By John Breslin, Special to Religica It is impossible to view a major gathering on international religious freedom this week in Washington in isolation from other moves and steps by the Trump administration that reveal more clearly its philosophical, and political intent. The Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom met this week, and was attended by […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica In a seminal handbook detailing how best to accommodate children with special needs within religious communities, the authors issued a strong statement of their belief. “That All May Worship,” jointly authored by Ann Davie and Ginny Thornburg and published by the National Organization on Disability more than two decades […]
Humanitarian worker on trial for leaving food, water for migrants, placed near the bones of the dead
By John Breslin, Special to Religica In federal court in Tucson, Arizona, Scott Warren delivered public testimony on his reasoning for being there. He wants to prevent people dying. Warren, 36, was on trial for abandoning property and driving a vehicle in a wilderness area. The property was jugs of water and food left near […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Christians are the most persecuted among the religious in the world, according to a hard hitting new report commissioned by the British government. The interim report, which claims that some Christians have suffered genocide under the UN definition of the word, was published on the heels of an annual […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Battle is now joined, at the grassroots level and in the courts, over the future of two large tracts of land spread across southern Utah. Five First Nation tribes of the south west – the Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, Mountain Ute, and Uintah and Ouray Ute – combined to support […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica In Alabama last month, triple murderer Domineque Ray was put to death. A convert to Islam, Ray’s execution followed a last minute appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that included a request to allow his Iman to be by his side as he died. The Supreme Court, by a […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Health officials and educators in Tennessee have expressed concern over an increase in parents applying for a religious exemption to their children being vaccinated. In South Carolina, more than 11,000 students in 2018 had a religious exemption to vaccination, 18 percent higher than the previous year, and triple eight […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Interfaith relations, particularly with the Islamic world, will be front and center this week, with the historic first visit of Pope Francis to the gulf region, one that coincides with the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week. During his three day visit to the United Arab Emirates, which begins […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Climate change and its link to social justice issues are likely to be increasingly to the fore of the thinking of religious leaders in the United States and across the globe this year, multiple reports indicate. But the influence of religious leaders on people’s thinking on climate change appears […]
By John Breslin, Special to Religica Legislators in states across the country have introduced bills largely based on models authored and distributed by an evangelical Christian-backed activist grouping, raising concerns among opponents that it is a drive to push positions exclusive of other religious. Last year, Project Blitz-backed “In God We Trust” bills were introduced […]