A once-stable country is plagued by extremists pouring over its northern border, restive farmers and herdsmen battling for land, and militias bent on tit-for-tat vengeance.
Tag: Religion and Belief
Lebanon Dispatch: Basketball Is ‘War, Minus the Shooting’ in Sectarian Lebanon
The professional basketball season resembles an election campaign, with party colors adorning team jerseys and banners of political patrons hanging in stadiums. Then there are the insults and riots.
Global Health: Religious Objections to the Measles Vaccine? Get the Shots, Faith Leaders Say
Devout parents who are worried about vaccines often object to ingredients from pigs or fetuses. But the leaders of major faiths have examined these fears and still vigorously endorse vaccination.
Sri Lanka Bombings Claimed by ISIS, and President Vows Shakeup
If the link to ISIS proves substantial, it would reinforce worries by Western security officials and others that the group remains a potent threat.
Faith Politics on the Rise as Indonesian Islam Takes a Hard-Line Path
Before the presidential vote this week, Indonesian candidates are polishing their religious credentials to appeal to a growing conservative populace.
With Letter on Sexual Abuse, Pope Benedict Returns to Public Eye
The former pontiff blames the sexual revolution, liberal theology and an absence of God for the crisis with which his successor, Pope Francis, has struggled.
Rejecting Asylum Claim, U.K. Quotes Bible to Say Christianity Is Not ‘Peaceful’
An Iranian asylum seeker said he converted from Islam to Christianity because it was a “peaceful” religion. The Home Office used Bible verses about vengeance as a basis to deny the claim.
England Greatly Expands Sex Education, Despite Some Parents’ Protests
The first revision of the curriculum in two decades will include information on same-sex relationships, as well as warnings against sexting and forced marriage.
In a First, Greek Premier Visits Shuttered Seminary in Turkey
Orthodox Christians hope Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s visit signals that Turkey, which closed the historic Halki seminary in 1971, might let it reopen.
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.