Showing posts with label religious freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religious freedom. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Edmund Burke’s Counsel on Religious Liberty and Freedom

From The Imaginative Conservative-

Edmund Burke, the eighteenth-century British statesman, has long been a popular figure for political conservatives to cite. But his views on religion get relatively little attention. This is a shame, because Burke has a lot to offer those concerned about matters of religion, morality, and politics in contemporary American life. He is a figure who may make some orthodox Catholics uncomfortable because, despite placing great emphasis on the importance of religion, he sometimes seems unconcerned about precisely which religion one follows. His writing on religion is centered on its role in politics, society, and morality, not on theology or questions of salvation. But his perspective is both sophisticated and pious, and speaks to the need for a deep sense of reverence—and of how to maintain it.

Burke’s own religious background is actually a matter of some controversy. He was an Irishman; his mother and sister were Catholic. Burke, his father, and his brothers were officially Anglican, but this was probably a reflection of the political realities of the time. Due to the severe challenges presented by the oppression of Irish Catholics, it was common in families for the women to be openly Catholic while the men were secretly Catholic but nominally Anglican.


More here-

http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2018/02/edmund-burkes-counsel-religious-liberty-freedom-william-f-byrne.html

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Some pastors praise Trump order, others worry over integrity

From Minnesota-

All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif., felt the Johnson Amendment’s effects firsthand. The IRS investigated the liberal Episcopal congregation over an anti-war sermon by a former rector days before the 2004 presidential election. That pastor did not endorse a candidate but suggested Jesus would condemn the Iraq War and then-President George W. Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive war.

The church was not penalized, but it racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees over three years.

The current rector, the Rev. Mike Kinman, said the church supports the rule and that the clergy’s task “is to interpret our faith for the common good,” not to entangle faith in partisan politics. He called Trump’s order “supremely unhelpful” and said it could open the door to people who want to buy endorsements or route money to political campaigns.


More here-

http://www.salina.com/sections/religion/some-pastors-praise-trump-order-others-worry-over-integrity/article_7eb0d8f0-e6d1-5a44-bd8b-ffb8c1283b49.html

Friday, December 23, 2016

With Obama's Signature, U.S. Religious Freedom Law Protects Atheists

From NBC-

When President Barack Obama signed an update to U.S. law protecting religious freedom late last week, one provision drew special attention: U.S. law now recognizes non-believers as, in essence, a religious group.

Obama's signing of amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act on Friday wasn't widely noticed — except among the community of atheists, agnostics and others who categorize themselves as "humanists."

For the first time, the law — which was originally passed in 1998 — specifies that "the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is understood to protect theistic and non-theistic beliefs and the right not to profess or practice any religion."

Among other things, the main amendments to the law promoting religious liberty around the world:


More here-

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/obama-s-signature-u-s-religious-freedom-law-protects-atheists-n699356

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Pastor offers 'gentle rebuke' for Baptist editor who wrote religious liberty is not for Muslims

From Christian Examiner-

A Southern Baptist pastor and seminary trustee is asking the editor of America's oldest religious newspaper to retract an editorial in which he claimed Muslims are not deserving of the same religious liberty afforded to others under the U.S. Constitution.

Gerald Harris, editor of Georgia's Christian Index, wrote in his editorial June 6 of the various Islamist movements in Iran, Palestine and Iraq, and claimed Islam "may be more of a geo-political movement than a religion."

"So, do Southern Baptists entities need to come to the defense of a geo-political movement that has basically set itself against Western Civilization? Even if Islam is a religion must we commit ourselves to fight for the religious freedom of a movement that aggressively militates against other religions?"


More here-

http://www.christianexaminer.com/article/pastor-offers-gentle-rebuke-for-baptist-editor-who-wrote-religious-liberty-is-not-for-muslims/50780.htm

Monday, January 12, 2015

In China, a church-state showdown of biblical proportions

From Christian Science Monitor-

There’s nothing secret about Chongyi Church, one of the largest in China. Its lighted steeple and giant cross penetrate the night sky of Hangzhou, the capital of coastal Zhejiang Province. Nearly everything at the church is conspicuously open: the front gate, the front door, the sanctuary, the people, the clergy. Chinese or not, you are welcome seven days a week. No layers of security guards or police exist. Walk right in. Join up. People are nice; they give you water, chat. Do you have spiritual needs? Visit their offices, 9 to 5.

For China, it is a stunning feeling. Most of the society exists behind closed doors and is tough, driven, material, hierarchical. The country values wealth, power, and secrecy – not to mention that both government and schools officially, at least, promote atheism.


More here-

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-Pacific/2015/0111/In-China-a-church-state-showdown-of-biblical-proportions

Friday, June 27, 2014

Meriam Ibrahim freed again but future still unsure

From The Church Times-

ON SUNDAY, Meriam Ibrahim was in jail in Khartoum, in Sudan, facing the death penalty for apostasy.

On Monday, she was free, after the Sudan court of appeal overturned her original sentence.

On Tuesday, however, she was detained at Khartoum airport by up to 40 agents from the Sudanese security service, as she tried to leave the country with her husband, Daniel Wani, and two children, for the United States, where Mr Wani has citizenship.

But, by Thursday, she had been freed again, and was safely ensconced in the US embassy in Khartoum.


More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2014/27-june/news/world/meriam-ibrahim-freed-again-but-future-still-unsure

Friday, February 1, 2013

Chinese ‘Losing Their Fear’

From The Living Church-

The paradox of fear and hope that is China today includes flouting the rule of law, corruption, gross violations of individual rights, wrongful imprisonment, harassment of those who criticize the Communist Party, and real optimism that change is coming with new leadership, according to Chinese lawyer and human rights advocate Chen Guangcheng.

Chen drew a standing ovation when he gave a keynote talk, “In Search of China’s Soul,” through an interpreter at a Washington National Cathedral Jan. 30. “This is a moment we will always remember,” said Atlantic Monthly correspondent James Fallows, who moderated the evening program.

Chen became a high-profile human rights figure on the world stage when he spoke out against forced abortions and sterilizations in China in 2005, even filing a class-action lawsuit against authorities in Shandong protesting China’s one-child policy. Placed under house arrest and jailed for more than four years, Chen escaped to Beijing in April 2012, where he and his family came under the protection of the U.S. embassy. Today he is at New York University School of Law working on a memoir scheduled for publication late this year.


More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/chinese-losing-their-fear

Friday, January 18, 2013

It was unfair to ban worker’s cross, says European Court

From The Church Times, England-

CHRISTIANS have a fundamental right to manifest their belief in the workplace, the European Court of Human Rights has ruled, in a landmark judgment in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Also, national courts must ensure that a "fair balance" is struck when asked to adjudicate claims involving competing rights.

The European Court has rejected the British Government's contention that no discrimination existed if employees had the right to resign and seek alternative employment ( News, 7 September 2012).

Instead, it states: "Given the importance in a democratic society of freedom of religion, the Court considers that, where an individual complains of a restriction on freedom of religion in the workplace, rather than holding that the possibility of changing job would negate any interference with the right, the better approach would be to weigh that possibility in the overall balance when considering whether or not the restriction was proportionate."

The Court also rules that people alleging an infringement of their right to manifest their belief are not required to show that the particular act - such as wearing a cross - is the "fulfilment of a duty mandated by the religion in question. . .


More here-

http://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2013/18-january/news/uk/it-was-unfair-to-ban-worker’s-cross,-says-european-court