Religion News Selection 16 (May 13

Religion News Selection 16 (May 13 - 20)

(20 May 18)
by Greg Spearritt

Religion News Selection

May 13 - 20, 2018

A selection of religion news stories from Australia.

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

Inclusion here does not endorse the veracity or quality of any particular item – it just means
I found it worth reading and reflecting on (even if badly conceived or poorly written).

If you’re after the unexpurgated (and reasonably unbiased) version,
see Religion News Australia which appears weekly on our website.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Courtyard Studio becomes a chapel of contemplation in ’Quiet Faith’ (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 16 – (Review) Convert or cynic? Disbeliever or devout disciple? What part does faith play in every person’s life?

EDUCATION

Religious schools should be free to follow beliefs, Dutton says (The Guardian, Australia)
May 19 - Peter Dutton has called for the entrenchment of “religious freedoms”, including the right of religious schools to sack gay teachers, and for parents to withdraw their children from the anti-LGBTI bullying program Safe Schools.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES

Islam

Saudi Arabia: women’s rights activists arrested before lifting of driving ban (The Guardian, Australia)
May 19 - Saudi authorities have arrested seven prominent women’s rights advocates, just weeks before the kingdom’s longstanding driving ban on women is set to be lifted, Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.

Religious Violence

Surabaya bombings: Neighbours say family responsible seemed like ’ordinary’ people (ABC News)
May 14 - The family that carried out three church bombings in the nation’s second-biggest city on Sunday were just "ordinary" people, according to their neighbours.

Also: The bombers next door: how an Indonesian family turned into suicide attackers (The Guardian, Australia)
May 19 - It was through food that the family of the Indonesian church bombers demonstrated neighbourly affection.

More parents will sacrifice their own kids in suicide bombings, analysts warn (ABC News)
May 16 - If there is one thing that stands out about the attacks in Indonesia on Sunday and Monday it is that they were carried out by two families — two sets of parents, who together with their own children undertook suicide attacks on four targets.

’Thank the Party!’ Inside China’s Muslim brainwashing camps (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 18 - Almaty, Kazakhstan: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China’s new indoctrination camps had to disavow their Islamic beliefs, criticise themselves and their loved ones and give thanks to the ruling Communist Party.

Other

The Guardian view on US religion: the Christian right is breaking up (The Guardian, Australia)
May 14 – (Opinion: Editorial) One of the most interesting and important developments in the American culture wars, which is to say in American politics and self-understanding, is playing out inside the major Christian groupings there: evangelical Christianity and Roman Catholicism.

Beautiful dream: the Beirut LGBT centre offering an oasis of tolerance (The Guardian, Australia)
May 17 - Tucked away in a quiet neighbourhood of Beirut, Helem, the first community centre for LGBTQI+ people in the Arab world, opens its doors every day from midday to evening.

ISLAM

Ramadan: My experiences making the journey to Mecca and Medina during Islam’s month of fasting (ABC News)
May 17 – (Opinion: Erwin Renaldi) It was always a dream of mine, and one shared by millions of other Muslims, to observe the fasting month of Ramadan right in the capital city of early Islam: Medina.

POLITICS

Senior Mormon faces probe over Liberal Party membership (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 18 - A senior Mormon recently elected to a powerful position in the Victorian Liberal Party has been accused of not being a legitimate member, fuelling tensions over the rising influence of ultra-conservatives in the state branch.

’The people with guns have a responsibility’: Albanese demands explanation over Israel vote (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 20 - Labor frontbencher Anthony Albanese has indicated Labor would have split from the US and backed a United Nations investigation into the killing of dozens of Palestinians in Gaza, arguing Israel’s actions were damaging the country’s reputation.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

John Howard wants to defund schools that don’t let parents boycott sex and gender classes (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 14 - The federal government should cut all funding for any school that won’t let parents pull their children out of sex- or gender-related classes, former prime minister John Howard has urged.

’Gay conversion therapy’ practitioners could face prosecution in Victoria (The Guardian, Australia)
May 17 - Victorian practitioners of so-called “gay conversion therapy” could face prosecution after a state government-ordered inquiry.

Folau raised question of hell - so let’s really look at who belongs there (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 17 – (Opinion: Catherine McGregor) Israel Folau will undoubtedly burn in hell.

Marketing religion to the masses: Evangelist Will Graham visits WA’s ’Sin City’ (ABC News)
May 19 - Once well-known for its brothels and pubs that opened at dawn, the Western Australian gold mining city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder is playing host to one of the world’s most famous evangelists.

Commission calls for federal human rights act, Ruddock review hears (Sydney Morning Herald)
May 20 - Freedom of religion in Australia should be protected as part of a "comprehensive" federal human rights act, the ACT Human Rights Commission has urged.


Name:
Email:
Comment:
Security Code: