Category Archives: Religion

French mayor reignites burkini row with pool rule proposal

Posted on by

Grenoble mayor wants swimmers to dress ‘how they like’, including topless or in full-body suits

The burkini, or full-body swimsuit, is once again at the centre of a political row in France as Grenoble’s town council prepares to debate loosening rules on swimwear at open-air pools.

Rules on swimwear are strict at most French public pools, with men, for example, having to wear tight-fitting racing trunks and not longer board-shorts. Currently, in Grenoble municipal pools, UV-protective tops are banned, except short-sleeved tops for children under 10, or for adults who present a medical note from their doctor.

Continue reading...

New Zealand’s presbyterian church will offer future land sales to Māori iwi first

Posted on by

The major landowner says it has been on the ‘other side of history’ and wants to honour treaty

New Zealand’s presbyterian church will offer any future land sales to Māori iwi first, as the institution reckons with its role in colonisation and land confiscations in Aotearoa.

The institution is a significant landowner across the country, with more than $1.5bn in land assets and 400 properties. Their decision comes at a time of increasing scrutiny on the church and its role in the colonisation of New Zealand, including as a beneficiary of confiscated or stolen land.

Continue reading...

Female student in Nigeria beaten to death over ‘blasphemy’

Posted on by

Witnesses say police failed to disperse mob of fellow students in Sokoto who set victim on fire following WhatsApp comments

A female student in Nigeria was beaten to death and set on fire by fellow students who accused her of posting “blasphemous” statements in a WhatsApp group, two witnesses have said.

The school, located in Nigeria’s north-western state of Sokoto, was immediately closed down following the attack.

Continue reading...

Bid to have satanism classes in Queensland government schools dismissed as a ‘stunt’

Posted on by

Noosa Temple of Satan founder ordered to show cause why affidavits shouldn’t be provided to prosecutors or police

A bid to have satanism classes taught at some Queensland schools has been dismissed as “a base political stunt”, with a supreme court judge ordering the founder of the Noosa Temple of Satan to explain why he should not be prosecuted.

The temple had sought to challenge the state government’s refusal to let the group offer religious instruction at four public schools.

Continue reading...

Nigerian gospel singer’s death puts divorce beliefs in spotlight

Posted on by

Osinachi Nwachukwu’s family and friends allege that she was a victim of domestic abuse

On most Sunday mornings, the searing voice of Osinachi Nwachukwu, one of Nigeria’s best-known gospel singers, filled the vast 100,000-seat auditorium of her church in Abuja.

Footage from one of the last times she led the choir at the Dunamis International Gospel Centre showed her singing the 2017 gospel hit Ekwueme, her eyes pressed closed and hand outstretched in prayer.

Continue reading...

Rare ‘Wicked’ bible that encourages adultery discovered in New Zealand

Posted on by

First copy of the 1631 bible, which mistakenly reads ‘thou shalt commit adultery’, to be found in the southern hemisphere

An extremely rare bible famous for an unfortunate error that encourages adultery has been discovered in New Zealand.

The 1631 “Wicked” Bible, as it has become known, omits the word “not” from its seventh commandment, informing readers “thou shalt commit adultery”. One thousand copies of the text, which also came to be known as the Adulterous or Sinners’ Bible, were printed, with the error only discovered a year later.

Continue reading...

Blast at Kabul mosque kills more than 50 worshippers

Posted on by

Explosion in Afghan capital is latest in string of attacks on civilians during Ramadan

A powerful explosion has killed more than 50 worshippers after Friday prayers at a Kabul mosque, the latest of a series of attacks on civilian targets in Afghanistan during Ramadan.

The blast hit the Khalifa Sahib mosque in the west of the capital in the early afternoon, according to Besmullah Habib, the deputy spokesperson for the interior ministry.

Continue reading...

Gunmen steal 200 Eid outfits from Pakistani tailor in Islamabad

Posted on by

Muhammad Razzaq says two armed men tied up and beat his staff and made off with 240 shalwar kameez

Gunmen have stolen more than 200 outfits made for the customers of a Pakistani tailor for the Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.

Muhammad Razzaq said two armed men barged into his store in the capital, Islamabad, tied up and beat his staff, before making off with 240 completed or near-finished traditional shalwar kameez outfits.

Continue reading...

Israeli police and Palestinians clash at al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem

Posted on by

Red Crescent says at least 42 injured at site revered by Muslims and Jews as police fire rubber bullets at youths throwing rocks

Israeli police have fired rubber bullets and stun grenades towards Palestinian youths throwing rocks in the latest outbreak of violence at Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque, a site revered by Muslims and Jews.

At least 42 Palestinians were injured in the early morning clashes on Friday at Islam’s third-holiest site, the Palestine Red Crescent said.

Continue reading...

David Cameron says government should defend its counter-extremism strategy

Posted on by

Prevent has been criticised for discriminating against people of Muslim faith or backgrounds

David Cameron and a right-leaning thinktank have warned the government to defend its flagship counter-extremism strategy from criticisms or risk enabling terrorism.

In a controversial report from Policy Exchange, the former prime minister has demanded a robust defence of the Prevent strategy.

Continue reading...

PMQs live: Boris Johnson refuses to apologise to archbishop of Canterbury after criticising his stance on Rwanda policy – as it happened

Posted on by

Prime minister refuses to apologise for reported comments about archbishop and denies criticising BBC’s Ukraine coverage

Asked if the House of Lords Appointments Commission ever approves people for a peerage, only for a peerage not to be awarded, Bew says this has happened, but that it is very rare.

He also says that, under his chairmanship, the commission for the first time rejected a nominee who was subsequently appointed by Downing Street.

Continue reading...

No 10 goes into battle with archbishops over Rwanda asylum plan

Posted on by

Downing Street refuses to deny PM told MPs archbishops were being unfairly critical as church figures defend Justin Welby

Downing Street has gone into open battle with the Church of England over its condemnation of the Rwanda deportation scheme, with No 10 officials doubling down on Boris Johnson’s claim that archbishops were being unfairly critical.

The prime minister reportedly told Conservative MPs on Tuesday evening that senior clergy had criticised plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda more than they had condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. This was not denied by No 10.

Continue reading...

Australia has ‘moral duty’ to take 20,000 more Afghan refugees, Catholic bishops say

Posted on by

Election statement also calls for a special intake of Ukrainians and a wider reassessment of refugee policies

Australia’s Catholic bishops have called for a special intake of 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan, saying the country has a “moral duty” to do more.

As part of its election statement, the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference said the country had an obligation to take more refugees from Afghanistan because of the support shown to Australian military forces.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Christian lobby groups push major parties to support unamended religious discrimination bill

Posted on by

FamilyVoice says Labor not to blame for ‘Morrison’s failure’ to pass bill as Albanese pledges to extend school chaplaincy program with secular pastoral care

Christian lobby groups are pressing both major parties to recommit to the unamended religious discrimination bill as Labor guarantees to extend the chaplaincy program with a secular choice for schools.

Guardian Australia understands Labor has told FamilyVoice it has “consistently supported” the $61m-a-year chaplaincy program but will move to give schools the option of a secular pastoral care worker.

Continue reading...

Schools chaplaincy provider bans cohabitation and ‘sexually intrusive’ behaviour in staff’s private life

Posted on by

Exclusive: whistleblower says code of Schools Ministry Group, Australia’s second biggest provider, could discriminate against workers

Australia’s second biggest schools chaplaincy provider imposes a code that discriminates against staff based on relationship status and sexual conduct, a whistleblower has alleged.

Caragh Larsen, a former Schools Ministry Group chaplain at two Adelaide public primary schools, said the code banning “cohabitation” and “sexually intrusive” behaviour left unmarried and LGBTQ+ staff vulnerable.

Continue reading...

Nigerian humanist jailed for 24 years after pleading guilty to blasphemy

Posted on by

Mubarak Bala’s case seen as part of a clampdown on critics of religious orthodoxy in a deeply conservative region

A prominent Nigerian humanist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges, in a landmark case that has put a new focus on the threats to freedom of expression in the west African country.

Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon, two years after his arrest at his home in the northern Kaduna state on 28 April 2020. He was then taken to neighbouring Kano, where calls for action against him had been made by members of the religious establishment in the majority Muslim and conservative state.

Continue reading...

Pope Francis says visit to Kyiv ‘on the table’ after invitation from Zelenskiy

Posted on by

Move would be highest-profile visit of a world figure since Vladimir Putin began invasion of Ukraine

Pope Francis has said he is considering visiting the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, in what would be the most high-profile visit of a world figure since Russia invaded the country.

The head of the Catholic church was invited by Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, along with Ukrainian religious leaders on 8 March.

Continue reading...

Former Catholic bishop admits covering up sexual abuse allegations

Posted on by

Howard Hubbard made admission during a deposition last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed in New York

The former bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Albany, New York, has acknowledged covering up allegations of sexual abuse against children by priests in part to avoid scandal and protect the reputation of the diocese.

Howard Hubbard made the admission during a deposition taken last year as part of a response to dozens of claims filed under New York state’s Child Victims Act. A judge ordered the deposition released on Friday.

Continue reading...

Hillsong is facing catastrophe but the Houstons will be loath to give up control

Posted on by

Analysis: the global church, founded almost 40 years ago in north-west Sydney, has little choice but to launch an independent inquiry

Judgment Day has come for Hillsong – but not in the way its pastors promised.

To recap a damning week for the church, its founder and global senior pastor, Brian Houston, has resigned after an internal investigation found he had breached the church’s code of conduct twice over the past decade by behaving inappropriately towards two women.

Continue reading...

Hillsong’s Brian Houston resigns from megachurch

Posted on by

Resignation comes after internal investigations found Houston engaged in inappropriate conduct ‘of serious concern’

Hillsong’s founding pastor, Brian Houston, has resigned from the megachurch he founded in Sydney two decades ago after internal investigations found he had engaged in inappropriate conduct of “serious concern” with two women.

Houston stood down last Friday, but following another emergency staff meeting on Wednesday the Sydney-based church issued a brief statement announcing his resignation.

Continue reading...