“Given our common roots, a Christian cannot be an anti-Semite!” Pope Francis has declared to a delegation from a broad-based coalition of Jewish organisations representing Judaism to other religions. The Pope said Christians and Jews can work together to challenge the contemporary problems of secularism and disrespect for the human person. “Humanity needs our joint Read more
The depiction of Jesus as a dog in adverts for The Graham Norton Show has been deemed appropriate by the Broadcasting Standards Authority. The TV advertisement, which aired in December, included a photograph of a couple dressed as Mary and Joseph holding a dog in swaddling clothes. In the week leading up to Christmas, TV3 broadcast the Read more
The European relationship between religion, law and politics is a strange creature. Religious influence over political life is weaker in Europe than in almost any other part of the world. To adapt the phrase first used by Alastair Campbell when he was spokesman for the British prime minister Tony Blair, politicians in Europe generally ‘don’t Read more
Kelston Intermediate principal Phil Gordon says the prayers (karakia) said at his school are “not a religious thing but a cultural thing.” Prime Minister, John Key says teachers in schools should be able to opt-out of delivering a karakia in schools if they wanted to. Maori Affairs Minster, Pita Sharples. says because there are a lot of Read more
More than 50 state schools have cancelled bible based education in school hours since 2011, with a lack of teaching volunteers and decline in parental support cited as the main reasons. Rationalist David Hines has questioned state schools about their religious instruction programmes under the Official Information Act, and plans to create a public database Read more
In an article on the state of the church in Christchurch, New Zealand, Anna Turner says the number of Christians in Christchurch is dropping, while those identifying as non-religious is steadily on the rise. According to the last census, many Christchurch Christians were older, with 20.6 per cent being over 65. Those who were non-religious Read more
Baby boomers do not lack in spirituality, according to Right Reverend Ray Coster, the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. He says they just expressed it in different ways. He said while baby boomers and their children were the ones most likely not to belong to a church because they struggled with the Read more
Far-right Catholics in France have been warned they will be disbanded if they show evidence of a “religious pathology” that could lead to violence. The warning — which has been decried by religious freedom experts — came from Interior Minister Manuel Valls at a conference on the official state policy of secularism. Valls said foreign-born Read more
The rise of political Islam following the Arab Spring has many worried that the democratic achievements of the revolution could be lost. In Egypt and Tunisia alike, citizens are once again taking to the streets. But this time they are opposing Islamism. Does secularism still stand a chance? Egypt’s strongman was sitting in the first Read more
Archbishop Dew says the call to new evangelisation in the New Zealand situation “means that we must talk about Evangelisers.” He said “The formation and ongoing formation of all involved in the evangelising mission of the Church must be our first priority.” He was speaking on Monday in Rome at at the Synod on Evangelisation. Archbishop Read more