Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: Religious divisions in India, human rights violations in Palestine, and the Mormon Church adjusts its position on LGBT rights.
AROUND THE WORLD
A Hint of Civilisations Clashing
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/01/greece-religion-and-geopolitics
The newly elected Greek government has downgraded its relationship with the church and rekindled its ties with Russia, but although the Greek-Russian alliance may be linked to Orthodox Christianity cultural ties, history does not show any basis for religious determinism.
King Salman’s Shady History
by David Andrew Weinberg
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/27/king-salmans-shady-history-saudi-arabia-jihadi-ties/
President Obama wants to work with the leader of the House of Saud. But the new king of Saudi Arabia has troubling ties to radical Islamists.
Unholy Silence
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21640747-middle-east-free-expression-rarity-blasphemy-laws-are-favoured-tools
Freedom of expression is particularly curtailed in the Middle East where it concerns politics, sexual matters, or Islam, the region's main religion. Even secular or less devout leaders refuse to grant religious freedom, in part to keep hardline clergy and their followers happy, and in part to extend their totalitarian rule into their subjects' private lives.
Israeli Group Says Military Attacks on Palestinian Homes Appeared to Violate Law
by Isabel Kershner
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/israeli-group-says-military-attacks-on-palestinian-homes-appeared-to-violate-law.html?ref=todayspaper
An Israeli human rights group said Israel’s attacks on residential buildings in Gaza during the 50-day war against Hamas last summer appeared in at least some instances to violate the provisions of international law and raised grave legal concerns in others, according to a report to be published on Wednesday.
Obama Warns India on Religious Divisions
by Colleen McCain Nelson
Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-warns-india-on-religious-divisions-1422341730
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged India to do more to combat climate change, promote gender equality and overcome religious divisions, saying that progress in these areas would be key to the country’s success.
Staving off Nigeria’s Next Train Wreck
by Princeton N. Lyman
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/27/staving-off-nigerias-next-train-wreck-elections/
What outsiders often fail to grasp is that this grim situation is merely the symptom of a deeper malaise: a breakdown of the informal consensus on power sharing between the Muslim north and the Christian south that had guided Nigerian politics for decades. This makes the upcoming contest for the presidency especially fraught, as the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the southeast, seeks reelection after six years in power.
Pope Francis vs. Free Speech?
by Patrick Callahan
Real Clear Religion
http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2015/01/28/pope_francis_vs_free_speech_106950.html
Following his famous off-the-cuff remarks after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Pope Francis has taken much criticism for what seemed to be an endorsement of limitations on freedom of expression. But a closer reading of the most authoritative statements of relevant Catholic doctrine reveals that Francis adhered to the mainstream of Catholic social teaching. In fact, the teaching of the Church offers little direct support for any of the civil liberties—other than freedom of religion—and much of the support it provides is contingent and therefore tepid.
DOMESTIC
Boston Bombing Jury Excludes Some Catholics
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/25/boston-bombing-jury-selection-excludes-observant-catholics/22121061/
Potential jurors in bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial must be able to impose the death penalty or a life sentence with no possibility of release. That standard eliminates Catholics who heed the catechism of the Catholic Church, which says a death sentence is not to be used when "non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor."
Mormon Church Seeks Middle Ground on LGBT Protections and Religious Freedom
by Michelle Boorstein and Abby Ohlheiser
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mormon-church-seeks-middle-ground-on-lgbt-protections-and-religious-freedom/2015/01/27/25850d12-a663-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html
Mormon leaders sought Tuesday to put their conservative church on middle ground in a major culture-war issue—saying for the first time that they support some legal anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, as long as the religious freedom of those who oppose gay equality is taken into account.
A Hint of Civilisations Clashing
Economist
http://www.economist.com/blogs/erasmus/2015/01/greece-religion-and-geopolitics
The newly elected Greek government has downgraded its relationship with the church and rekindled its ties with Russia, but although the Greek-Russian alliance may be linked to Orthodox Christianity cultural ties, history does not show any basis for religious determinism.
King Salman’s Shady History
by David Andrew Weinberg
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/27/king-salmans-shady-history-saudi-arabia-jihadi-ties/
President Obama wants to work with the leader of the House of Saud. But the new king of Saudi Arabia has troubling ties to radical Islamists.
Unholy Silence
Economist
http://www.economist.com/news/international/21640747-middle-east-free-expression-rarity-blasphemy-laws-are-favoured-tools
Freedom of expression is particularly curtailed in the Middle East where it concerns politics, sexual matters, or Islam, the region's main religion. Even secular or less devout leaders refuse to grant religious freedom, in part to keep hardline clergy and their followers happy, and in part to extend their totalitarian rule into their subjects' private lives.
Israeli Group Says Military Attacks on Palestinian Homes Appeared to Violate Law
by Isabel Kershner
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/israeli-group-says-military-attacks-on-palestinian-homes-appeared-to-violate-law.html?ref=todayspaper
An Israeli human rights group said Israel’s attacks on residential buildings in Gaza during the 50-day war against Hamas last summer appeared in at least some instances to violate the provisions of international law and raised grave legal concerns in others, according to a report to be published on Wednesday.
Obama Warns India on Religious Divisions
by Colleen McCain Nelson
Wall Street Journal
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-warns-india-on-religious-divisions-1422341730
U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday challenged India to do more to combat climate change, promote gender equality and overcome religious divisions, saying that progress in these areas would be key to the country’s success.
Staving off Nigeria’s Next Train Wreck
by Princeton N. Lyman
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/27/staving-off-nigerias-next-train-wreck-elections/
What outsiders often fail to grasp is that this grim situation is merely the symptom of a deeper malaise: a breakdown of the informal consensus on power sharing between the Muslim north and the Christian south that had guided Nigerian politics for decades. This makes the upcoming contest for the presidency especially fraught, as the incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from the southeast, seeks reelection after six years in power.
Pope Francis vs. Free Speech?
by Patrick Callahan
Real Clear Religion
http://www.realclearreligion.org/articles/2015/01/28/pope_francis_vs_free_speech_106950.html
Following his famous off-the-cuff remarks after the Charlie Hebdo massacre, Pope Francis has taken much criticism for what seemed to be an endorsement of limitations on freedom of expression. But a closer reading of the most authoritative statements of relevant Catholic doctrine reveals that Francis adhered to the mainstream of Catholic social teaching. In fact, the teaching of the Church offers little direct support for any of the civil liberties—other than freedom of religion—and much of the support it provides is contingent and therefore tepid.
DOMESTIC
Boston Bombing Jury Excludes Some Catholics
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/25/boston-bombing-jury-selection-excludes-observant-catholics/22121061/
Potential jurors in bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial must be able to impose the death penalty or a life sentence with no possibility of release. That standard eliminates Catholics who heed the catechism of the Catholic Church, which says a death sentence is not to be used when "non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor."
Mormon Church Seeks Middle Ground on LGBT Protections and Religious Freedom
by Michelle Boorstein and Abby Ohlheiser
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/mormon-church-seeks-middle-ground-on-lgbt-protections-and-religious-freedom/2015/01/27/25850d12-a663-11e4-a7c2-03d37af98440_story.html
Mormon leaders sought Tuesday to put their conservative church on middle ground in a major culture-war issue—saying for the first time that they support some legal anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, as long as the religious freedom of those who oppose gay equality is taken into account.
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