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The recent headlines out of Africa have a lot — if not everything — to do with religion, with ripple effects being felt around the world. Here are some links about the brutal murder of gay activist David Kato, an Anglican from Uganda who couldn’t even be buried in peace: Is murdered gay activist David…

Perhaps it’s because I just caught the Harry Potter exhibit at Seattle’s Pacific Science Center, but here’s the religion news story that struck me as the most entertaining this week: Romania’s “Witch Tax:” Magic meets bureaucracy (Religion Dispatches) The thought of Romania’s witches pelting their country with a “volley of curses” — including one that requires “cat…

As candle-lighting ceremonies and other symbolic gestures commemorated International Holocaust Remembrance Day, hundreds of American rabbis marked the Jan. 27 occasion with a forceful letter to media mogul Rupert Murdoch about the use of Nazi and Holocaust references by his Fox News employees: Roger Ailes and Glenn Beck. For more on the letter, which appeared…

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, so check back later for a round-up of how people around the world commemorated the observance. (Jan. 27 is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi concentration camps.) In other news: The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life reports although Muslim birth rates…

As promised, here’s a round-up of faith-related responses to President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. (I thought there would be more coverage by now, but I’ll add to it as needed — check back for more links.) The gist: Jews are annoyed that Obama didn’t talk about Israel, Muslims are happy that…

The theme of President Obama’s 2011 State of the Union address was “winning the future,” which — much like “war on terror” and “defeating evil” — strikes me as one of those impossibly vague and overly simplistic turns of political phrase. But aside from that, I thought it was an effective speech, with enough new/unexpected material…

First, the Anti-Defamation League took the odd position against Park51, the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” despite agreeing that it’s wrong to discriminate against Muslims, who have the same right as anyone to build a house of worship on private property. Now, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission has pulled out of an interfaith group (founded by the ADL, incidentally) dedicated…

Aside from the Roe v. Wade anniversary — featuring a huge anti-abortion crowd at the March for Life in Washington — the top two religion newsmakers today each concerns an elderly white male Christian leader with an unexpected message: Pope Benedict (age: 83) issued some cautionary advice about social networking — YouTube, Facebook, blogging, etc. — while the Rev. Billy Graham (age: 92)…

Today is the 38th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion, and predominantly Christian pro-life activists are gearing up for a March for Life in Washington D.C. and for political gains in 2012. Some faith-related headlines: Abortion Opponents See Political Openings (Christianity Today) Abortion Foes Have High Hopes For…

Time to lighten up and have a laugh — or at least a hearty eye-roll? I have four finalists for this week’s Fun Friday newsmaker. Boy George Returns Stolen Church Icon (AFP) Full disclosure: I wanted to go with this one, because my family is Cypriot and I’m now wondering if Boy George and George Michael,…
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