Author: Staff Writer

Source: AFP

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jaagAk_W4--fhhzdOqLwq22CuDwg

Almost 20 years after the fall of communism, Bulgaria wants to reverse widespread ignorance about religion fostered under the old regime by making religious studies compulsory in schools.

The government's proposal, however, has churned up some stormy opposition to this long-time taboo.

Georgy Bakalov, who heads a team...

Author: Ruth Gledhill

Source: The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3412734.ece

Freedom from religion in Britain is becoming as important as freedom of religion, according to a United Nations investigation.

A 23-page report by Asma Jahangir, the UN special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, says that the 2001 census findings that nearly 72 per cent of the population is Christian can no...

Author: Ruth Gledhill

Source: The Times

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3412722.ece

A diocese of the Church of England is giving an unprecedented £250,000 towards a multifaith building in which the largest amount of worship space will be reserved for Muslims.

The Guildford diocese is one of the wealthiest in the UK. The Bishop of Guildford, the Right Rev Christopher Hill, gave the £250,000 cheque...

Author: Jim DeBrosse

Source: Dayton Daily News

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Jerusalem Post/THE MEDIA LINE NEWS AGENCY

Author: FOSTER KLUG

Source: AP

A senior Chinese official is trying to calm U.S. misgivings ahead of Beijing's coming Olympic Games about what the Bush administration sees as religious intolerance.

In Washington, the director of China's religious affairs bureau met with U.S. officials and spoke at Georgetown University.

Ye Xiaowen told reporters Wednesday, after talks with Undersecretary of State Paula Dobriansky, that China's peaceful development depends upon its respect for human rights and...

Author: Anshel Pfeffer

Source: Haaretz

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/955554.html

Russia's Jewish community is concerned about a possible government decision to allow the Pravoslav Orthodox Church to teach the principles of Christianity in all government schools. Now local Jewish leaders are trying to enlist Muslim community leaders in a fight against the decision.

Officially, Russia maintains a separation of church and state, but under...

Author: Edward Colimore

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/home_region/20080219_A_bridge_between_faiths.html

When Zia Rahman celebrated the opening of the first mosque in Voorhees less than two years ago, he and fellow congregation members found they had built more than a house of worship.

They had built bridges to other faiths.

Author: Tracy McNicoll

Source: Newsweek

http://www.newsweek.com/id/109547

Being an Honorary Canon of The Basilica of Saint John of Lateran is an honor enjoyed by French leaders since Henri IV. Most don't care much (Presidents François Mitterrand and Georges Pompidou skipped the trip to Rome altogether). Not so current President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has been gaining a reputation as France's chief sermonizer. Last December, as he received his title, he made a long...

Author: KIT WAGAR

Source: The Kansas City Star

http://www.kansascity.com/news/politics/story/495344.html

The Missouri House gave preliminary approval Monday to a proposed constitutional amendment that would emphasize the right to pray in any public setting, including public schools.

The action came after more than an hour of debate over whether such an amendment would make any difference and whether the names of individual deities...

Author: Kestur Vasuki

Source: Thaindian News

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/india-news/world-religious-leaders-pray-for-global-peace_10018352.html

Hundreds of religious leaders from across the globe have congregated at the Art of Living Centre here for a two day conference on Vedanta and Buddhism at the outskirts of Bangalore.

The religious leaders from India, Taiwan, China,...

Author: David G. Savage

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-na-nichol17feb17,1,224433.story

The College of William...

Author: Danielle Demetriou

Source: The Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/17/wjapan117.xml

As with any Westerner working in Japan, it helps to be smart and presentable and to have a grasp of the local language.

But for Kevin Charles, a suave and friendly American living in Tokyo, being "just the man for the job" has involved exactly that. The 32-year-old's regular job is as a...

Author: Tiffany Hsu

Source: Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/features/religion/la-me-beliefs16feb16,1,3855378.story

The way Jacquie Sullivan sees it, the motto "In God We Trust" is more about patriotism than religion.

So when the Bakersfield councilwoman, 68, heard on a Christian radio station in 2001 that protesters on the East Coast were trying to remove the phrase from public buildings, she considered it...

Author: Francis Njuguna

Source: Independent Catholic News

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/kifi325.html

An interfaith peace initiative group was launched in Nairobi's Holy Family Minor Basilica yesterday, with the aim of contributing to peace making efforts led by the former UN general secretary, Kofi Annan.