Gallup poll: More than half of Americans rarely go to church
United States RNS The most popular church in America might be St Mattress, followed by Bedside Baptist. Those two – euphemisms for sleeping in on Sundays – increasingly describe the attitude of many Americans toward attending churches or other houses of worship. Mark Galli kneels in prayer before Mass at St Michael Catholic Church, on […]
A third of Asian Americans say religion is very important in their lives – survey
United StatesRNS More Asian Americans identify as atheist, agnostic or nonreligious than before, according to a survey released Wednesday by Pew Research Center. But 40 per cent of those Pew surveyed, who included Americans of Chinese, Filipino, Indian, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese backgrounds, said they feel close to a religion for reasons aside from religion, […]
Sri Lanka marks independence anniversary amid economic woes
Colombo, Sri Lanka AP Sri Lanka marked its 75th independence anniversary on Saturday as a bankrupt nation, with many citizens angry, anxious and in no mood to celebrate. President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who has started to improve some but not all of the acute shortages, acknowledged the somber state of the nation, saying in a televised speech, “We […]
Postcards: In World War II, Japanese Americans’ faith helped them survive their incarceration
ALEJANDRA MOLINA, of Religion News Service, reports on the new ‘Sutra and Bible’ exhibition at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles which explores the role of religion in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II…
US hits China and others for repressing religious freedom
Washington DC, USAP The Biden administration on Wednesday took aim at China and a number of other countries for repressing religious freedom as it forges ahead with its aim of restoring human rights as a primary focus of American foreign policy. The condemnation was similar to that lodged by the Trump administration, which had been […]
US state of Alabama to allow spiritual advisor at inmate’s execution
Montgomery, Alabama, USAP Alabama is amending its lethal injection procedures to allow a condemned inmate to have his spiritual advisor in the execution chamber, state lawyers wrote in a Thursday court filing. The move comes after the US Supreme Court this month sided with Alabama inmate Willie B Smith III who had sought to have his pastor […]
Sri Lanka’s leader vows action against 2019 bombing militants
Colombo, Sri LankaAP Sri Lanka’s President said Thursday that he has received the final report of an inquiry commission investigating the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks and vowed he will not allow anyone responsible for the deaths of more than 260 people escape justice. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not disclose what’s in the report, saying […]
New Zealanders trust Buddhists most, evangelical Christians least, survey finds
New Zealanders trust Buddhists the most and evangelical Christians the least according to the findings of a new survey conducted a month after the Christchurch shootings in March. The online survey of 1,000 New Zealanders, carried out for researchers at the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, asked them how much […]
ESSAY: WHO ARE SRI LANKA’S CHRISTIANS?
In an article first published on The Conversation, MATHEW SCHMALZ, associate professor of religion at College of the Holy Cross in the US, looks at the history of Christianity in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday terror attacks in the island nation…
Violence, discrimination against Christians escalate in Sri Lanka
Morning Star News Attacks and other actions against Christians in Sri Lanka have escalated this year, with Hindu extremism beginning to take root along with long-time Buddhist aggression, according to rights advocates. “Last month there have been more incidents that have been documented than previous months,” an attorney with the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of […]