Religion News Selection

June 5 – 12, 2022

A selection of religion news stories from Australia

(Research: Greg Spearritt)

 

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

These women became unlikely outlaws. Their story couldn’t be more timely (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 9 – When directors Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes started work on this emotional documentary in 2018, they probably never imagined the fight at the centre of the film – this historic fight for access to legal abortions – would again be an issue just four years later.

INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Islam

Muslim nations rip into India over insulting remarks about Islam (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 7 – Delhi: India is facing major diplomatic outrage from Muslim-majority countries after top officials in the governing Hindu nationalist party made derogatory references to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad, drawing accusations of blasphemy across some Arab nations that have left New Delhi struggling to contain the damaging fallout.

Other

Sherlock Holmes didn’t go in for ghosts — but Arthur Conan Doyle had other ideas (ABC News)
June 9 – In January 1924, London’s Strand Magazine published a detective story that contained [a] scathing assault on the idea of the living dead.

JUDAISM

Former Brighton Secondary student ‘didn’t feel safe’, court hears (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 9 – A former Brighton Secondary College student said he “didn’t feel safe” to be Jewish at the school and was no longer proud of who he was, a court heard on Thursday.

POLITICS

‘Don’t ignore us’: Faith leaders demand quick action on religious freedoms (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 9 – Faith leaders have urged the new Labor government to move quickly to introduce legislation outlawing religious discrimination rather than let the issue languish until the last minute as it did under Scott Morrison.

RELIGION & SOCIETY

‘I’ve seen it destroy lives’: Haas wants to remove gambling, booze ads from jersey (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 7 – Payne Haas has flagged his intention to remove alcohol and gambling advertising from his jerseys in the future on religious grounds.

Gay conversion survivor warns unless Tasmania bans it outright, ‘treatment’ could take off (ABC News)
June 10 – When Chris Csabs was around 12 years old, he overheard a conversation between two men at his church, recalling a time when a gay man came in off the street for prayer.

NSW to create religious advisory council as part of multicultural funding boost (Sydney Morning Herald)
June 10 – The NSW government will set up a specialist council to advise on safety concerns around churches and mosques and engage with multi-faith communities after the pandemic underscored the importance of closing cultural divides in Sydney.

Do faith workers need a holy alliance? (ABC News)
June 12 – The life of a faith worker can be a lonely one.