Today's religion and world affairs from the United States and across the globe: Ukraine elects a Jewish prime minister, President Obama reflects on his role in the Arab-Israeli conflict, fear abounds in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and political conservatives divide over interpretations of religious freedom.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Genocide Designation Is a Call to Solidarity between Domestic and International Church
by Ken Blackwell and Thomas Farr
Daily Caller op-ed
http://dailycaller.com/2016/04/13/genocide-designation-is-a-call-to-solidarity-between-domestic-and-...
To this end, the Family Research Council and partnering organizations Open Doors, The Voice of the Martyrs, Institute of Religion and Democracy, In Defense of Christians, Christian Solidarity Worldwide-USA, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, and International Christian Concern are calling on churches across America to observe April 17, 2016 as Stand with the Persecuted Sunday.
AROUND THE WORLD
Saudi Arabia Moves to Curb Its Feared Religious Police
by Sewell Chan
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1SGqgaC
Saudi Arabia announced steps this week to rein in its religious police, which is responsible for ensuring morality, piety and adherence with Islamic law but has become the target of mounting criticism in recent years.
Ending Sectarianism in Syria
by Brian Dooley
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/syria/2016-04-13/ending-sectarianism-syria
Syrian sectarianism is often presented as insoluble, derived from age-old divisions, and impossible to control or contain. But new research suggests that it may not be as intractable as it seems.
Why Iraqis Living Under the Islamic State Fear Their Liberators
by Munqith al-Dagher and Karl Kaltenthaler
Washington Post Monkey Cage
http://wpo.st/dQVU1
Iraqi polling firm IIACSS conducted a series of national and sub-national polls of Iraqis using scientific sampling techniques in all areas of Iraq, including areas controlled by the Islamic State, since June 2014. The results of more recent polls, carried out in the last few months, show that Sunni and Shiite Iraqis view the security situation in their country through very different lenses. These lenses are colored by sectarian identity.
Even Conservatives Can Differ on Religious Freedom
Economist Erasmus blog
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2016/04/america-europe-and-religion
Earlier this week, there was a joint appearance in Washington, DC by Robert George, current chairman of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedoms and Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi for Britain. As a practicing Catholic and Orthodox Jew, respectively, both are theologically conservative within their faiths but define religious freedom differently.
Why This Family’s Conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism Matters
by Max Bearak
Washington Post WorldViews
http://wpo.st/iSVU1
"Because we have the misfortune of calling ourselves Hindus, we are treated thus," he said. "If we were members of another faith none would treat us so. Choose any religion which gives you equality of status and treatment. We shall repair our mistake now. I had the misfortune of being born with the stigma of an Untouchable. However, it is not my fault; but I will not die a Hindu, for this is in my power."
How Pope Francis Became A Foreign Policy Player
by Sylvia Poggioli
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/04/14/474130428/how-pope-francis-became-a-foreign-policy-...
When he became pope, there was some concern that Francis lacked experience with the wider world. He had traveled little outside of his native Argentina. No one expected him to become a global player. But Francis is also the first Jesuit pope. Over the centuries his religious order often waged its own diplomacy, acquiring extensive knowledge of other cultures. The training shows.
The Obama Parameters
by Ami Ayalon, Gilead Sher, and Orni Petruschka
Foreign Affairs
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/israel/2016-04-13/obama-parameters
“This is not something I was able to get done,” U.S. President Barack Obama said of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. “I am not that hopeful that it’s going to happen in the next nine months,” he continued, after which he reiterated his belief that “a two-state solution is the best way.”
Ukrainians Elect Country's First Jewish Prime Minister
by Robert Siegel
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2016/04/14/474265612/ukrainians-elect-countrys-first-jewish-prime-minister
Ukrainians elected Volodymyr B. Groysman as the country's new prime minister Thursday. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Yale historian Timothy Snyder about Eastern Europe's violent history.
DOMESTIC
Muslim Students Report Burglaries and Hate Literature at Idaho State
by Stephanie Saul
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/23zM3My
Federal officials and the local police are investigating burglaries and hate literature that appear to be directed at Muslim students attending Idaho State University in Pocatello, where tensions have recently risen over an influx of students from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
The Democratic Debate: A Surprising Exchange on Israel
by John Cassidy
New Yorker
http://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/the-democratic-debate-a-surprising-exchange-on-israel
Sanders broke political taboo and re-affirmed his belief that Israel's military strikes on Gaza in 2014 were "disproportionate and led to the unnecessary loss of innocent life."
As Bernie Sanders Heads to Vatican, a Visit With Pope Francis Seems in Doubt
by Jason Horowitz
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/265clFd
“There won’t be a meeting with the Holy Father,” a Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said. The pope, who is leaving for Greece on Friday some time after Mr. Sanders’s arrival, would not be meeting with any participants of the conference, Father Lombardi said.
The Book of Bernie: What Is Sanders' Religion?
by Daniel Burke
CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/14/politics/bernie-sanders-religion/index.html
"I am not actively involved in organized religion," Bernie Sanders has told reporters. But at a CNN town hall in New Hampshire in February, Sanders seemed to contradict himself.
Bible As Official State Book? Tennessee's Governor Vetoes Bill
by Bill Chappell
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/15/474344921/bill-making-the-bible-an-official-state-...
Explaining his veto in a letter to state Speaker of the House Beth Harwell, Gov. Bill Haslam writes that in addition to the legal issues about the bill, "this bill trivializes the Bible, which I believe is a sacred text."
Meet the Radical Anti-Islam Conspiracy Theorists Advising Ted Cruz
by Arnold Isaacs
Washington Post PostEverything
http://wpo.st/LPVU1
They believe "Islam is evil" and that sharia may soon conquer America.
The Impoliteness of Talking About Religion
by Emma Green
Atlantic
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/04/the-impoliteness-of-talking-about-religion/47783...
Why are Americans are often reluctant to discuss faith outside of their families?
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