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Religion

  • 3 Nov 2007
    Communities minister fuels debate about churches and public service provision

    Church and faith groups have a key role to play in bringing transformation to communities across the UK, according to the government minister responsible. But critics say many questions remain about the agendas of both parties.

  • 19 Oct 2007
    Freedom of belief under threat, says new book on India

    Despite India remaining the world's most populous and vibrant democracy, freedom of religion is in decline and plural secularism threatened, says a journalist-turned-Christian activist who is now secretary general of the All India Christian Council.

  • 19 Oct 2007
    Canadian priest says secular society should include the religious

    A Canadian Catholic priest is urging Quebec to move towards a model of "open secularism" that respects both religious and non-religious contributions to society without imposing the beliefs of any one group.

  • 18 Oct 2007
    Making sense of religion in America

    Those hoping that when George W. Bush departs the Oval Office, religion will accompany him are likely to be disappointed, says Jonathan Bartley, if a book by the former Guardian religious affairs correspondent is right.

  • 15 Oct 2007
    European Baptists push for release of peace pastor imprisoned in Azerbaijan

    European Baptists are renewing their efforts to press for the release of an imprisoned peace pastor, Zaur Balaev, after an Azerbaijan court last week rejected his appeal against a two-year prison sentence for illegal religious activity and violence.

  • 9 Oct 2007
    Business should feed the human spirit

    Peter Heslam looks at the late Anita Roddick's legacy, and her argument that because it has surpassed both church and state in power and influence, business should assume moral leadership in society. It has to shift its emphasis from the material to the spiritual, she declared.

  • 5 Oct 2007
    Government responds to requests for action on 'creationism' (updated)

    In June 2007 the Christian think-tank Ekklesia and the British Humanist Association wrote to the new Schools, Children and Families minister, Ed Balls MP, urging him to make progress on combating creationism in British schools. The government has subsequently issued its promised guidelines.

  • 2 Oct 2007
    How religions can be a force for democracy

    These days, it can so easily feel as if religion is an anti-democratic force in our polity, writes Giles Fraser. No one votes for Bishops in the House of Lords, for example. So it's worth remembering that in this country, as indeed in many others too, religion was the nursemaid of democracy.

  • 2 Oct 2007
    USA reconsiders prison religious book ban after protests

    The United States Federal Bureau of Prisons has said it will return "non-approved" religious books and other materials that were removed from the shelves of federal prison libraries because of concerns over the threat of terrorism.

  • 29 Sep 2007
    Hillary Clinton and the 'religious vote' in the US

    Gordon Brown's recent speech to the Labour Party conference raised questions about the meaning, provenance and role of religious rhetoric in mainstream politics. This is an even hotter issue in the USA.