A bill banning some public employees in Quebec from wearing religious symbols like head scarves, skullcaps, turbans and crosses has passed despite concerns about civil liberties.
Tag: Freedom of Religion
Hindu Veterinarian Is Latest to Face Blasphemy Charges in Pakistan
A veterinarian is accused of wrapping medicine in Quran verses. Critics say Pakistan’s blasphemy law is being used to persecute minorities and settle feuds.
Pope Francis’ Visit to Morocco Raises Hopes for Its Christians
Even in a country widely viewed as tolerant, Moroccan Christians have to practice their faith in secret. They are hoping the pope’s visit might be a turning point.
Quebec Proposes Bill Barring Public Employees From Wearing Head Scarves at Work
The bill would also ban the wearing of religious symbols like Catholic crosses, Jewish skull caps and Sikh turbans while public employees are at work.
Russian Court Sentences Jehovah’s Witness to 6 Years in Prison
The Danish man, Dennis Christensen, was convicted of organizing a banned extremist group. Russia effectively outlawed the Christian denomination in 2017.
Pope Francis Breaks Some Taboos on Visit to Persian Gulf
The remarks, delivered in the United Arab Emirates, were exceptionally candid for a pontiff who usually does not criticize the country that hosts him.
Pakistani Woman Accused of Blasphemy Will Remain Free, Supreme Court Rules
A three-member panel dismissed a challenge to the top court’s October decision to free Asia Bibi, a Christian farmworker who had spent eight years on death row.
Belgium Bans Ritual Animal Slaughter. Some See a Humane Move, Others Prejudice.
Animal rights groups praised the new law banning halal and kosher practices, but Muslims and Jews see it as part of a right-wing nationalist agenda.
Pope Francis, in Christmas Speech, Emphasizes ‘Fraternity’
In his “Urbi et Orbi” (“To the City and to the World”) benediction, the pontiff declares that differences are a source of richness rather than danger.
As China Cracks Down on Churches, Christians Declare ‘We Will Not Forfeit Our Faith’
China this year banned online sales of the Bible, burned crosses, demolished churches and forced at least a half-dozen places of worship to close.