About a dozen protesters from the Secular Education Network (SEN) picketed outside the High Court at Auckland on Thursday in support of the McClintock family. A SEN spokesperson, David Hine, said the group of protesters included atheists who wanted no religion to be taught in state schools, as well as religious people who believed all Read more
On Thursday, the Churches Education Commission (CEC) will launch a legal challenge to be allowed to give evidence in a dispute between a family who believe their daughter was segregated and humiliated after opting out of religious studies, and a Whangaparaoa school. The lawyer representing the McClintock family, Richard Francois, is also seeking to repeal Read more
The Catholic archbishop of Port Moresby, John Ribat, says the plan by the speaker of parliament, Theo Zurenuoc, to place the bible in parliament to symbolise Papua New Guinea’s status as a Christian nation has political aspects to it. He says that the speaker’s plan is backed by a small group of people who do Read more
There’s controversy in Papua New Guinea over a trip which has been undertaken to receive a 400 year old copy of the bible from an businessman in Indiana. Speaker of Papua New Guinea Parliament, Theodore Zurenuoc, led a delegation to the United States of America to receive the bible. It’s believed to be one of Read more
We’re getting more secular, those that label themselves religious are a more disparate group than ever. Gone is the monopoly of Jesus and people around the country now subscribe to a whole heap of different religions. Let’s give them all national holidays. As far as I can tell, if we give two holidays each to Read more
Methodist Church president, Reverend Dr Tevita Banivanua, has told a meeting of church leaders that one of the key challenges facing the church is to rebuild relationships that have become strained or neglected over the past few years. Following the success of the reconciliation process within the Church last year, as part of her golden jubilee, Read more
A judge has stopped two children, whose parents have separated, from attending Jehovah’s Witness meetings or church activities. After their separation in 2010, the mother became an adherent of the Jehovah Witness faith. Without the father’s knowledge, she introduced the children, then aged 4 and 6, to the religion. Justice Brendan Brown said his ruling Read more
New Life Churches International is urging Christians to oppose any changes in the parliamentary prayer. Rasik Ranchord, spokesperson on public issues for New Life Churches International, has sent out an email asking church leaders to get their members to write to members of parliament urging them to retain the present prayer. On 17 November the Read more
The newly elected president of Fiji’s Methodist Church says the church needs to be more realistic about modern day Fiji. The Reverend Tevita Nawadra Banivanua, believes the church has prepared itself to work in a secular state nation as set out in the Constitution. Nawadra was elected the church’s president on Monday. He told the Read more
An editorial on the Suff website labels as “plain silly” a woman’s complaint that her son could hear religious instruction from the classroom next door. He was in the room for the duration of a religious education class that he had chosen not to attend. Tanya Jacob says she pulled her son out of Harewood Read more