Free Republic

AP) – The Vatican has issued a new document rejecting the concept of changing one’s biological sex – a setback for transgender people who had hoped Pope Francis might be setting the stage for a more welcoming approach from the Catholic Church. Around the world, major religions have diverse approaches to gender identity, and the inclusion or exclusion of transgender people. Some examples: Christianity The Catholic Church’s disapproving stance toward gender transition is shared by some other denominations. For example, the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant denomination in the United States – adopted a resolution in 2014 stating...

A new Pew Research Center in-depth report, “Spirituality Among Americans,” revealed that “7 in 10 U.S. adults describe themselves as spiritual in some way, including 22% who are spiritual but not religious.” The 95-page report released on Thursday found that: 83% of all U.S. adults believe people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body. 81% say there is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it. 74% say there are some things that science cannot possibly explain. 45% say they have had a sudden feeling of connection with something from beyond this...

A former high school student in Chicago was awarded $150k in damages from her public school after alleging that they tried to force her to worship a literal idol worship. Mariyah Green is a dedicated Christian who felt coerced into participating in the Quiet Time meditation program that was implemented at Bogan High School in Ashburn. Summarized by Chicago Sun times: In the lawsuit, Green alleges the “Transcendental Meditation” program was held during school hours, and students were required to participate in an initiation ceremony called a “Puja” — an “expression of gratitude” to the dead founders of the practice....

After 12 years of planning and construction, the largest Hindu temple outside India in the modern era is ready to open to the public in Robbinsville, New Jersey If stones could talk, sing and tell stories, Yogi Trivedi believes the marble and limestone that adorn the spires, pillars and archways of the stunning Hindu temple in central New Jersey would compose a paean to the divine. The tales these stones tell are those of seva (selfless service) and bhakti (devotion), which form the core of the Swaminarayan sect, a branch of Hinduism, said Mr. Trivedi, a scholar of Hinduism at...

NEVADA, Iowa — Republican voters eager to learn more about Vivek Ramaswamy are especially curious about one thing: his religion. “What is your opinion of Jesus Christ?” an Iowan asked Ramaswamy at a campaign stop in Nevada on Saturday. When Ramaswamy explained that in his Hindu faith, Jesus is “a” son of God and not “the” son of God, the potential caucusgoer followed up with another question about “the fact that the only way to heaven is Jesus Christ.” It’s a common occurrence as Ramaswamy hits the trail in Iowa. It was the second time he had been questioned about...

“We reckon that no evil can be done to us unless we be convicted as evildoers or be proved to be wicked men; and you, you can kill, but not hurt us” — Justin Martyr (First Apology).Disturbing news emerged from New Delhi, the capital of India, a few weeks ago, where Hindutva vigilante groups barged into a prayer gathering at the Siyyon Prarthna Bhawan with shouts of “Jai Shree Ram,” beating up the believers, which included several women. The attackers alleged that the Christians were attempting religious conversion. Such incidents have been on a steady rise for the last few...

[Image] Hank Kunneman (left), Vivek Ramaswamy (right), image via Amazon and Al Diaz / Tribune News Service / Getty 48 On Sunday (July 23), an American pastor and televangelist named Hank Kunneman went on an anti-Hindu tirade against Indian-American entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy for running as a Republican candidate for the upcoming 2024 US Presidential elections. At about 51 minutes and 30 seconds into his programme, Kunneman claimed, “We are in danger as a country and listen to me Generation Z and millennials. Those of you, who are watching, may like this new young guy (referring to Vivek Ramaswamy). “If he...

Standing outside the local police station in her village in northeast India, 19-year-old Nureja Khatun is anxious. Cradling her 6-month-old baby in her arms, she has been waiting to catch a glimpse of her husband before the police take him away to court. Nearly an hour later, she sees her husband, Akbar Ali, for just a few seconds when he is shuffled into a police van. An officer slams the door in her face before she is able to get any answers. “Please release my husband. Otherwise take me into custody as well,” she pleaded. Khatun’s husband is one of...

Amid widespread protests over a ban on hijabs in schools, an Indian court has temporarily prohibited all forms of religious dress in schools while it considers a legal challenge to the hijab ban. The current conflict began in September 2021 when a girl’s preparatory school in the Indian state of Karnataka moved to ban hijabs, saying the Muslim headscarves violated the school’s dress code. In the months and weeks since, students at various schools in the region have protested the ban by wearing their hijabs and demanding to be let back into school. At the same time, mobs of Hindu...

Winner of Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director in the year 1988, filmmaker Ali Akbar who has directed more than 20 films, has announced that he is quitting Islam and converting to Hinduism. The director took this step after discussing with his wife, who too is converting to Hinduism. As he said, "They have lost faith in religion." he said, "Today, I am throwing away an attire I received by birth. From today onwards I am not a Muslim. I am an Indian. That is my reply to those people who posted thousands of smiling emoticons against India."

This is huge. Those of us who have had hopes that Saudi Arabia can be transformed from a sponsor of hardline jihad into a modernizing force in the Islamic world have cause for optimism.Remarks made by the real ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), suggest that he is carefully laying the grounds for a fundamental reinterpretation of orthodox Islam.Tarek Fatah, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, writes in the Toronto Sun:When the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, challenged the fundamental precepts of Islamic Sharia in an interview on April...

The same symbol whose sight would make me feel uncomfortable, even unsafe, back home, sparked in me some sort of relief and sympathy on this distant island onsidering that we would be in Taiwan for 24 hours total, my travel buddy and I didn’t worry too much about finding kosher food. We’d arrive on a plane in the morning and leave on another plane the following morning. We’d bring our usual picnic bag with challah rolls and other sorts of Jewish foods we always take with us when we fly abroad. Still, I wanted to make sure we’d easily find...

New Delhi: Stand-up comic Munawar Faruqui, jailed over allegations of “insulting Hindu Gods and Goddesses” during a show, was granted interim bail today by the Supreme Court, which also issued notice to the Madhya Pradesh government. Munawar Faruqui was denied bail thrice before. The Madhya Pradesh High Court refused to grant him bail on January 28. A complaint by a BJP MLA’s son that the comedian made objection remarks on Hindu deities in a show in Indore led to his arrest on January 1. Four others were also arrested. All of them were accused of making “filthy and indecent jokes”...

A coalition of more than 350 faith leaders endorsed Joe Biden for president this week, citing a need for “moral clarity” to “restore the soul of this nation.” “Faith 2020 is raising awareness, mobilizing faith-rooted voters to get out the vote and doing our part to restore the soul of the nation,” the group wrote on its website. “We’re a group of progressives, independents and conservatives seeking change.” Faith 2020 received endorsements from faith leaders of various religions — Christian, Jewish, Sikh, Muslim and others. Its list includes well-known names, such as Nadia Bolz-Weber, a Lutheran minister who founded the...

Vice President Mike Pence joins military officers and a chaplain on Aug. 23, 2019, in a prayer for two Army men who died during operations in Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) (The Conversation) -- In 1919, Lee Levinger buried four soldiers in France. The responsibility to preside over a funeral was not unusual for military chaplains. But during World War I, most Americans would have been surprised to learn that a rabbi led a service for four Christian soldiers. In 1917, when the United States entered the war, chaplaincy was a majority white and fully Christian organization. No law specifically stated...

US President Donald Trump will celebrate Diwali at the White House on Thursday, three days ahead of the formal celebrations of the festival of lights in India. This would be Trump's third Diwali celebrations at the White House, a tradition that began with his predecessor Barack Obama in 2009. According to the White House, Trump will participate in the Diwali celebrations by lighting a ceremonial 'diya' (lamp) on Thursday. No other details of the celebrations were immediately available. Trump's first Diwali celebrations at the White House was in his Oval Office in 2017 in the presence of a select group...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Police in Kentucky say a Hindu temple in Louisville has been vandalized in a hate crime, its windows broken and walls covered in hateful messages. Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad tells The Courier Journal that “repugnant messages of hate” were spray-painted on its walls during a break-in this week. He says xenophobic and sexist messages were scrawled along with images of crosses and phrases such as “Jesus Is The Only God.” Someone spray-painted the eyes of a Hindu religious figure, with black paint dripping down the image’s face. Swaminarayan Temple officials say there is no...

Thousands of brides are being burned alive in India despite the practice being illegal, a Christian ministry has warned. India Partners, a Christian organization that works alonside indigenous Christian grassroots agencies in India, told Mission Network News on Thursday that there are still as many as 8,000 bride burning cases a year in the Hindu-majority country. A representative with India Partners, identified only as John, said the low view of women is spread through parts of India's society. “This is true both of men and women. It’s not just of men itself. Most women see the other woman as in...

BALI’s highest volcano Mount Agung is sending a dark ash cloud into the sky as it erupts for the second time in less than a week. Here are live updates and the latest news. ... Sutopo Purwo Nugroho a spokesman for Bali’s Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), has said that some Bali residents living within Mount Agung’s danger zone are refusing to evacuate the area. He said: “Some people within a radius of 8-10km from the summit crater of Mount Agung have not been displaced. “They feel safe because the area was not damaged during the 1963 eruption. They will evacuate...

Last year, Ivanka, a presidential adviser, had visited Hindu temples in Virginia and Florida as part of Diwali. Next month, she will be in Hyderabad for two days to attend the annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit. US President Donald Trump's entrepreneur daughter Ivanka, who joined him in Tuesday's Diwali celebrations at the White House, also took to Twitter to wish Indians across the globe a joyous Diwali. Her "Saal Mubarak" greeting was accompanied by a reminder that she will be in India next month for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). President Trump yesterday kicked off Diwali festivities at the Oval Office...