Religion News Selection
February 7 – 14, 2021
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Other
Maori MP Rawiri Waititi wins battle against rule requiring a tie to be worn in NZ Parliament (ABC News)
Feb 11 – A Maori MP has won his battle against wearing a tie in the New Zealand Parliament, ending a longstanding dress requirement that he describes as a “colonial noose”.
Saudi Arabian women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul released from jail (ABC News)
Feb 11 – Prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released from a Saudi prison nearly three years after being arrested on charges that have drawn international condemnation.
Why Joe Biden’s stance on abortion has some Catholic leaders refusing to accept him (ABC News)
Feb 11 – Not since John F Kennedy’s presidency in the early 1960s has a Catholic politician been elected to the USA’s highest office.
Congresswoman and Jonestown survivor Jackie Speier: ‘Trump is a political cult leader’ (The Guardian, Australia)
Feb 11 – On 6 January, Jackie Speier was one of scores of members of Congress threatened by the mob of violent Trump supporters and white supremacists who stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to overthrow the results of the presidential election.
How should we address Charles Darwin’s complicated legacy? (The Guardian, Australia)
Feb 14 – (Opinion: Adam Rutherford) The Descent of Man, 150 years old this month, is a work of humanist brilliance – yet its errors, particularly on gender, now make for uncomfortable reading
RELIGION & SOCIETY
They’ve left South Asia, but they can’t escape the discrimination and division of its caste system (ABC News)
Feb 7 – When I was at university, another South Asian asked me what my caste was.
Churches on collision course with the government over AstraZeneca vaccine (WAToday.com.au)
Feb 13 – Major churches are at odds with authorities over the AstraZeneca vaccine, with religious leaders telling parishioners they are entitled to request a different jab but the federal government saying most people won’t have a choice.
