Religion News Selection
April 18 – 25, 2021
A selection of religion news stories from Australia
(Research: Greg Spearritt)
INTERNATIONAL STORIES
Other
Prince Philip’s funeral a reminder of the power of rituals (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 19 – (Opinion: Robin Givhan) As the pallbearers carried the coffin of Prince Philip from Windsor Castle to the waiting Land Rover for the short drive to St George’s Chapel on Saturday, one could hear the sound of their footsteps on the gravel.
Quebec can bar government workers from wearing hijabs, turbans, court rules (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 21 – Toronto: Quebec will be able to bar government workers in “positions of authority” from wearing religious symbols such as Muslim hijabs and Sikh turbans on the job following a court ruling on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).
There is no legal defence of LGBT+ conversions (The Guardian, Australia)
Apr 24 – (Opinion: Ahmed Shaheed) Outlawing the often shocking methods of trying to change people’s sexuality does not alter others’ rights to belief.
ISLAM
Uyghur Australian woman breaks her silence as her husband is sentenced to 25 years in jail (ABC News)
Apr 24 – Melbourne woman Mehray Mezensof has been married for five years, but her husband has been absent for most of that time.
POLITICS
Morrison’s faith paves way to justice for women (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 19 – (Opinion: Denise Austin) It didn’t take long, but the issues around Scott Morrison’s response to women’s rights and workplace sexual harassment have once again been inexplicably linked to his Pentecostal faith.
Morrison masters the sleight of hand of faith (The Australian)
Apr 24 – (Opinion: Peter Van Onselen, Wayne Errington) The miracle man of modern Australian politics brandishes his own flexible version of religion.
RELIGION & SOCIETY
Greek Orthodox Australians react to Archdiocese’s finances (ABC News)
Apr 22 – When Bessy Persenitis read last week’s ABC report that taxpayer-funded aged care homes across Australia had funnelled $31 million into the coffers of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, she wasn’t surprised.
Sixth sense: the science behind intuition (Sydney Morning Herald)
Apr 24 – We’ve all had moments when a “gut feeling” – whether good or bad – affects our judgment.
