Christians continue to be attacked in Iraq

Iraqi Christians have been the targets of attacks for the past two weeks. I blogged last week about the massive attack on the Catholic church, but now terrorists are also targeting houses and cars owned by Christians. Some people are being "warned" before attacks, but others are being caught completely off guard. The New York Times has frequently been blogging about the attacks. Check this blog out.

Religious freedom? Isn't free.

Pope Encourages Religous Freedom in Iran

I posted on this a couple days ago...here is a video.

More Like Punishment by Religion...

We're talking about freedom of religion on our blog. Or, the opposite too I guess.

I just read this article in The New York Times about the exact opposite happening: punishment by religion. In Iran, a women convicted of adultery may be stoned to death. Stoned. And it's a shocking thing to media systems both there and here. It's shocking in Iran, because they are actually talking about it in the media-- a clip of the woman calling herself a sinner was shown on state-owned television. It's shocking in the United States, because of the severity of the punishment of adultery, and because her son specifically told people who knew about the situation to lie to foreign western media, to make it less of a deal.

So this brings up two good aspects:

• Because of the government's and her own strict following of the Muslim faith, this Iranian woman may be stoned to death (the punishment is under review by the court-- but she may still be executed in a different way), because she was convicted of having an illicit relationship. Is this religious freedom?
• It was controversial in Iran, because this story was broadcast on television. The woman's lawyer told her son to lie to western media, saying it would be prudent. Is this media freedom?
• 

Iran has a "Stop Stoning Forever" Campaign

Blogging Bishops?

Tonight, Catholic Bishops in the United States were asked to spread their religious teachings to a new continent and culture-- the "digitalized continent."

At the US Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore, a present Bishop stated that the content of their religious material does not have to change, but the way in which they are reaching out to people should change if they are to meet the social media generation's needs. But Bishops are timid about this method, because they don't know how to use social media. And because United States citizens have the freedom to post whatever they want on a blog, it may be hard to keep up with user comments.

I think it would be interesting to follow this breaking trend in religious communications and see if the Bishops actually begin blogging. What would you ask a Bishop blogger?

Podcast: Religion & Media

Ever wondered how religion factors into the media? Jenna Ekdahl-- a Penn State senior majoring in journalism and religious studies-- gives her opinion on the issue. Jenna organized a "Religion and the Media" seminar at the Pasquerilla Center this semester.

US Making Strides?

It's hard to put yourself in someone else's shoes when you really don't have any clue how to relate to them.

This article highlights a new policy made by the United States two weeks ago, which will require the frisking of people with turbans as a security policy. The U.S. decided not to make the removal of turbans mandatory, but still reserves the right to "pat down" the turban to feel for anything suspicious. In my eyes, this seems like a good compromise, but many people are still offended by the decision.

Is the U.S. doing enough with this decision? Are they taking steps in the right direction?

The article at a glance:

"The turban — along with a comb, a sword, a specific undergarment and a metallic wrist bangle — are part of the required dress for Sikh men, according to the religion, which is a mix of Hindu and Islam founded in the 15th Century in Punjab. Sikh women are forbidden to cut their hair.

Men have long accepted they cannot carry a sword aboard planes, Badal said, and so have modified the religious requirement by carrying pendants or blades embedded in their comb 'as a symbolic symbol.' But this can mean they do not clear a metal detector, which prompts a second security screening."

Take a look. Did the U.S. make a fair decision?

Should I Be Laughing? Part 2

Pope Delivers Message to Ahmadinejad

In a recent letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Pope encouraged religious freedom in Iran. In the letter, the Pope referred to religious freedom as a human rights issue.
Here is an excerpt from the letter:
"When the promotion of the dignity of the human person is the primary inspiration of political and social activity that is committed to search for the common good, solid and enduring foundations are created for building peace and harmony between peoples."

Burqa Ban, What Do You Think?

As mentioned in previous posts, France has banned Islamic women from wearing the burqa. A lot of controversy is surrounding this law and many people are questioning its intentions. Is this a national security issue or an infringement on religious rights? Does this law suppress the rights of Islam OR the rights of women? I asked some female students at Penn State what they think.

Freedom of Blogging...

If I blogged that...

I am God.

God says, smoke marijuana.

...What would happen?

Likely nothing. But in West Bank, that is not the case. Blogger Walid Husayin was arrested for the posts he placed on his blog and Facebook groups. He's an atheist, and some of his writings satirized the Koran. That was enough to get him imprisoned for heresy. He said the same things I said above, and his consequences were hardly small. Though he hasn't been charged yet, he is being detained for who knows how long.

This is a perfect example of the technological and governmental barriers that Palestine faces. Quite honestly, writing the above statements makes me feel like I should be a little wary. It's helping me realize how much freedom I have and how easily that freedom is taken away in certain countries around the world.

NY Times: Assertive Chinese Held in Mental Wards

This atrocity relates with my last post. In that one, the Chinese government prevented practicing Christians from traveling to a conference in South Africa.

Because they were outspoken, I can't help but think they may become victims of what was reported to have happened in this New York Times article.

More or less, because the Chinese people disagreed with the government, they were thrown in psych wards. The man featured endured 54 electric shock treatments to go along with injections of drugs that made him swoon.

What is wrong with the Chinese government? I'm glad I live in the U S of A to say the least.

Moving forward, I found some posts relating to what Chinese dissidents and what they're doing to combat the suppressive government.

Check them out: http://roomfordebate.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/chinas-new-rebels/

Some Pictures for Thought

Religious Americans = Higher Well-Being

Americans who choose to practice some form of religion have higher rates of well-being than those who choose not to practice religion, according to this article discussing a recent Gallup poll.

The context of this study brought some questions to my mind:

- If this study was conducted in a country that's less tolerant of religious freedom or practices, would the same results be true?

- Would people feel more stress instead of well-being if they must practice their preferred religious beliefs in secret-- especially if they're going against their government's choice religion? Or would they still feel a sense of well-being because they are choosing to defy everything that's going against them to stay true to their beliefs, even if they must remain behind closed doors?

- Does the freedom Americans have to express and communicate their religion play a role in this heightened sense of well-being?

Obama's Remarks on Jihad

While in India, President Obama spoke to a group of Muslims about "jihad" and his interpretation of the religion. He said, "I think all of us recognize that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted to justify violence towards innocent people that is never justified."

Obama also added that "Islam is one of the world's great religions and people of all faiths need to treat one another with respect and mutual dignity." Do you think people will begin to better respect  and understand different religions if top leaders continue to address religious issues? I think communication can only enhance respect between religious groups.

And speaking of communication, it was neat to see the difference between the United States and India's coverage on Obama's remarks-- both audiences seemed to be receptive and appreciative.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation

I never knew about this organization...very interesting.

"The Military Religious Freedom Foundation is dedicated to ensuring that all members of the United States Armed Forces fully receive the Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom to which they and all Americans are entitled by virtue of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Over 18,000 active duty members of the United States Armed Forces have come to our foundation as spiritual rape victims/tormentees, 96% of them are Christians themselves."

http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/

Religious Freedom in the USA

"We have the most religious freedom of any country in the world, including the freedom not to believe."
-Bill Clinton

Is this true?

Attack of Iraqi Christians

This massive, brutal, and pre-meditated attack is a prime example of the danger of being a different religion (in this instance, Christian) and practicing it within a hostile environment. Here's an article from The New York Times that touches on its effect and the aftermath.

Religious freedom is something we have, but it's not always free. So unfortunate.

Should I Be Laughing?

International Religious Freedom Day

October 27th was International Religious Freedom Day. This day celebrates an important human rights issue and may also stir-up questions such as, how is Freedom of Religion defined?

According to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of religion is when "everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance."

In plain language, the UN explains this as having the right to profess your religion freely, to change it, and to practice it either on your own or with other people.

The Masque of Africa

In the new book The Masque of Africa by Nobel Prize winner V.S. Naipual, he again writes about Africa and religious issues he explores there. But in this book, he investigates the influence of the "alien religions": Christianity and Islam. In Africa, Christianity and Islam have begun to permeate countries across the continent, though they each have many indigenous religions of their own.

A former university dean in Gabon is quoted in the book and says, "The new religions, Islam and Christianity, are just on the top. Inside us is the forest."

This shows how deeply rooted spiritual practices are within African culture and history. The spread of Christianity and Islam is relatively "new" to them in comparison to what they have practiced since the beginning of their time.

I am interested in this book and think it would explore religious rights in a sense, because the people that he talks to must have opinions on these religious influences. The people he writes about have had experiences that certainly shape their perspective, so maybe the book would give good insight into what it looks like for a "new" religion to act in their culture.