Daily media briefing
Stay informed with our daily media briefing newsletter. Every weekday morning we'll bring you the most relevant news and updates related to secularism directly to your inbox.
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Thu, 7 Sep 2023
Soul Survivor’s Mike Pilavachi ‘used spiritual authority to control victims’, report finds
Mike Pilavachi, the vicar who founded the Soul Survivor Christian youth festivals, "used his spiritual authority to control" victims, the Church of England has concluded, as a KC-led review is launched.
The Telegraph*
Bethany Chapel graveyard road faces police investigation
Concerns about a road built through a graveyard are being investigated by police. Families of people buried at Bethany Chapel, in Hodley, Powys, claim headstones had been moved and some have even gone missing.
BBC
California is first US state to pass ban on caste discrimination
California's legislature has become the first in the US to approve a bill banning caste discrimination. Legislators said the measure would protect people of South Asian descent who allege unfair treatment.
BBC
Ukrainian Catholic bishops rebuke pope over his Russia comments
Ukraine's Eastern Rite Catholic bishops bluntly told Pope Francis at a meeting on Wednesday that some of his comments about Russia had caused great pain and were being used by Moscow to justify a "a murderous ideology".
Reuters
Putin accused of ‘deep-rooted antisemitism’ after ‘ethnic Jew’ jibe at Zelensky
President Vladimir Putin has been accused of "deep-rooted antisemitism" after accusing western countries of installing an "ethnic Jew" as Ukraine's president to "cover up" what its "glorification of Nazism."
Jewish News
Pastor survives deadly shooting after removing Islamic writings from church wall in Pakistan
The attempted murder of a pastor in Faisalabad, Pakistan has highlighted the vulnerability of religious minorities in the region.
Premier Christian News
Disabled Christian murdered over unpaid loan in Pakistan
A disabled Christian farm worker who was abducted by Muslim landlords in Pakistan has died, after being subjected to extreme violence.
Premier Christian News
Wed, 6 Sep 2023
Catholic officers ‘asking if they should bring firearms to mass’ after PSNI leak
Catholic officers in the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have been asking if they should bring their personal firearms to mass, such is their concern in the wake of a disastrous data breach, MPs have been told.
The Guardian
French state schools turn away dozens of girls wearing Muslim abaya dress
The French education minister has said that nearly 300 pupils arrived at school on Monday wearing the abaya, the long Muslim robe which was banned in schools last week.
BBC
Modi’s BJP party accused of destroying thousands of Muslim homes in India
India's ruling Hindu Nationalist party is turning the bulldozer into a political symbol and, say opponents, a means of control.
Channel 4
President of India: Government's G20 invite from 'Bharat' sparks row
A row has broken out in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government used the term "Bharat" in an official invite for the G20 Summit being sent on behalf of the president.
BBC
US: Pro-birth conference’s links to far-right eugenicists revealed
"A high-end hotel in the liberal Texan enclave of Austin is playing host to a conference whose theme is boosting global birth rates, but which will in fact feature racist and eugenicist internet personalities and far-right media figures."
The Guardian
Canada truck attack: Man pleads not guilty to murdering Muslim family in Ontario
A Canadian man accused of murdering four members of a Muslim family with his vehicle in London, Ontario, has pleaded not guilty.
BBC
Australia: Women were told their babies would not survive, Catholic public hospitals refused to provide abortions
There are 15 Catholic public hospitals in Australia that are bound by a religious code of ethics prohibiting abortions, birth control and IVF. These hospitals – of which at least five offer maternity and gynaecology services – are able to deny women basic reproductive healthcare despite receiving public funding.
The Guardian
Opus Dei: shadowy cult or well-meaning Catholic devotees?
According to its critics, Opus Dei is a secretive and conservative religious order of well-placed people who exert a shadowy influence from within Spain's political and financial elite.
The Times*
Tue, 5 Sep 2023
Praying Margate doctor overstepped the boundaries, tribunal hears
A Christian doctor has been told by a medical tribunal that he "overstepped the boundaries" when he prayed with a patient.
BBC
‘The Church of England’s death knell is ringing’
'Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee." This would be a good line for the leaders of the Church of England to wake up to today. This week three different studies make clear how loudly the death knell is ringing for the Church'
The Telegraph*
Controversial ‘cult’ accused in graveyard ‘desecration’ row
A man who describes a church he left as a "cult" says he is not surprised it is involved in a row after building an access road across a graveyard.
Nation Cymru
Ireland: 'Priests were angry at me for speaking out over abuse' – Archbishop
The former Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has revealed how he invoked the ire of other priests after speaking out over child sex abuse in the Catholic Church.
The Irish News
French schools trial uniforms to tackle poor behaviour
French pupils at some state schools will be required to wear uniforms in an effort to tackle poor discipline, declining performance and tension over Muslim dress.
The Times*
Pope Francis has a weakness for autocracies: the Kremlin appreciates it
"…Francis does seem to have a tendresse for autocracies (which anti-Catholics would doubtless see as unsurprising, given the way popes are accorded unquestioned authority). In 2018 he agreed to give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) the right to nominate Catholic bishops, a policy never agreed by any of his predecessors, and described to me by a distraught Catholic priest as "an act of perfidy, stupidity and betrayal"
The Times*
The Taliban's punishing war on women continues
"Day by day, the walls close in". "Suffocated". "Without hope". These are just some of the descriptions by Afghan women of the relentless announcement of restrictions imposed on their lives and rights since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
The National
Mon, 4 Sep 2023
‘Blasphemy law is no answer to bigotry in the wake of Denmark’s Qur’an burnings’
"A proposed ban on abuse of religious objects only helps to silence critics and dissenters", writes Kenan Malik
The Guardian
Church of England parishes close at record rate
The Church of England has been "dealt a death knell" as parishes close at a record rate, an investigation has revealed. Almost 300 have disappeared in the past five years alone, analysis of church data reveals, the fastest rate since records began in 1960.
The Telegraph*
Christians in Wales protest Pakistan violence as they fear for family
Christians living in Wales are protesting against ongoing violence in Paksitan as they fear for the safety of their loved ones overseas.
Premier Christian News
Clashes erupt in Sweden’s third largest city after another Quran burning and at least 3 are detained
Clashes erupted in an immigrant neighborhood in Sweden's third largest city after an anti-Muslim protester set fire to the Quran, police said Monday.
Associated Press
France’s public schools will enforce a dress code banning abayas
French students won't get past the door if they show up for school wearing long robes, said Emmanuel Macron.
Associated Press
Finnish evangelical duo wait as appeal court considers ‘hate crime’ acquittal appeal
Two evangelical Christians in Finland may not know until the end of November whether the country's court of appeals will sustain their 18-month-old acquittal on hate-crime charges.
The Washington Times*
Germany: Bavarian deputy leader keeps job after antisemitism claims
The deputy premier of the German state of Bavaria, Hubert Aiwanger, will stay in his post following controversy concerning an antisemitic pamphlet written in the 1980s.
BBC
US: NJ battles Christian group blocking beach on Sundays
New Jersey officials are in a stand-off with a local religious group that controls the resort town of Ocean Grove, which says thou shalt not go to the beach before noon on the Lord's day.
New York Post
US: Missouri asks Supreme Court to consider jury disqualification over Christian beliefs
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the Supreme Court this week to hear a case over disqualifying jurors based on their Christian beliefs, saying the Constitution doesn't support religious discrimination.
The Washington Times
Mob attacks on Christian churches and homes in Pakistan set off by false implication, police say
Last month's mob attacks on churches and homes of Christians in eastern Pakistan erupted after three Christians threw the pages of Islam's holy book outside the house of two others to falsely implicate them in a blasphemy case due to a personal dispute, police said Monday.
Associated Press
Japan may seek to dissolve Moonies church in wake of Shinzo Abe killing
Courts may be asked to disband the Unification church amid criticism of ruling party's ties to organisation.
The Guardian
Australia: Schools force Anglican backdown on statement opposing same-sex marriage
Principals at Sydney's Anglican schools will no longer be forced to sign a document affirming they believe marriage should only be between a man and a woman under a new proposal by the church that is set to abolish the controversial requirement.
The Sydney Morning Herald
Fri, 1 Sep 2023
"We should separate Church and state!" Stephen Evans on Christianity's falling popularity – NSS interviewed
NSS chief executive Stephen Evans interviewed yesterday on TalkTV following a new survey revealing that more than half of Church of England clergy no longer believe the UK is a Christian country.
TalkTV
Church of England clergy say UK ‘not a Christian country’ – NSS interviewed
NSS president Keith Porteous Wood interviewed yesterday on Times Radio following a new survey of Church of England clergy. Keith features from 1:04:11.
Times Radio
Taxpayers fund mosques that host hate preachers
At least four mosques have received grants totalling millions of pounds with the largest of £2.2 million awarded to a Birmingham Islamic centre that has hosted a speaker who described Jews as 'people of envy'
The Jewish Chronicle
Edinburgh council strip voting rights from religious representatives on education committee
Unelected religious representatives who sit on Edinburgh Council's education committee have been stripped of their voting rights after councillors overwhelmingly voted in favour of the change.
Edinburgh Live
‘Death of Christian Britain? It’s good that people are turning away from church’
"Those lamenting the death of Christian Britain can dry their tears. The fact that more people in the UK are turning away from the established church is a good thing. It demonstrates a refusal to accept the imposed assumptions and values of a privileged institution."
The i
Sectarian incidents in Northern Ireland rise to highest levels in six years according to PSNI
The number of recorded sectarian incidents in Northern Ireland is at its highest level since 2016, according to police figures.
ITV
Religious leader who has led worship ceremonies in Milton Keynes is arrested for sex crimes
A religious leader who led Sikh worship ceremonies in Milton Keynes has been arrested and charged with a string of sex offences.
MK Citizen
'Why Sweden tolerates Quran burning'
"Sweden has long been a country known for its commitment to tolerance and its embrace of human rights: a "moral superpower" devoted to foreign aid, progressive causes and support of developing nations. All the more surprising, then, that Sweden now stands accused of being a hotbed of Islamophobia and intolerance."
UnHerd
More than 60 people arrested at same-sex wedding in Nigeria
Nigerian police raided an alleged gay wedding, which is illegal in the country, and arrested 67 people, officials said on Tuesday.
Evening Standard
Why the Pope’s message to young Russians has not gone down well in Ukraine
Pope Francis' video speech to the All-Russian Meeting of Catholic Youth in St Petersburg, urging them to "not forget their heritage" has caused quite a stir. Its tone-deaf praise of the heritage of "Mother Russia", which he urged his listeners to never give up, has been received badly in Ukraine.
The Conversation
Thu, 31 Aug 2023
Most Church of England priests support gay conversion therapy ban
More than two thirds of Church of England priests back the government's plan to introduce a ban on conversion or so-called "gay-cure" therapy, with less than a fifth against it, a new survey has found.
The Times*
‘The Times view on the Church of England: Behind the Times’
'The Anglican church is not only trailing behind the liberal instincts of ordinary people, its doctrines do not even convince the majority of its own priesthood'
The Times*
Student accused of terrorism wanted to argue against IS, court told
A PhD student accused of plotting to make a drone capable of delivering a bomb was "fascinated" by the Islamic State group because he wanted to argue against their views, a court has heard.
BBC
Islamic charity says shared video clips are ‘highly misleading’ after government pauses funding
The Department for Culture Media and Sport confirmed that a £2.2m grant to the charity had been paused while allegations of homophobia and misogyny were investigated
Third Sector
US cardinal, 93, not fit to stand trial over sexual abuse charges, judge rules
A Massachusetts judge has dismissed a criminal case charging the former Roman Catholic cardinal Theodore McCarrick with molesting a 16-year-old boy in 1974, saying the 93-year-old was not competent to stand trial due to dementia.
The Guardian
BJP politician among six charged with gang-rape in India
A politician from India's ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is among six people charged in connection with the alleged gang-rape of a 45-year-old woman and the harassment of her minor daughter in the western Indian state of Rajasthan.
Independent*
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