document reveals his great concern for the rich world’s indifference to the environment as it pursues short-term economic gain, along with the mindset that the world is a resource to be manipulated for our benefit.
Ramadan Is Not a Time for Bloodshed
by Caner K. Dagli
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/06/ramadan-islam-isis/397097/
For most Muslims, the holy month of Ramadan marks a time of renewal, an opportunity to turn inward in spiritual reflection, upward to God in worship, and outward to others in acts of charity. Rather than respect this holy time, ISIS has actually increased the violence and killings in its supposedly holy conquest.
Is Modi’s India Safe for Muslims?
by James Traub
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/06/26/narendra-modi-india-safe-for-muslims-hindu-nationalism-bjp-rss/
With Hindu nationalism on the rise in India--which is home to the world's second largest Islamic population--Muslim communities are beginning to fear for their own safety and religious freedom.
DOMESTIC
Episcopal Church Elects Michael Curry, Its First Black Presiding Bishop
by Brady McCombs and Rachel Zoll
Huffington Post Religion
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/27/episcopal-church-michael-curry-black_n_7679264.html?utm_hp_ref=religion
The Episcopal Church elected its first African-American presiding bishop, choosing Bishop Michael Curry of North Carolina during the denomination's national assembly Saturday. (…) Curry's election is the second consecutive historic choice for the New York-based church of nearly 1.9 million members. He will succeed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was the first female presiding bishop and the first woman to lead an Anglican national church.
Investigators Probe Fires At 6 Black Churches In 5 Southern States
by Will Huntsberry
NPR Religion
http://www.npr.org/2015/06/29/418490411/arsonists-hit-6-black-churches-in-5-southern-states
Glover Grove Baptist Church, which is nestled in a quiet wooded area in South Carolina, burned to the ground on Friday--making it one of six church burnings in the south since the shooting at Emanuel AME Church.
Couples Personalizing Role of Religion in Wedding Ceremonies
by Samuel G. Freedman
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/us/couples-personalizing-role-of-religion-in-wedding-ceremonies.html
The recent boom in online ordination of wedding officiants, as evidenced by organizations such as Universal Life Church, speaks to the deeper transitions currently taking place in American views of marriage and organized religion.
With Same-Sex Decision, Evangelical Churches Address New Reality
by Michael Paulson
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/29/us/with-same-sex-decision-evangelical-churches-address-new-reality.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=second-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0
The dramatic shift in public opinion, and now in the nation’s laws, has left evangelical Protestants, who make up about a quarter of the American population, in an uncomfortable position. Out of step with the broader society, and often derided as discriminatory or hateful, many are feeling under siege as they try to live out their understanding of biblical teachings, and worry that a changing legal landscape on gay rights will inevitably lead to constraints on religious freedom.
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