Beliefnet News

We’ve just passed another anniversary of China’s one-child policy, instituted on September 25, 1980. When put into law, the Chinese government said it was an emergency measure that would be left in place for 30 years. “Since the day the policy began, horrible things have happened. When families can have only one child, they choose…

A Christian high school student has been punished by his school this week for saying he believes “being a homosexual is wrong.” Student Suspended for Saying Gay Is Wrong: MyFoxDFW.com Fort Worth 14-year-old Dakota Ary was sent to the principal’s office, then spent most of the day serving an in-school suspension at Western Hills High School.…

A Saudi official says the results of laboratory tests on the remains of suicide bombers who blew themselves up in terrorist attacks there show they had enough heroin in them to keep them from feeling pain when they blew themselves up. Saudi Arabia’s al-Watan newspaper quoted the Saudi security advisor, Dr. Yusuf Rumaih, saying that the Kingdom sent the samples…

Thousands of Sikhs will gather across Europe Sunday to proclaim their right to wear their faith’s required turbans — and to voice concerns with legal challenges to such headgear in some parts of Europe. The turban or dastaar is mandatory for devout Sikh men. They are not allowed to remove it even to wear safety headgear…

Information technology project manager Mohammad Mertaban is doing his part to resolve the “marriage crisis” in the Southern  California Islamic community. It seems that growing numbers of devout Muslims in the U.S. are reaching their late 20s and early 30s  still single. These are faithful who “tend to avoid Western-style dating,” writes Raja Abdulrahim in the Los Angeles Times. These same…

A chief priest in the Okonko cult, Chief Emenike Umogariko, is accused of killing a political science graduate student from Nigeria’s Abia State University and seriously injuring two other persons, according to Nigeria’s Daily Sun newspaper. The victim, Ekenna Sunday Ugochukwu, died after being attacked with a machete when the chief priest apparently was angered by a judgment that he must sacrifice…

For six months, Beijing’s 1,000-member Shouwang Church has attempted to hold outdoor services after officials blocked them from taking possession of a $4 million property. Today, the church’s leaders are under house arrest. Any church member who shows up at the park designated for Sunday services is arrested. The Chinese government only allows Christian services…

“An appearance on ABC’s ‘Celebrity Wife Swap’ show is not the traditional way to restore the image of a troubled evangelical pastor,” notes Joshua Little in the Washington Post‘s “On Faith” section: But, scandalized former mega-church pastor Ted Haggard has confirmed that he will be swapping partners with actor Gary Busey on the show, adding…

Why is a 2,000-member New Jersey church with no building planning a $30,000 “reverse offering” followed by $60,000 more donated back to the community? “Washington is broke, people are broke, and folks have lost faith that government can provide a lasting solution to economic issues,” says Tim Lucas, pastor of Liquid Church, an evangelical congregation which…

A 1,245-page Bible that once visited the lunar surface is expected to be auctioned off for $50,000. “A rare Bible that’s been to the moon and back will have a new owner Thursday night – the complete King James version, framed in gold leaf, is under the hammer at an auction house in New Hampshire,” reports Richard Allen Green for…

More from Beliefnet and our partners