Indians vote in huge election dominated by jobs, Hindu pride and Modi
Kairana/Chennai, India Reuters The first of India’s almost one billion voters cast ballots on Friday in the country’s multi-day election, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a rare third term on the back of issues such as growth, welfare and Hindu nationalism. The vote pits Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) against an alliance of two […]
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, […]
Muslims flee Indian business hub after religious clashes, attacks
Gurugram, India Reuters Over 3,000 poor Muslims have fled a business hub outside New Delhi this month, fearing for their lives after Hindu-Muslim clashes and sporadic attacks targeting them, residents, police and a community group said. Shops and shacks owned or run by Muslims and their houses in two large slum areas were padlocked when […]
Essay: The abuse of Christian women in Manipur tells a tragic story of the new India
Archbishop JOSEPH D’SOUZA, Archbishop of the Anglican Good Shepherd Church of India, president of the All India Christian Council, and founder of Dignity Freedom Network, says – in an article first published on Religion News Service, that Indian authorities are ignoring attacks by radicalised Hindus on Christians…
Essay: Christians in Pakistan risk greater persecution from blasphemy laws, while living in poverty
Scholar of world religions, MYRIAM RENAUD, says – in an article first piublished on The Conversation – since the creation of the nation of Pakistan 76 years ago, the lives of Christians there have grown “ever more difficult”…
Essay: At 75, Pakistan has moved far from the secular and democratic vision of its founder, Mohammad Ali Jinnah
In an article first published on The Conversation, FARAH N JAN, a scholar of South Asia, looks at the vision of Pakistan’s founder Mohammad Ali Jinnah and how it stacks up against today’s reality…
Postcards: India Partition – after 75 years, tech opens a window into the past
RINA CHANDRAN, of Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how Facebook, YouTube and VR are helping people in India and Pakistan connect, despite the bloodshed of independence in 1947…
Bangladesh’s ruling party rallies for Hindus after deadly clashes
Dhaka, Bangladesh Reuters Thousands of members of Bangladesh’s ruling party rallied on Tuesday in support of the nation’s besieged minority Hindus after one of the worst bouts of communal violence in the Muslim-majority nation for over a decade. The wave of clashes left at least six people dead and dozens of homes destroyed, according to local […]
Hindus denounce violence amid attacks in Bangladesh
Dhaka, BangladeshAP Protests continued Monday in Bangladesh’s capital to denounce a wave of violence against Hindus following an image posted on social media that was perceived as insulting to the country’s Muslim majority. New attacks took place Sunday night in a northern village, where unidentified people burned up to 26 homes of Hindus despite a […]