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Mon, 25 Nov 2019
British women ‘being forced into polygamous relationships’ because law lets them down, campaigners say
British women are increasingly being pressured into polygamous relationships or left without child support when relationships break up because UK law does not offer adequate protection to spouses in religious marriages, campaigners have warned.
The Independent
Man arrested after hurling antisemitic abuse at Jewish children on London Underground
A man has been arrested after antisemitic abuse was directed towards Jewish children on the London Underground.
Jewish News
‘We need to categorise FGM as child abuse so millions of girls will have a brighter future’
Nimco Ali says this International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women we need to make sure that life will be better for a new generation.
iNews
Brazil's Bolsonaro launches political party emphasising 'respect for God and religion'
Brazil's far-right President Jair Bolsonaro on Thursday launched a new political party called the Alliance for Brazil, which will put an emphasis on God, family and homeland, as he tries to win back evangelical voters.
France24
Fri, 22 Nov 2019
‘FGM survivors more visible in UK statistics and activism’
More than 22,000 FGM survivors have been identified by UK public health providers since 2015 – though newly-recorded cases are declining. Most cases involve women and girls born outside the UK.
openDemocracy
‘There is a serious problem with Wales's religious school system’
Will Hayward says the state shouldn't fund religious schools – and as long as it does, religious institutions shouldn't be able to select who has the right to benefit from taxpayers' money.
Wales Online
Elect the leaders who reflect your beliefs, Catholic voters told
Catholic bishops in Scotland are to tell their parishioners to elect the individuals who reflect their beliefs in the upcoming general election.
Christian Today
Hate crime rules challenged as man takes policing body to court
A landmark challenge to police guidance on "hate incidents" was heard by the High Court on Wednesday, after a man was placed under criminal investigation for comments he made on social media.
Premier Christian Radio
FGM trial in Ireland hearing evidence
Blood found on the carpet in the Dublin home of a couple accused of carrying out FGM on their daughter matched the DNA of the child, a court has been told.
TheJournal.ie
Outcry as conservative South Korean MPs seek to curtail LGBT rights
Campaigners have condemned an attempt, backed by South Korea's powerful Christian lobby, to remove protection for 'sexual orientation' from new legislation.
The Guardian
Asia Bibi lawyer vows to keep working in Pakistan despite risks
A lawyer who represented a Christian woman given a death sentence in Pakistan after being convicted of blasphemy says he aims to keep working despite risks to his life.
Premier Christian Radio
American Medical Association announces support for US ban on ‘conversion therapy’
The US physicians' group the American Medical Association has announced that it will begin supporting a ban on so-called conversion therapy.
Reuters
US sexual assault victims say they were pressured into unfair settlement by Catholic Church, says report
Two men are reportedly alleging in a New York court that Catholic officials pressured them to sign unfair settlements after they were sexually assaulted.
The Hill
Italy falls in love with civil marriage
The traditions of a church wedding with bells, choristers and relatives packed into pews are fading in Italy, where civil ceremonies have overtaken religious marriages for the first time.
The Times (£)
Thu, 21 Nov 2019
School agrees to provide alternative to Christian assembly after parents’ legal challenge
A couple who threatened to take a school to the High Court over its religious assemblies have won their fight for alternative activities for their children.
BBC
Plan to open new Roman Catholic school in Peterborough submitted to council – NSS mentioned
A submission has formally been made to open a new Roman Catholic school in Peterborough in Cambridgeshire. The NSS's No More Faith Schools campaign is opposing the plans.
Peterborough Telegraph
Northern Ireland Office will consult on religious protections over same-sex marriage after threat by Ashers campaigners
The Northern Ireland Office has promised to consult the public on religious protections in relation to same sex marriage in Northern Ireland.
News Letter
Non-Christian couple in legal challenge over Northern Ireland school religious teaching
A non-Christian couple are taking legal action over their five-year-old daughter receiving religious teaching at her school in Northern Ireland.
Belfast Telegraph
‘Dear Lord, should religious groups be targeting young minds like this?’ – NSS mentioned
Andrew Penman says a promotional video for the Operation Christmas Child scheme, run by the evangelical charity Samaritan's Purse, is creepy. He also highlights NSS research on the unpopularity of collective worship.
Mirror
Lib Dem manifesto includes some marriage reforms
The Liberal Democrats' election manifesto includes proposals to enable the Church of England and Church in Wales to conduct same-sex marriages and legal recognition of Humanist marriages. Elsewhere it would make all hate crimes aggravated offences.
Mirror
Diane Abbott criticised for calling ‘homophobic’ Charedi Jewish activist a ‘community leader’
The shadow home secretary has been criticised for meeting an anti-LGBT education activist who joined 'homophobic' protests outside a school in Birmingham.
Metro
‘Does religion have a privileged status in the UK?’ - NSS mentioned
Rahila Gupta says the conflation of anti-racism and respect for religious rights has hampered the fight to keep religion out of the public square.
CNN
Church of England says Christians must repent for past antisemitism
The Church of England has said Christians must repent for centuries of antisemitism which ultimately led to the Holocaust in a new document. But the document has been criticised by the chief rabbi, who says it does not mention the continued "specific targeting" of Jews for conversion to Christianity.
The Guardian
Student who said Muslims should be 'wiped off face of earth' facing jail
A student who posted a video on Facebook saying Muslims should be "wiped off the face of the earth" is facing being jailed.
Mirror
Hindu nationalists push to rename Taj Mahal city Agra as Agravan
Hardliners in India are pushing to rename the city of Agra, home to the Taj Mahal, on the grounds that it had an ancient Hindu name that predated its better-known Muslim heritage.
The Times (£)
Wed, 20 Nov 2019
NSS to hold public meeting on planned faith school in Peterborough
The NSS's No More Faith Schools campaign has organised a public meeting to rally opposition to a proposed Roman Catholic school in the Hampton Water area of Peterborough.
Peterborough Telegraph
‘Why I’m cynical about politicians “doing God”’
Hardeep Singh asks who is more annoying: politicians who think people from minority religious groups are all stupid or the smug 'community leaders' who host them.
The Spectator
Local advisory committee backs plans to end right to withdraw from RE in Wales
Proposals to remove the right of parents in Wales to withdraw their children from religious education lessons have been backed in principle by an advisory committee in Blaenau Gwent.
South Wales Argus
Islamists have killed 167,096 people since 1979 – most of them were Muslims
Between 1979 and 2019 167,096 people have been killed by Islamist attacks, according to a new study by a Paris-based think tank.
The Article
Right-to-die campaigners to appeal against court ruling
Right-to-die campaigners are planning to appeal after a father of two suffering from motor neurone disease was denied a full hearing of his application for help to end his life.
The Guardian
‘When wokeness goes wrong’
Brendan O'Neill asks why Plaid Cymru chose to feature a woman in a niqab in its election broadcast.
Spiked Online
Police launch hate crime investigation after arson attack on mosque site in Lincs
Police have released CCTV as part of an ongoing investigation into a hate crime arson attack in Skegness.
Lincolnshire Live
DUP urges action to fill abortion ‘vacuum’
The DUP has called for action to fill what it calls a "dangerous vacuum" in the law around abortion in Northern Ireland.
Gazette
‘Two new films explore the limits of Christian forgiveness’
The idea that some transgressions cannot be atoned for unites "Grâce à Dieu" and "The Two Popes".
The Economist
Abortion doesn’t increase a woman's risk of attempting suicide, finds major study
Having an abortion does not make women more likely to try to kill themselves, a study has found.
Mail Online
Justin Welby urges parties to make reassuring Jews and Muslims who are 'living in fear' an 'absolute priority' during election
The archbishop of Canterbury has said major parties must "avoid anything that increases the perception of fear" for Jews and Muslims at the general election.
Daily Mail
Tue, 19 Nov 2019
Islamic school asks pupils about their periods if they don't attend prayers, says Ofsted report
Pupils are asked questions about their periods if they don't attend daily prayers at an independent east London Islamic girls' school, the schools watchdog Ofsted has found.
Barking and Dagenham Post
Seven in 10 people with advanced or terminal illness support law change on assisted dying
New figures released today by YouGov reveal that more than seven in ten people with an advanced or terminal illness would support a change in the law on assisted dying.
PoliticsHome
British IS suspect charged with terror offence
A man who was arrested at Heathrow airport has been charged with the preparation of terrorist acts.
Metro
Conservatives trying to capitalise on some Hindu voters’ turn against Labour
Some Conservative parliamentary candidates have come out strongly in favour of India's actions in Kashmir, in an apparent attempt to win over Hindu voters.
CapX
Backlash after Tory election candidate said British Jews return from Israel trips as ‘brainwashed extremists’
Leaders of some Jewish groups have called on Conservatives to dump a general election candidate who said that British Jews return from trips to Israel as "brainwashed extremists".
The Independent
‘In defence of secularism’
Haldun Gülalp says polarisation based on a politics of religious identity is dangerous for democracies.
openDemocracy
US fast food chain pulls funding for Christian groups criticised for LGBT stance
The US fast-food chain Chick-fil-A said it has stopped funding two Christian organisations that have come under fire from LGBT campaigners for opposing marriage equality.
The Guardian
Reading Pride hit back at claims its Chick-fil-A criticism is "anti-Christian"
Reading Pride has rejected accusations of anti-Christianity over its criticism of the fast food chain Chick-fil-A.
Reading Chronicle
With incoming Argentine president, abortion rights could expand
Elective abortion has a good chance of becoming legal in Argentina, supporters said on Monday, as a new centre-left president is about to take office and feminist and abortion rights movements are growing in the South American country.
Reuters
Teacher union to sue Quebec on religious symbols ban
A union federation representing 45,000 teachers in Quebec is suing the Canadian province over its ban on the wearing of religious symbols by many public employees.
Mail Online
‘Why Hindu nationalists are cheering moves to build a temple, challenging a secular tradition’
Sumit Ganguly says building a Hindu temple on the site of the destroyed Ayodhya mosque in India will bolster the Hindu nationalist BJP's following among the most fervid Hindus.
The Conversation
Pakistani man sentenced to 10 years in jail for plotting terror attack to kill Dutch anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders
A Pakistani man has been sentenced to ten years behind bars for plotting a terror attack on anti-Islam politician Geert Wilders.
Mail Online
Mon, 18 Nov 2019
Most schools will consult parents over relationships & sex ed – NSS quoted
Most schools plan to consult parents over how to teach relationships and sex education, in line with government guidance, a survey has revealed.
Schools Week
Third of Catholic school pupils in Scotland lack Protestant friends
More than a third of Catholic schoolboys in Scotland have sectarian views, according to a study thought to be one of the first to look at the views of students at some of Scotland's 357 Catholic secondary schools.
The Times (£)
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