Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7998797.stm

Police in Nigeria say they have made 120 arrests following clashes when Muslim youths allegedly attacked a Christian procession on Easter Monday.

Sectarian violence erupted in the towns of Gwada and Minna in the state of Niger when Christians were attacked and churches set on fire.

Scores of people were reportedly taken to hospital with injuries.
...

Author: Chris Morris

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7996827.stm

Hundreds of people have gathered in the darkness in the town of Raikia.

Candlelight flickers across their faces as they sit quietly on the floor. They chant and pray as a priest leads them in worship.

For Christians, Easter is a time of hope. But in Kandhamal, deep in the interior in the eastern Indian state of Orissa, hope is in short supply....

Author: Christopher Landau

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7994618.stm

As prime minister, he famously "didn't do God" but, having left office, Tony Blair is travelling the world to launch his new Faith Foundation. The BBC has had exclusive access to the foundation's early work.

On a cold winter's day in New Haven, Connecticut, Tony Blair is preparing for a new challenge – teaching.

His new inter-faith...

Author: Martin E. Marty

Source: Sightings

http://divinity.uchicago.edu/martycenter/publications/sightings/archive_2009/0413.shtml

America got past the seasonal holidays and festivals relatively unscathed this month. Such an observation may sound surprising, because one would not expect holidays or festivals to scathe anyone. "Holiday," says definition one in the dictionary, is HOLY DAY. "Festival," says the same...

Author: Matthew Lee

Source: The Associated Press

http://www.idahostatesman.com/nationalpolitics/story/730911.html

A planned trip to Cuba this week by a U.S. religious freedom watchdog group has been canceled after the Cuban government did not issue visas to the delegation, the group said Monday, even as the Obama administration moved to ease sanctions on the communist nation.

The U.S. Commission on International Religious...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Die Jüdische

Author: David O'Reilly

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/homepage/20090412_Faith-based_fresh_start.html

Barack Obama had been president barely two weeks when he revived one of George W. Bush's most controversial programs - a bold fusion of federal money and organized religion in service to America's downtrodden.

The "faith-based initiative" funded by Washington and carried out...

Author: Khaled Al-Hilaly

Source: Yemen Times

h ttp://y ementimes.com/article.shtml?i=1250&p=local&a=3

In a kind gesture of religious tolerance, the Muslim Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW) provided Yemeni Jews in Amran with clothes and gifts on the important Jewish celebration on Passover last Wednesday.

"During Muslim celebrations, the society donates clothes and food," said Mohammad Al-Qubati, the general manager of the CSSW. "Jews are part of Yemeni society and we are...

Author: Jacqueline L. Salmon

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/09/AR2009040904063.html?hpid=topnews

Faith organizations and individuals who view homosexuality as sinful and refuse to provide services to gay people are losing a growing number of legal battles that they say are costing them their religious freedom.

The lawsuits have resulted...

Author: Stuart Laidlaw

Source: The Star

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/616530

It's not just Christians who flock to houses of worship at Easter.

Muslims do it, too.

"In Canada, Easter has become the third Muslim holiday, after the two Eids," says Nadir Shirazi, a Toronto multi-faith co-ordinator at the University of Toronto.

Friday is the traditional big day for Muslims to attend afternoon prayers, but the North...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: The New York Times

Wire Service: Reuters

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/world/europe/11briefs-brfVATICAN.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

A campaign promoting atheism on London buses this year ultimately “served God’s cause” by reminding people of the importance of faith, especially to those who suffer, a papal preacher said Friday. The...

Author: Aamer Madhani

Source: USA TODAY

http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-04-09-insideiraqchristians_N.htm

Salma Younan remembers the day when an al-Qaeda fighter came to her home and demanded she renounce Christianity and convert to Islam.

She told him she would rather die than turn her back on her faith. "My blood is not as precious as my savior's," she recalls saying.

Security in her Baghdad...

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Stourbridge News

http://www.stourbridgenews.co.uk/news/4281054.Religious_leaders_get_together/

Religious leaders from across the country gathered at Russells Hall Hospital to have a look round its multi-faith prayer centre.

More than 35 members of the College of Health Care Chaplains from the Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities met in the prayer centre, to discuss...

Author: John Darling

Source: Mail Tribune

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090409/NEWS/904090321

Leaders of several faiths are gathering Saturday in Medford to protest the persecution of members of the Bahai Faith under the Iranian government and to show support for a resolution by U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., calling for the release of prisoners being held in Iraq for their faith.

The...

Author: Philip Lim

Source: AFP

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090409/lf_afp/lifestylesingaporereligionsociety;_ylt=AhGUXVdFE1fOFytnFoYXUD47Xs8F

Believers gather at the New Creation Church every Sunday for upbeat services conducted in ultra-modern surroundings that are helping make Christianity the religion of choice for Singaporeans.

The venue, a plush 1,200-seat auditorium equipped...