Worldwide downward trend in restrictions on religion reversed, study finds
RNS The number of countries with “high levels” of restrictions on religion due to government policies or actions of people increased in 2015, reversing a downward trend, according to a new study. A total of 40 per cent of surveyed countries registered “high” or “very high” levels of overall restrictions, according to Pew Research Center’s annual study […]
STRANGESIGHTS: EASTER EGGS GET FLAVOURFUL; INTERACTIVE TOMBSTONES; AND, WHY DO SHOELACES UNTIE THEMSELVES?
DAVID ADAMS reports on the odder side of life…
BACKGROUNDER: WHO ARE THE COPTS AND WHY ARE THEY PERSECUTED?
MONIQUE EL-FAIZY, in an article first published on Religion News Service, takes a deeper look at the Copts…
BOOKS: ‘SMITH HAPPENS’, A “BARREL OF LAUGHS” WITH A SERIOUS EDGE
NILS VON KALM has a laugh (or two) while reading Smith Happens, the “untold” story of Australian preacher and God Squad founder John Smith…
India’s churches also targeted on Palm Sunday, but Modi stays silent
World Watch Monitor India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been criticised for condemning the Palm Sunday attacks on churches in Egypt but failing to condemn attacks in his own country. On the same day that two churches were bombed in Egypt, five churches in India – in five different states – were targeted with services disrupted, pastors […]
ESSAY SPECIAL: AUSTRALIAN CHRISTIAN LEADERS’ EASTER MESSAGES
Easter messages from denominational leaders of Australian churches (courtesy of the National Council of Churches in Australia)…
DEATH PENALTY: SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN EXECUTIONS LAST YEAR BUT FIGURES FROM CHINA STILL UNKNOWN, SAYS AMNESTY
Released this week, DAVID ADAMS takes a look at the latest Amnesty International report on the use of the death penalty around the world…