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Religious Tension Mounts In Vietnam

September 30, 2009

Author: Nguyen Giang

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/nol/ukfs_news/hi/newsid_8270000/newsid_8278300/8278336.stm

Four years ago the Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk who popularised Buddhism in the West, was invited by the Vietnamese government to return home after 39 years in exile.

The move was seen as a sign that the authorities were becoming more tolerant of religion, a very sensitive issue in the...

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Supreme Court to Weigh Fate Of Mojave Cross

September 29, 2009

Author: Adelle Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/supreme_court_to_consider_fate_of_mojave_cross/

Does an offended observer who drives by a cross-shaped war memorial in the middle of the desert have a right to call for its removal?

And can that 7-foot cross stand without violating the constitution’s prohibition of government establishment of...

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One In 5 Americans May Be Secular By 2030

September 25, 2009

Author: Angela Abbamonte

Source: Religion News Service/Pew Forum Religion News

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=18769

The number of American adults who do not identify with a particular religion is growing and may comprise more than 20 percent of the population in two decades, according to a new study.

Conducted by researchers at Trinity College, the study, entitled "American Nones: The Profile of the No Religion Population,"...

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Catholic University In Philippines Holds Inter-Faith Week

September 24, 2009

Author: Maurice Malanes

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3388

A northern Philippines Roman Catholic university has again set aside a week to teach all of its students about other faiths. 

Religion studies professor Reynaldo Dumpayan said the project aims to provide, "building blocks for world peace and understanding". 

"Many hostilities and conflicts in our...

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China 'House' Church Razed, Christians Brace for 60th Anniversary

September 23, 2009

Author: Francis Wong

Source: Ecumenical News International

http://www.eni.ch/featured/article.php?id=3384

A religious freedom advocacy group has called on the international community to put pressure on China to respect the rule of law after the destruction of an unofficial Protestant church in the country's Shanxi province. 

Hundreds of people in uniforms and civilians clothes raided the church in Fushan County in...

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Groups Push to End Hiring Bias Legalized for Religious Charities

September 18, 2009

Author: Carrie Johnson

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/17/AR2009091702530.html?wprss=rss_politics/fedpage

Nearly 60 groups concerned with civil rights, labor, health and education urged Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Thursday to renounce a Bush-era memo allowing religious charities that receive federal grant money to...

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Board Decides to Keep Christmas In Textbooks

September 18, 2009

Author: Gary Scharrer

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/6624521.html

Christmas will stay in Texas textbooks, State Board of Education members said Thursday while reviewing early recommendations for new social studies standards.

The board will not approve the new curriculum standards for public schools until next year, but wanted to assure constituents they will not accept a...

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Imam Urges Muslims to Sign Organ Donor Cards

September 17, 2009

Author: Stuart Laidlaw

Source: The Toronto Star

http://www.thestar.com/living/religion/article/696581

With Ramadan ending in the coming days, Imam Habeeb Alli is making a special point of what he calls the greatest act of charity a Muslim can make during this holy month – signing an organ donor card.

"We cannot ignore this duty to donate our organs," says Alli, secretary of the Canadian Council of Imams.

Throughout the year,...

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Pakistan Rights Groups Seek Answers On Christian’s Death

September 16, 2009

Author: Waqar Gillani and Sabrina Tavernise

Source: The New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/world/asia/17pstan.html

A Christian man detained on blasphemy charges was found dead in his jail cell on Tuesday in eastern Pakistan. Human rights groups here said he appeared to have been killed, perhaps in collusion with the authorities.

The death of the Christian, Robert Fanish, 20, is part of a rising trend of violence against...

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Cuba OKs Organized Religious Services In Prisons

September 16, 2009

Author: Andrea Rodriguez

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jOxdvyM77ucRjd7ZjWLtgEjN8j3gD9AO1HLO0

Cuba will allow inmates to attend Roman Catholic Mass and Protestant services inside prisons, a top religious leader said Tuesday, in a significant easing of the communist government's policy toward organized religion.

...

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Bewitched, Without Incident

September 13, 2009

Author: Mandy Stoltzfus

Source: Lancaster Online

http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/242200

Witches and pagans who traveled to Adamstown on Saturday for a festival "Celebrating Earth Spirituality" were greeted by a steady rain and praying Christians in a silent protest.

The gathering held at Stoudtburg Village and hosted by Reading Pagans & Witches proved to far less controversial than the debate that brewed in the days...

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