Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: President Obama speaks at Georgetown on poverty, Rohingya refugees, and Christianity in America.
GEORGETOWN IN THE NEWS
Obama: Defeating Poverty Takes Money and ‘Transformative Power’ of Faith Groups
by Cathy Lynn Grossman
RNS
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/05/12/obama-defeating-poverty-takes-money-transformative-power-fait...
Obama joined two policy voices from the left and right in a rare moment of participating in a panel discussion, part of a three-day symposium at Georgetown University on combating poverty. The audience of 700 included 120 Catholic and evangelical leaders. Obama said he sees “the lucky and the successful” withdrawing from the shared spaces of American society, including schools and parks and other “common goods.” Meanwhile, the free market has “turbocharged” the divisions.
related | In Frank Language, Obama Addresses Poverty's Roots
by Michelle Boorstein and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-frank-language-obama-addresses-povertys-roots/2015/05/12/5acf...
Obama Urges Liberals and Conservatives to Unite on Poverty
by Michael Shear
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/us/obama-race-poverty-georgetown-university.html?ref=todayspaper
AROUND THE WORLD
The Antidote to Mideast Violence
by David Ignatius
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-islamic-state-antidote/2015/05/12/68ae72ce-f8dc-11e4-a13c-...
How should the U.S.-led coalition combat the Islamic State — without further glorifying its cause in the minds of young recruits? I can offer some provocative ideas from recent conversations with leading counterterrorism strategists.
The Rohingya Refugees, Adrift
New York Times editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/opinion/the-rohingya-refugees-adrift.html?ref=international&_r=0
Given the magnitude of the crisis, Southeast Asian leaders must find a way out of this impasse. Meanwhile, the governments of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have a moral responsibility to take emergency action to avert catastrophic loss of life and to offer protection to victims of human trafficking.
DOMESTIC
Christianity Faces Sharp Decline as Americans are Becoming Even Less Affiliated with Religion
by Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/05/12/christianity-faces-sharp-decline-as-a...
The percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years to about 71 percent, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
related | American Religion: Complicated, Not Dead
by Emma Green
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/american-religion-complicated-not-dead/392891/
Jeb Bush’s Eloquent Defense of Christianity
by Kathleen Parker
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/religious-entanglements/2015/05/12/0169ec30-f8e4-11e4-a13c-19...
These issues, I’ll admit, can seem arcane and are tiresome at times. But I’m convinced, as Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr agreed during a debate last year on these two cases, that the state should always go to extra lengths to protect religious liberty whenever possible.
Obama: Defeating Poverty Takes Money and ‘Transformative Power’ of Faith Groups
by Cathy Lynn Grossman
RNS
http://www.religionnews.com/2015/05/12/obama-defeating-poverty-takes-money-transformative-power-fait...
Obama joined two policy voices from the left and right in a rare moment of participating in a panel discussion, part of a three-day symposium at Georgetown University on combating poverty. The audience of 700 included 120 Catholic and evangelical leaders. Obama said he sees “the lucky and the successful” withdrawing from the shared spaces of American society, including schools and parks and other “common goods.” Meanwhile, the free market has “turbocharged” the divisions.
related | In Frank Language, Obama Addresses Poverty's Roots
by Michelle Boorstein and Juliet Eilperin
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-frank-language-obama-addresses-povertys-roots/2015/05/12/5acf...
Obama Urges Liberals and Conservatives to Unite on Poverty
by Michael Shear
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/us/obama-race-poverty-georgetown-university.html?ref=todayspaper
AROUND THE WORLD
The Antidote to Mideast Violence
by David Ignatius
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/an-islamic-state-antidote/2015/05/12/68ae72ce-f8dc-11e4-a13c-...
How should the U.S.-led coalition combat the Islamic State — without further glorifying its cause in the minds of young recruits? I can offer some provocative ideas from recent conversations with leading counterterrorism strategists.
The Rohingya Refugees, Adrift
New York Times editorial
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/opinion/the-rohingya-refugees-adrift.html?ref=international&_r=0
Given the magnitude of the crisis, Southeast Asian leaders must find a way out of this impasse. Meanwhile, the governments of Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia have a moral responsibility to take emergency action to avert catastrophic loss of life and to offer protection to victims of human trafficking.
DOMESTIC
Christianity Faces Sharp Decline as Americans are Becoming Even Less Affiliated with Religion
by Sarah Pulliam Bailey
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2015/05/12/christianity-faces-sharp-decline-as-a...
The percentage of adults who describe themselves as Christians dropped by nearly eight percentage points in just seven years to about 71 percent, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
related | American Religion: Complicated, Not Dead
by Emma Green
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/american-religion-complicated-not-dead/392891/
Jeb Bush’s Eloquent Defense of Christianity
by Kathleen Parker
Washington Post op-ed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/religious-entanglements/2015/05/12/0169ec30-f8e4-11e4-a13c-19...
These issues, I’ll admit, can seem arcane and are tiresome at times. But I’m convinced, as Alan Dershowitz and Ken Starr agreed during a debate last year on these two cases, that the state should always go to extra lengths to protect religious liberty whenever possible.
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