Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and
around the globe: repression in Malaysia, Turkey's Yemen dilemma, and Christians debate on servicing same-sex weddings.
AROUND THE WORLD
Of Prepositions and Conjunctions
by Russell McCutcheon
Studying Religion in Culture Blog, University of Alabama
http://religion.ua.edu/blog/2015/03/of-prepositions-and-conjunctions/
Is it "religion and culture" or "religion in culture"?
Repression in Malaysia
Economist
http://econ.st/1CkPX9q
By encouraging the Islamists, the government is fanning racial and religious divisions in a majority-Malay (and Muslim) country with large ethnic-Chinese and ethnic-Indian minorities.
The Irregulars
by Hassan Abbas, Nadia Gerspacher
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/30/the-irregulars-vigilantes-police-security-iraq-afghanistan/
Arming vigilantes in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to work alongside struggling police forces isn’t a solution—it’s a time bomb.
Faith in the Party
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/04/religion-and-politics
British employment judges have been pondering whether political ideology is a "protected belief,” enjoying the same sort of rights as spiritual belief, for the purposes of equality laws which ban discrimination, harassment, biased hiring or unfair dismissal.
Turkey’s Yemen Dilemma
by Aaron Stein
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/143651/aaron-stein/turkeys-yemen-dilemma
Speculation that Ankara is ready to more openly enter the region’s sectarian strife fails to capture either the schisms that continue to characterize the Saudi-Turkish relationship or the pragmatism that lies at its core.
DOMESTIC
Aboard Flights, Conflicts over Seat Assignments and Religion
by Michael Paulson
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/aboard-flights-conflicts-over-seat-assignments-and-religion.html
Some passengers say they have found the seat-change requests simply surprising or confusing. But in many cases, the issue has exposed and amplified tensions between different strains of Judaism.
Christians Debate Sinfulness of Servicing Same-Sex Weddings
by Tom Gjelten
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/07/398123418/christians-debate-sinfulness-of-servicing-same-sex-weddings
Christian conservatives who say that servicing a same-sex wedding violates their religious beliefs cite New Testament verses that suggest it is sinful not only to engage in homosexual behavior, but also to "approve" of it. Moderate theologians say such a literalist reading takes the lessons of the Bible out of context.
Of Prepositions and Conjunctions
by Russell McCutcheon
Studying Religion in Culture Blog, University of Alabama
http://religion.ua.edu/blog/2015/03/of-prepositions-and-conjunctions/
Is it "religion and culture" or "religion in culture"?
Repression in Malaysia
Economist
http://econ.st/1CkPX9q
By encouraging the Islamists, the government is fanning racial and religious divisions in a majority-Malay (and Muslim) country with large ethnic-Chinese and ethnic-Indian minorities.
The Irregulars
by Hassan Abbas, Nadia Gerspacher
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/03/30/the-irregulars-vigilantes-police-security-iraq-afghanistan/
Arming vigilantes in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to work alongside struggling police forces isn’t a solution—it’s a time bomb.
Faith in the Party
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/04/religion-and-politics
British employment judges have been pondering whether political ideology is a "protected belief,” enjoying the same sort of rights as spiritual belief, for the purposes of equality laws which ban discrimination, harassment, biased hiring or unfair dismissal.
Turkey’s Yemen Dilemma
by Aaron Stein
Foreign Affairs
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/143651/aaron-stein/turkeys-yemen-dilemma
Speculation that Ankara is ready to more openly enter the region’s sectarian strife fails to capture either the schisms that continue to characterize the Saudi-Turkish relationship or the pragmatism that lies at its core.
DOMESTIC
Aboard Flights, Conflicts over Seat Assignments and Religion
by Michael Paulson
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/aboard-flights-conflicts-over-seat-assignments-and-religion.html
Some passengers say they have found the seat-change requests simply surprising or confusing. But in many cases, the issue has exposed and amplified tensions between different strains of Judaism.
Christians Debate Sinfulness of Servicing Same-Sex Weddings
by Tom Gjelten
NPR
http://www.npr.org/2015/04/07/398123418/christians-debate-sinfulness-of-servicing-same-sex-weddings
Christian conservatives who say that servicing a same-sex wedding violates their religious beliefs cite New Testament verses that suggest it is sinful not only to engage in homosexual behavior, but also to "approve" of it. Moderate theologians say such a literalist reading takes the lessons of the Bible out of context.
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