Daily media briefing

A Muslim convert threatened to "flatten" a mosque, plotted to attack an Islamic cleric who was an outspoken critic of terrorism and researched potential military and police targets, a jury heard.

BBC

A school which inspectors last year said was not preparing pupils for life in modern Britain has received further criticism by the regulator for failing to teach children about "different kinds of families".

BBC

Pope Francis has said he inherited a "large white box" full of documents related to various scandals faced by the Catholic church when he took over from his predecessor.

The Guardian

Among the foot soldiers of Hindu nationalism, bored young men find purpose

The Economist*

The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God has been accused of conducting conversion therapy, controlling members' lives and coercing people to donate their life savings

The Londoner

The Islamic Human Rights Commission, an Iran-linked group funded by a registered charity, is urging councils and universities to boycott Holocaust Memorial Day.

The Telegraph*

A report for the Hope and Homes charity says that 'well-meaning' Christians in the UK are donating hundreds of millions of pounds every year to overseas orphanages that are helping to support facilities that can leave children suffering from emotional damage.

Premier Christian News

The role of Archbishop of Canterbury could lose its status as the global Anglican leader amid a split over same-sex relationships.

The Telegraph*

Stormont's Education Minister Paul Givan has insisted that he followed the law when making a decision to refuse applications from two Co Down schools for integrated status.

ITV

A suspected Islamic extremist tried to kill five prison officers with homemade weapons including a sharpened plastic spoon because they are not Muslims, the Old Bailey has heard.

Evening Standard*

Spain's Catholic Church has been accused of a hate crime after a gay mayor claimed that he had been banned from receiving communion by his priest.

The Telegraph*

Ghana's government will investigate controversial plans to build a $400m (£330m) national cathedral, new President John Mahama has said.

BBC

The Archbishop of Canterbury will no longer be the de facto head and sole "face" of the world's 85 million Anglicans under official proposals for a "post-colonial" shake-up.

The Times*

Prominent imams are in talks with lawyers, doctors, economists and charities to set up new national bodies that can provide a voice for Britain's Muslims and engage with the government.

The Times*

Yehudis Fletcher: "The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill is urgent and does what it says on the tin: it ensures the wellbeing of all youngsters, including Charedi children".

Jewish News

Stormont education minister Paul Givan is under pressure after rejecting plans by Northern Ireland's largest school to become integrated.

The Irish News via MSN

Culture secretary says it should go ahead despite pressure for it to be cancelled over Taliban's treatment of women

The Guardian

Spain's Socialist-led government said it had proposed legislation to stop religious groups seeking to prosecute people for blasphemy, amid a debate about how to balance freedom of speech against religious rights.

Reuters

An 18-year-old Dalit woman from the southern India state of Kerala has accused 64 men of sexually abusing her since she was 13 years old.

BBC

Malala Yousafzai has told an international summit on girls education in Islamic countries that Taliban "do not see women as human beings".

BBC

A row has broken out plans to hire a new member of staff to help convert 60 pupils to Christianity at a Havant school.

The Portsmouth News

An investigation into the Barnabas Fund which found "evidence of serious financial impropriety" is to be expanded to other Christian groups with links to the charity, the regulator has announced.

The Times*

Parents and principals have expressed their disappointment at a decision by the education minister on Wednesday to turn down a bid by Northern Ireland's largest school to become integrated.

BBC

The Alliance MLA says 'every parent deserves access to an integrated education'

The Irish News

Marseilles' council has been accused of trying to 'destroy' the country's Christian heritage during traditional Epiphany celebrations

The Times*

Nazi swastikas have been scrawled across a Sydney synagogue in another episode of antisemitism, horrifying the Jewish community.

The Guardian

A hardline Sri Lankan monk who is a close ally of ousted former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, has been sentenced to nine months in prison for insulting Islam and inciting religious hatred.

BBC

A lifetime registered sex offender and former fugitive is currently serving in leadership roles at Grace Place Church of Christ in Duncanville, Texas, and as a part-time staffer with Watermark Community Church in Dallas.

Premier Christian News

The definition of Islamophobia adopted by the Labour Party put "grooming gangs" in inverted commas and suggested that using the term in relation to Muslims was racist.

The Times*

The Education Minister has turned down a bid by Northern Ireland's largest school to become integrated.

BBC

The Charity Commission has opened statutory inquiries into four charities linked to Barnabas Aid, which it is also investigating.

Civil Society

Strictly Orthodox leaders have compared the Government's Schools Bill to "antisemitic" moves introduced in the Soviet Union under Stalin and Nazi Germany under Hitler as they staged another protest outside parliament.

Jewish News

Victims of abuse within faith-based organisations and settings are being asked to tell their stories for a government-backed oral history project.

The Irish News

Downing Street has called on the International Cricket Council to "deliver on their own rules" as the England cricket team resists pressure to boycott their forthcoming match against Afghanistan.

Independent*

Pro-Palestine protestors are set to clash with police after rejecting an attempt to stop them marching by a synagogue.

The Times*

A prominent Nigerian atheist, who has just been freed after serving more than four years in prison for blasphemy, is now living in a safe house as his legal team fear his life may be in danger.

BBC

A Church of England school plans to drop the name of a former Archbishop of York over his failure to act on a report of child sexual abuse.

The Telegraph*

The Most Rev Stephen Cottrell is the Church of England's most senior cleric until a permanent replacement is found for Justin Welby in the now vacant Canterbury role.

The Times*

The outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury ended his 12-year tenure with events at Lambeth Palace, as the church grapples with abuse scandals

The Times*

Six adverts for an Islamic investment platform showing banknotes on fire have been banned after a regulator ruled they were likely to cause serious offence.

BBC

Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, blessed crosses and icons bearing the president's initials to be sent to commanders in Ukraine

The Times*

A decade after Islamic extremist gunmen stormed the offices of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in a deadly assault that shook France to its core and ignited a global outcry in defense of freedom of speech, the nation paused on Tuesday to honor the victims and renew its resolve to fight for liberty and democracy.

Associated Press

In this end-of-year episode of Holy Smoke, Damian Thompson discusses the abuse scandals that have forced the current Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, to resign his post, his predecessor Lord Carey to resign his ministry as a priest, and now threaten the survival of the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell.

The Spectator*

Pakistan's Christian community is reeling after the tragic death of a man who was shot following months of targeted harassment and persecution.

Premier Christian News

The Most Rev Justin Welby spent his final day as head of the Anglican Church entertaining guests at Lambeth Palace.

The Telegraph*

Justin Welby will not be able to officiate as a priest after he steps down as Archbishop of Canterbury on Monday unless he seeks special permission from a bishop, under church rules.

The Times*

Anyone working with children who fails to report child sexual abuse will face professional and criminal sanctions under a change in the law.

The Times*

"Stripping back the state has become the cant of our time. If only the same scrutiny were applied to the forces that have ineluctably encroached on the spaces vacated by the state. A re-examination of the prevailing consensus on faith schools is required in light of the growing realisation that there is such a thing as society."

The Freethinker