Today's religion and world affairs news from the United States and around the globe: leaders pressure Congress for a national strategy on religious persecution, a Mormon volunteer group fights human trafficking, and the Supreme Court faces a new wave of religious cases.
BERKLEY CENTER IN THE NEWS
Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?
by Eliza Griswold
New York Times Magazine
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/magazine/is-this-the-end-of-christianity-in-the-middle-east.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1
‘To see these communities, primarily Christians, but also the Yazidis and others, persecuted in such large numbers is deeply alarming’’ said Ambassador Saperstein. It has been nearly impossible for two U.S. presidents — Bush, a conservative evangelical; and Obama, a progressive liberal — to address the plight of Christians explicitly for fear of appearing to play into the crusader and ‘‘clash of civilizations’’ narratives the West is accused of embracing. (...) Condoleezza Rice now says that protecting religious freedom in Iraq was a priority both for her and for the Bush administration. But the targeted violence and mass Christian exodus remained unaddressed. ‘‘One of the blind spots of the Bush administration was the inability to grapple with this as a direct byproduct of the invasion,’’ says Timothy Shah, the associate director of Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project.
Baptist Leaders Join Call for National Strategy on Global Religious Persecution
by Ken Camp
Baptist News
https://baptistnews.com/culture/politics/item/30300-baptist-leaders-join-call-for-national-strategy-on-global-religious-persecution
More than 30 religious leaders, scholars and public policy analysts signed a letter July 14 to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging Congress to give greater authority to the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. (…) Others signing the letter include former Sen. Joe Lieberman; Douglas Johnston, president of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy; Leonard Leo, former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Robert Seiple, former ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom; (...) Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University; William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and the Catholic archbishops of Philadelphia and Washington.
Contesting the Caliphate
by Marc Lynch
Washington Post Monkey Cage blog
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/07/22/contesting-the-caliphate/
What can political science contribute to resolving questions such as “how Islamic is the Islamic State” or “how legitimate is Baghdadi’s claim to the Caliphate”? Such questions should be placed within a much broader set of theoretical arguments about the role of ideas, identity and culture in politics. (...) Lynch explores a recent series of essays by POMEPS, including work by Jocelyne Cesari and Dan Philpott, and identifies nine lines of arguments about the nature of ISIS.
AROUND THE WORLD
Few Around the Globe Live Where All Religions Are Free and Equal
by Tobin Grant
Religion News Service op-ed
http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/?p=1902
Only one-in-five people around the world lives in a country that treats all religions equally. Tobin Grant, a professor of Political Science at Southern Illinois University, offers a breakdown of the various stances that nations take concerning religion.
The New Abolitionists
by Thomas Stackpole
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/22/the-new-abolitionists-mexico-dominican-republic-human-trafficking-mormon-our/
Operation Underground Railroad, a small Mormon-led volunteer group, has joined in the fight against one of the world's fastest growing criminal enterprises: human trafficking. Heavily influenced by their Mormon faith, the groups aims not only to free victims of human trafficking but to ensure that they go on to lead better lives afterward.
Detoxing The Buddhist Way: Nuns Preserve Art Of Korean Temple Food
by Ari Shapiro
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/23/425386811/detoxing-the-buddhist-way-nuns-preserve-art-of-korean-temple-food
At the Jingkwansa temple in the mountains outside of Seoul, one popular diet has been around for roughly 1,600 years. The Buddhist monastery, which is run entirely by women, preserves the ancient art of Korean temple cuisine--and attracts individuals from all over the world who are curious about this archaic lifestyle.
DOMESTIC
‘Walk With Francis Pledge’ Urges Washingtonians to Do a Good Deed Ahead of Papal Trip
by Sara Weissman
Washington Post/RNS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/walk-with-francis-pledge-urges-washingtonians-to-do-a-good-deed-ahead-of-papal-trip/2015/07/22/763a1176-30b0-11e5-a879-213078d03dd3_story.html
The “Walk with Francis Pledge,” launched Wednesday by the Washington archdiocese and Catholic Charities, aims to get 100,000 people to take on a good deed in preparation for the pope’s visit. Participants are encouraged to make pledges on the campaign website and social media and to take photos, and the pledges will be compiled in a book to present to the pope during his visit to Washington, DC.
A Religion Case Too Far for the Supreme Court?
by Linda Greenhouse
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/opinion/linda-greenhouse-religion-case-too-far-for-the-supreme-court.html
Following last year's Hobby Lobby decision, a new wave of cases has arrived at the Supreme Court, as various religious nonprofit organizations object to the Affordable Care Act's regulations governing employee health plans and mandates on birth control. Though Chief Roberts' court has been one of the most religion-friendly Supreme Courts in modern history, the justices nonetheless have several difficult decisions to make in the upcoming months as the new set of cases comes rolling in.
Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?
by Eliza Griswold
New York Times Magazine
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/magazine/is-this-the-end-of-christianity-in-the-middle-east.html?smid=fb-nytimes&smtyp=cur&_r=1
‘To see these communities, primarily Christians, but also the Yazidis and others, persecuted in such large numbers is deeply alarming’’ said Ambassador Saperstein. It has been nearly impossible for two U.S. presidents — Bush, a conservative evangelical; and Obama, a progressive liberal — to address the plight of Christians explicitly for fear of appearing to play into the crusader and ‘‘clash of civilizations’’ narratives the West is accused of embracing. (...) Condoleezza Rice now says that protecting religious freedom in Iraq was a priority both for her and for the Bush administration. But the targeted violence and mass Christian exodus remained unaddressed. ‘‘One of the blind spots of the Bush administration was the inability to grapple with this as a direct byproduct of the invasion,’’ says Timothy Shah, the associate director of Georgetown University’s Religious Freedom Project.
Baptist Leaders Join Call for National Strategy on Global Religious Persecution
by Ken Camp
Baptist News
https://baptistnews.com/culture/politics/item/30300-baptist-leaders-join-call-for-national-strategy-on-global-religious-persecution
More than 30 religious leaders, scholars and public policy analysts signed a letter July 14 to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi urging Congress to give greater authority to the ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. (…) Others signing the letter include former Sen. Joe Lieberman; Douglas Johnston, president of the International Center for Religion & Diplomacy; Leonard Leo, former chair of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom; Robert Seiple, former ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom; (...) Thomas Farr, director of the Religious Freedom Project at Georgetown University; William Galston, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution; and the Catholic archbishops of Philadelphia and Washington.
Contesting the Caliphate
by Marc Lynch
Washington Post Monkey Cage blog
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/07/22/contesting-the-caliphate/
What can political science contribute to resolving questions such as “how Islamic is the Islamic State” or “how legitimate is Baghdadi’s claim to the Caliphate”? Such questions should be placed within a much broader set of theoretical arguments about the role of ideas, identity and culture in politics. (...) Lynch explores a recent series of essays by POMEPS, including work by Jocelyne Cesari and Dan Philpott, and identifies nine lines of arguments about the nature of ISIS.
AROUND THE WORLD
Few Around the Globe Live Where All Religions Are Free and Equal
by Tobin Grant
Religion News Service op-ed
http://tobingrant.religionnews.com/?p=1902
Only one-in-five people around the world lives in a country that treats all religions equally. Tobin Grant, a professor of Political Science at Southern Illinois University, offers a breakdown of the various stances that nations take concerning religion.
The New Abolitionists
by Thomas Stackpole
Foreign Policy
http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/22/the-new-abolitionists-mexico-dominican-republic-human-trafficking-mormon-our/
Operation Underground Railroad, a small Mormon-led volunteer group, has joined in the fight against one of the world's fastest growing criminal enterprises: human trafficking. Heavily influenced by their Mormon faith, the groups aims not only to free victims of human trafficking but to ensure that they go on to lead better lives afterward.
Detoxing The Buddhist Way: Nuns Preserve Art Of Korean Temple Food
by Ari Shapiro
NPR
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/07/23/425386811/detoxing-the-buddhist-way-nuns-preserve-art-of-korean-temple-food
At the Jingkwansa temple in the mountains outside of Seoul, one popular diet has been around for roughly 1,600 years. The Buddhist monastery, which is run entirely by women, preserves the ancient art of Korean temple cuisine--and attracts individuals from all over the world who are curious about this archaic lifestyle.
DOMESTIC
‘Walk With Francis Pledge’ Urges Washingtonians to Do a Good Deed Ahead of Papal Trip
by Sara Weissman
Washington Post/RNS
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/walk-with-francis-pledge-urges-washingtonians-to-do-a-good-deed-ahead-of-papal-trip/2015/07/22/763a1176-30b0-11e5-a879-213078d03dd3_story.html
The “Walk with Francis Pledge,” launched Wednesday by the Washington archdiocese and Catholic Charities, aims to get 100,000 people to take on a good deed in preparation for the pope’s visit. Participants are encouraged to make pledges on the campaign website and social media and to take photos, and the pledges will be compiled in a book to present to the pope during his visit to Washington, DC.
A Religion Case Too Far for the Supreme Court?
by Linda Greenhouse
New York Times op-ed
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/23/opinion/linda-greenhouse-religion-case-too-far-for-the-supreme-court.html
Following last year's Hobby Lobby decision, a new wave of cases has arrived at the Supreme Court, as various religious nonprofit organizations object to the Affordable Care Act's regulations governing employee health plans and mandates on birth control. Though Chief Roberts' court has been one of the most religion-friendly Supreme Courts in modern history, the justices nonetheless have several difficult decisions to make in the upcoming months as the new set of cases comes rolling in.
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