Free Republic

It has been exactly 100 days since the beginning of interfaith prayer marathon in Donetsk. During this time he has become a platform for the implementation of religious and social projects and the target of aggression persons other than political affiliation. The history of the The first steps of the formation of the prayer marathon were made in February. 13 of Facebook appears in official representation of groups of churches and religious organizations of Donetsk Oblast (RTsiRODo). It formed the first regional platform for dialogue, mutual respect and joint projects of religious organizations, the public, local authorities and government of...

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed a lawsuit on behalf of three former employees, against a Syosset, New York company claiming that workers were forced to participate in religious activities at work and fired if they refused. As reported by Reuters, United Health Programs of America and its parent company, Cost Containment Group, made employees pray, thank God for their jobs, and tell managers and colleagues, “I love you.” The practice followed a belief system called “Onionhead,” which was a doctrine created by the aunt of the company’s owner. The EEOC press release says other activities “…included...

These Onionheads were a bunch of knuckleheads. The feds are suing a Long Island company that employees say they were forced to leave because they refused to participate in religious rites in the workplace called Onionhead — which included praying, thanking God for their jobs, and saying "I love you" to management and co-workers — a lawsuit charges. Three former employees complained to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and federal investigators confirmed that United Health Programs of America in Syosset and its parent company, Cost Containment Group, had discriminated against them based on religion.

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson claimed to be uncertain that he knew sexual abuse of a child by a priest constituted a crime when he was auxiliary bishop in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, according to a deposition released Monday. During the deposition taken last month, attorney Jeff Anderson asked Carlson whether he knew it was a crime for an adult to engage in sex with a child. “I’m not sure whether I knew it was a crime or not,” Carlson replied. “I understand today it’s a crime.” Anderson went on to ask Carlson whether he knew in 1984,...

...Muslim Movements to Christ Something is happening in the Muslim world, something unprecedented in history. Over the past 14 centuries, Islam has forged a ‘spiritual empire’ that stretches from West Africa to Indonesia. Today, the Dar al-Islam or “House of Islam,” as Muslims call their religious community, counts more than one in five persons on earth.

Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century” was published on March 10, 2014, the day after the first episode of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” aired on Fox and its sister networks. The fact that both men have captured the public imagination at the same time is at least partly due to that simple fact. There’s also the matter of professional ripeness, behind the appearance of fresh fame: Piketty had been around for some time, publishing papers and collaborating on constructing the Top Incomes database along with Emmanuel Saez, but he’d never published anything remotely as sweeping as...

Christian Worldview Join Dr. R.C. Sproul as he examines today's most popular worldviews and demonstrates that only the Christian worldview answers life’s ultimate questions.... (Offer ends June 15, 2014)

Politicians are so busy squabbling over extremism that they are failing to tackle it. Shortly after midnight on Tuesday, the Home Office website published a letter from the Home Secretary, Theresa May, to the Education Secretary, Michael Gove. In it, Mrs May asked some rude questions about why his department had not acted earlier to investigate accusations of Islamist infiltration of schools in Birmingham. This was heat-of-the-night stuff. One government department is not supposed to publish its attacks on another. The error was tacitly acknowledged: on Thursday afternoon, the letter was taken down from the website. As has been reported,...

Christianity is by far the largest religion in the United States; more than three-quarters of Americans identify as Christians. A little more than half of us identify as Protestants, about 23 percent as Catholic and about 2 percent as Mormon. But what about the rest of us? In the Western U.S., Buddhists represent the largest non-Christian religious bloc in most states. In 20 states, mostly in the Midwest and South, Islam is the largest non-Christian faith tradition. And in 15 states, mostly in the Northeast, Judaism has the most followers after Christianity. Hindus come in second place in Arizona and...

Several people have been injured after Sikh groups brandishing swords clashed at India's Golden Temple as special prayers were held to mark the deadly military offensive there in 1984. Reports said the fight at Sikhism's holiest shrine was over who would speak first at the ceremony and that a scuffle broke out over a microphone. Footage showed men running down temple steps lashing out with their swords. Reports said at least three people had been taken to hospital with injuries. The Indian government says 400 people and 87 soldiers were killed during the 1984 military raid to flush out Sikh...

Arizona Edition - Last week, members of the U.S. Conference of Bishops led a mass for immigrants and their families at St. Peter’s Catholic Church on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. It was meant to recall a mass conducted in Nogales on the U.S.-Mexico border two months earlier on April 1st. After the mass, members of the delegation met with members of Congress, including House Speaker John Boehner to encourage them to take on immigration reform as soon as possible. Gerald F. Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson, was one of the six clerics in attendance. KAWC’s Lou Gum spoke to Kicanas...

He was thought to be the oldest man in Tokyo - but when officials went to congratulate Sogen Kato on his 111th birthday, they uncovered mummified skeletal remains lying in his bed. Mr Kato may have been dead for 30 years according to Japanese authorities. They grew suspicious when they went to honour Mr Kato at his address in Adachi ward, but his granddaughter told them he "doesn't want to see anybody". Police are now investigating the family on possible fraud charges. ...They discovered a mummified body, believed to be Kato, lying in his bed, wearing underwear and pyjamas, covered...

This “pastoral letter” was sent by Planned Parenthood and it reads: Many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders disapprove of abortion. The truth is that abortion is not even mentioned in the Scriptures—Jewish or Christian—and there are clergy and people of faith from all denominations who support women making this complex decision. The letter text: The decision to have an abortion is personal. Though your reasons may be complicated and private, you’re not alone. As religious leaders from a number of religious traditions, we’re here to support you in your decision. Many people wrongly assume that all religious leaders...

An atheist college professor is going after a Missouri high school principal who delivered a faith-themed graduation speech that referenced prayer and the nation’s history of celebrating a higher power. Principal (Image source: YouTube) Principal Kevin Lowery invoked God in his graduation ceremony speech. (Image source: YouTube) Principal Kevin Lowery of Lebanon High School, a public school in Lebanon, Missouri, can be seen in a YouTube clip reminding graduates of America’s religious history before holding a moment of silence. “In fact, I’d like to remind our graduates that our nation’s motto is, in fact, ‘In God We Trust.’ If you’re...

Who needs Kirk Cameron when you have Nicolas Cage? The teaser for the upcoming Rapture thriller “Left Behind” — based on the bestselling novel of the same name by evangelical Christian minister Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins — just debuted on the movie’s official Facebook page. It certainly looks more expensive and effects-heavy than the 2000 version, which featured the former “Growing Pains” star in a lead role. This time around, Chad Michael Murray (“One Tree Hill”) takes over Cameron’s part as journalist Buck Williams, but the big draw here is Oscar winner Cage — no stranger to apocalyptic...

A pregnant woman and her child pass by a banner with an echography of a fetus during a rally against abortion in Moscow (AFP Photo / Alexey Sazonov) A group of Orthodox Christian activists claim that they have gathered 100,000 signatures under a petition seeking to completely ban abortions in Russia – a number enough to make it a valid legislative initiative. In the near future all the documents will be submitted to the authorities and the activists will be waiting for an official reaction to their demands, a member of the Public Chamber, priest Aleksander Pelin was quoted...

An intense struggle is happening in the realm of professional licensing in Canada. The religious freedom of Christians and others is colliding on a grand scale with the “equality rights” of the LGBTQ identity group, and as the tide turns in favor of equality rights, we are starting to witness socially accepted ostracism of Christians by professional bodies.On April 24th, the law society of Canada’s largest province voted against admitting among their ranks graduates of Trinity Western University, for the sole reason that the school’s community covenant, which students (and teachers) voluntarily sign upon admission or hiring, reserves sexual intimacy...

Istanbul (AsiaNews) - On his return from Jerusalem , where he met with Pope Francis at the Holy Sepulchre, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, has revealed an important appointment for unity between Catholics and Orthodox: a gathering at Nicaea in 2025, where the first real ecumenical council of the undivided Church was celebrated. Speaking exclusively with AsiaNews, Bartholomew says that together with Pope Francis "we agreed to leave as a legacy to ourselves and our successors a gathering in Nicaea in 2025, to celebrate together, after 17 centuries , the first truly ecumenical synod, where the Creed was...

The American public has become more tolerant on a number of moral issues, including premarital sex, embryonic stem cell research, and euthanasia. On a list of 19 major moral issues of the day, Americans express levels of moral acceptance that are as high or higher than in the past on 12 of them, a group that also encompasses social mores such as polygamy, having a child out of wedlock, and divorce.

WaterBrook Multnomah, which has published numerous evangelical bestsellers, has resigned from the National Religious Broadcasters over Matthew Vines' controversial book God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships. The move comes after it was learned that Christian staff of WaterBrook Multnomah worked on Vines' book, which was published by its imprint, Convergent Books. A number of conservative commentators have spoken out strongly against Convergent Books' decision to publish the book. It "is the first step in a larger effort to fundamentally recast long-held, universally acknowledged norms pertaining to sexual ethics," Andrew Walker, director of Policy...