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Tue, 20 Aug 2019
Edinburgh education chief criticises claims of plot against Catholic Church ahead of voting rights debate
Edinburgh City Council's education committee convener has hit back at misinformation and claims of a "secret plot" against the Catholic Church. His comments come as the council prepares to decide whether to strip religious representatives of their voting rights on the committee.
Edinburgh Evening News
‘Let’s replace religious assembly in schools with a “thought for the day”’
Compulsory Christian worship is divisive and excludes many children, says Laura McInerney. Why not teach them all to think about religions and philosophies instead?
The Guardian
‘Don’t shoot the messenger, your eminence’
This editorial says the gross evil of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy would have gone unexposed had it not been for three principal agencies, all secular.
The Tablet (£)
Number of victims of FGM in the Lancaster and Morecambe district on the rise
More victims of female genital mutilation in Morecambe Bay were seen for the first time by health services last year, figures show.
Lancashire Post
‘Why was a GCSE student disqualified for criticising halal meat?’
Brendan O'Neill says we have to distinguish between genuine anti-Muslim bigotry and perfectly legitimate questioning or ridicule of Islam.
The Spectator
MMR vaccine: one in seven five-year-olds in England may not be immunised
One in seven five-year-olds may not be up to date with their MMR immunisation, Public Health England has warned, rising to one in four in London.
The Guardian
El Salvador rape victim acquitted over stillbirth murder charge
A young rape victim who was suspected of having an abortion and charged with homicide after having a stillborn child has been acquitted by a judge at a retrial in El Salvador.
The Guardian
Belgium tests EU rules on halal and kosher slaughter
From 1 September the French-speaking region of Wallonia will be the second Belgian authority to prohibit killing animals without prior stunning.
Politico
‘India is committing human rights abuses in Kashmir - Boris Johnson has a duty to act’
Khalid Mahmood MP says proposals to sell land which has been held for generations by Kashmiri Muslim farmers, in order to settle Hindu nationalists loyal to the current Indian government, is ethnic cleansing.
Politics Home
Questions over Germany’s church taxes as Catholic Church reports growing income
The German Catholic Church's income has risen as questions are being asked over the country's compulsory church tax.
The Tablet (£)
Mon, 19 Aug 2019
RS A-level student numbers fall again
The number of students sitting A-levels in religious studies in the UK has dropped again.
Church Times
Revealed: The 'blasphemous' scenes from Life of Brian that even the Pythons were too afraid to show
Monty Python's Life of Brian, which was released 40 years ago, would have offended even more people if the original version of the script had been filmed.
The Mail on Sunday
GCSE student disqualified after criticising halal meat in RS exam
A vegetarian GCSE pupil was disqualified after criticising halal meat in a Religious Studies exam, it has today emerged.
Mirror
Conservative councillors in Edinburgh to vote against removing voting rights from religious reps
Conservatives on Edinburgh City Council are set to vote against a motion to remove voting rights for church representatives on education committees.
Scottish Catholic Observer
‘Brace yourself for more lies about Prevent’
David Toube says a spectacular level of disinformation has been disseminated about the government's counter-terrorism programme.
The Jewish Chronicle
Christian Legal Centre stands up for man who refused to drive bus with rainbow logo on it
Earlier this month a bus driver in Norwich was suspended for refusing to drive a bus that 'promotes homosexuality' by having its service number displayed in rainbow colours. Now the chief executive of the Christian Legal Centre has defended him.
The Freethinker (Patheos)
US: Two sentenced to prison for foiled terrorist plot on Muslims
Two men were sentenced to between four and 12 years in prison on Friday after threatening to bomb a Muslim community area in the United States.
DW
US man arrested for threatening to shoot up a Jewish community centre
An avowed anti-semite who attended a deadly white nationalist rally has been arrested for making threats toward a Jewish community centre in Ohio.
DailyMail.com
Mum sues doctor after 'baby’s penis severed by intern in circumcision’
A doctor is being sued by a mother who claims her newborn baby's penis was severed by an intern in a circumcision.
Mirror
Leader of Poland’s ruling party condemns gay pride marches as election nears
Poland must resist the "travelling theatre" of gay pride marches, the leader of its conservative ruling party has said, as the staunchly Roman Catholic country gears up for a parliamentary election on 13 October.
Reuters
Google loophole allows anti-abortion clinics to post deceptive ads
A Google policy designed to rein in deceptive advertising by 'crisis pregnancy centres' has a loophole which allows the centres to keep posting misleading ads in the US, UK and Ireland.
The Guardian
‘The archbishop and the BBC’
The English Catholic Church continues to be unrepentant in its scathing criticism of the messengers who exposed sexual abuse in the archdiocese of Birmingham in a BBC documentary 15 years ago. Now one of the original journalists has made public their side of the story behind the scenes.
The Tablet (£)
Fri, 16 Aug 2019
Religious influence in Scottish schools 'waning' - NSS quoted
Nearly a third of councils are considering stripping church leaders of their right to vote on education boards.
The Times (£)
'Should all faith schools be banned?'
Author and a former parish priest GP Taylor says religion has no place in running a modern school.
The Telegraph (£)
Cricket club alleges discrimination over Muslim festival
A cricket club claims it has been discriminated against for not playing a match during a religious festival.
BBC News
'Hong Kong crisis reflects religious freedom struggle in mainland China'
A Christian organisation is calling on China to grant freedom of religion to Christians in the mainland who are experiencing increasing persecution.
Christian Today
Israel bans two US Muslim congresswomen after Trump tweet
Israel barred two American Muslim congresswomen from a planned visit yesterday within an hour of President Trump tweeting that "it would show great weakness" to let them in.
The Times (£)
'Three books on abuse and safeguarding in the Church'
Robin Gill reviews new titles that address the C of E's abuse scandal. NSS vice president Richard Scorer is quoted.
Church Times
'Peterloo 200 years on'
On August 16, 1819, a cavalry made up of volunteer troops rode past the church and into St Peter's Field, where up to 60,000 peaceful working people had met to demand representation in Parliament and the right to vote.
Manchester Evening News
Thu, 15 Aug 2019
Public Health England stops telling people to seek faith leaders’ advice over vaccines – NSS quoted
Health officials have backtracked over guidance encouraging parents to seek advice from "faith or community leaders" before deciding whether to vaccinate their children after the NSS questioned it.
The Times (£)
Gay marriage cake: customer takes case to European court
Lawyers representing a man from Northern Ireland who sued a bakery for refusing to make a cake with pro-gay marriage message are going to Europe to challenge a supreme court ruling that its evangelical Christian owners had a right to refuse to bake it.
The Guardian
Fewer people getting married in Scotland, with small proportion choosing religious ceremonies
The number of people getting married in Scotland continued to fall last year, new figures show. Almost half of marriages were civil ceremonies and nearly a quarter were humanist ceremonies.
The Scotsman
‘The doctors and parents arguing for FGM in the US’
Suman Naishadham says some in the US are arguing that some forms of FGM should be acceptable, and drawing on the perceived acceptability of male circumcision to back them up.
Vice
Trump rule to protect contractors who discriminate against LGBT workers
The Trump administration has opened the door to permitting government contractors to discriminate against LGBT employees with a proposed rule that frames the issue as protecting companies' religious beliefs.
Politico
Indian court acquits six of killing Muslim dairy farmer in cow vigilante case
An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted six men of the killing of a 55-year-old Muslim dairy farmer, citing lack of evidence, raising questions over the prosecution's failure to make its case despite videos of a crowd beating him in the street.
Reuters
Town fights link to abortion ban city
A twinning ceremony between a city in Alabama where abortion has been almost completely banned and an Aberdeenshire town has collapsed amid tensions over right-wing and white supremacist politics.
The Times (£)
Wed, 14 Aug 2019
Church of England's handling of John Smyth abuse allegations to be probed
An independent inquiry is being launched into the Church of England's handling of allegations against a barrister who led Christian camps and allegedly violently beat boys.
BBC
Children in Scotland miss out on chosen schools due to rules on religion
Hundreds of children have been turned away from their chosen schools due to strict rules on residence and religion. Some have been turned away from Catholic schools because children from Catholic families are given first preference.
The Times (£)
University of St Andrews criticised over religious grant – NSS quoted
The University of St Andrews has accepted a £2.3m grant from a US religious organisation to teach 'science-engaged theology'. The NSS has warned that accepting money from groups who promote a pro-religious agenda could undermine universities' credibility.
The Times (£)
C of E general synod member links change in marriage rules to potential disestablishment
Changes to the way marriages are registered could lead to a devaluing of the Church of England's relationship with the state, according to a member of its general synod.
Premier Christian Radio
US Republican lawmaker aided group training young men for 'biblical warfare'
US Republican politician Matt Shea connected close allies with a group offering training to young men in "biblical warfare" that includes how to use knives, pistols and rifles, with lessons based in part on the teachings of a Georgia-based neo-Confederate pastor.
The Guardian
Catholic Church digs in as Victoria forces disclosure of abuse revealed in confession
The Catholic Church is set to defy new laws that would punish priests with jail time if they refuse to report sexual abuse revealed during confession in the Australian state of Victoria.
Brisbane Times
‘How an abortion in the US south can push one over the financial edge’
Khushbu Shah says in a poor, rural corner of Louisiana, getting an abortion is not only logistically and emotionally difficult, but a battle against poverty.
The Guardian
Liberal Democrat peer calls protester in Tommy Robinson shirt a ‘Nazi’ over mosque row
A Liberal Democrat peer described a protester as "a Nazi" during a council meeting, leading demonstrators angry over a local mosque to disrupt the session.
The Independent
Far-right anti-gay Israel party likens LGBT activists and reform Jews to Nazis and suicide bombers
A new campaign video by the Noam party, which went viral on Tuesday evening among Hebrew-speaking social media users, compares Reform Jews, left-wing activists and gay rights advocates to Nazis and Palestinian suicide bombers, saying all of them "want to destroy us".
The Times of Israel
'Whenever you have sex, it’s on your mind': comedian speaks out on show about circumcision
Circumcision left comedian Tom Rosenthal with sexual anxiety – and a tell-all show at the Edinburgh festival.
The Guardian
'Several lives lost': note reveals early details of Peterloo massacre
Almost 200 years on from the Peterloo massacre in which peaceful protesters were cut down by sabre-wielding cavalry, a hastily scribbled note has been unearthed to reveal what could be the first account of the bloodshed.
The Guardian
Tue, 13 Aug 2019
New Ukip leader criticised for comments on Islam and Muslims
The newly-elected leader of Ukip has been criticised after footage emerged of him arguing it should be illegal to publicly distribute the Qur'an in the UK and that some British towns are no-go areas for non-Muslims.
The Guardian
Norway mosque attack suspect appears in court
The man suspected of shooting at people inside a Norwegian mosque on Saturday, and of killing his stepsister, has appeared in court with black eyes and wounds on his face and neck.
The Guardian
Female genital mutilation: Wigan victim numbers on the rise
A growing number of female genital mutilation victims in Wigan in Greater Manchester have been seen by doctors, shock new figures reveal.
Wigan Today
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