Tag: religion

Bishop of London dismisses calls for civil partnerships in churches

Bishop of London dismisses calls for civil partnerships in churches
February 4, 2012
Christianity

The Rt Rev Richard Chartres was responding to demands from clergy on the right to hold ceremonies on their premisesThe bishop of London has rejected calls for civil partnerships to be registered in the capital’s churches, citing unity and the age of au…

Face to faith: In a modern, tolerant society like ours there is no place for a divisive tribalism that causes the deaths of Egyptian football fans

Face to faith: In a modern, tolerant society like ours there is no place for a divisive tribalism that causes the deaths of Egyptian football fans
February 4, 2012

In a liberal and tolerant society like ours there is no place for the divisive tribalism of the football terracesPeople talk about sport as a religion. But what would it be like to talk about sport the way that the enemies of religion talk about faith?…

The polling picture ahead of the Nevada caucus | Harry J Enten

The polling picture ahead of the Nevada caucus | Harry J Enten
February 3, 2012

The Nevada caucus belongs to Mitt Romney, but watch for Ron Paul: by my reading, pollsters are underestimating his appealMitt Romney won a wide and deep victory in Florida. He won most demographics and carried the state of Florida by 14.5 percentage po…

Sounds Jewish podcast: February 2012

Sounds Jewish podcast: February 2012
February 3, 2012
Judaism

Joining Jason Solomons in the studio are award-winning photographer Judah Passow and writer Keith Kahn-Harris.To engage or to exclude: we’ll discuss the growing row dividing Britain’s Jews over how best to relate to British Muslims and ask whether an i…

Manchester’s antisemitic attacks: no simple answers but one simple fact | Rodge Glass

Manchester’s antisemitic attacks: no simple answers but one simple fact | Rodge Glass
February 3, 2012
Judaism

Trying to explain geographical or year-on-year quirks distracts us from the key point: antisemitism’s very presence in BritainIn Autumn 2010 I was working in Tunisia, and one day I got talking to the owner of a vegetable stall who noticed my accent. He…

Not card-carrying Catholic? Tell us what would go on your card instead | Open thread

Not card-carrying Catholic? Tell us what would go on your card instead | Open thread
February 3, 2012
Christianity

A Muslim, a humanist and an Anglican gave us their equivalent of the card printed up for Catholics. Over to youThe Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has printed up a million wallet-sized cards for people who want to be “card-carrying Ca…

Alain de Botton’s atheist temple is a nice idea, but a defunct one | John Gray

Alain de Botton’s atheist temple is a nice idea, but a defunct one | John Gray
February 3, 2012

De Botton’s atheist temple call does not need to be realised – our existing places of worship can be appreciated by allAlain de Botton has reinvigorated the conversation on religion. His new book moves away from the tedious debates of recent yea…

Egyptian comic Adel Imam jailed for insulting Islam

Egyptian comic Adel Imam jailed for insulting Islam
February 2, 2012
Islam

Actor sentenced to three months in case brought by lawyer with ties to Islamist groups gaining power in post-Mubarak EgyptOne of the Arab world’s most famous comic actors Adel Imam has received a three-month jail sentence for insulting Islam in films a…

Anglican Mainstream and the enemies of Christianity | Andrew Brown

Anglican Mainstream and the enemies of Christianity | Andrew Brown
February 2, 2012
Christianity

The anti-gay group deserves the censure it has received – unlike a small Evangelical Christian group in BathThe danger with pretending to be persecuted, misunderstood and all alone is that you might wake up and find that it is true. Something like th…

Religion’s dysfunctional ‘families’ need therapists, not wreckers | Julian Baggini

Religion’s dysfunctional ‘families’ need therapists, not wreckers | Julian Baggini
February 2, 2012

Rather than try to root out a false belief, atheist critics should examine the role and influence of each element of a religionA couple of weeks ago, I came to the conclusion that “religion is an important issue, not the existence of God”. I said that …