Tag: Religion
Teenager convicted for harassing Pagan
A teenage boy has admitted religiously harassing a McDonald’s employee by repeatedly teasing her for being a practicing Pagan.
Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says
A study using census data from nine countries shows that religion there is set for extinction, say researchers.
Survey: Americans don’t know much about religion
A new survey of Americans’ knowledge of religion found that atheists, agnostics, Jews and Mormons outperformed Protestants and Roman Catholics in answering questions about major religions, while many respondents could not correctly give the most basic tenets of their own faiths.
Vatican Slams ‘Avatar’: Promotes Nature Worship Over Religion
The Vatican newspaper and radio station have called the film “Avatar” simplistic, and criticized it for flirting with modern doctrines that promote the worship of nature as a substitute for religion.
L’Osservatore Romano and Vatican Radio dedicated ample coverage to James Cameron’s big-grossing, 3-D spectacle. But the reviews were lukewarm, calling the movie superficial in its eco-message, despite groundbreaking visual effects.
Viking Religious Group Causes Stir At Park
A recent incident created a dispute over practicing religion in a public place in California.
The incident happened at Standard Park, when neighbors saw a group of pagans practicing a harvest ritual, KSBW-TV reported.
The men at the park said they practice Odinism, a Viking Earth-based religion.
The group known as the Ravens Folk Kindred formerly held their pagan rituals at Willows Park.
The group arrived at Standard Park on Aug. 12 for a harvest ritual, but some neighbors were frightened by what they were doing.
BBC reinvent fat balding Friar Tuck as black martial arts expert for new series of Robin Hood
He is typically remembered as Robin Hood’s white, fat and balding companion.
But for the latest instalment of the BBC show, producers have reinvented Friar Tuck – as a black marital arts expert.
The fighting monk is played by Criminal Justice actor David Harewood, who had to undergo gruelling training sessions for the role.
The image overhaul appears to be keeping in line with some interpretations that Tuck was physically fit and ‘proficient with clubbes and staves.’
But the radical transformation has sparked fury among professors who believe the portrayal is historically inaccurate.
US and UK publisher both scrap encyclopedia for offending view of Islam
Wiley-Blackwell, a major academic press, was set to release its four-volume Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization this month. According to the encyclopedia’s editor, George Thomas Kurian, the set had been copy-edited, fact-checked, proofread, publisher-approved, printed, bound, and formally launched (to high praise) at the recent American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature conference.
But protests from a small group of scholars associated with the project have led the press to postpone publication, recall all copies already distributed, and destroy the existing print run. The scholars’ complaint? The Encyclopedia of Christian Civilization, they have reportedly argued, is “too Christian.” “They also object to historical references to the persecution and massacres of Christians by Muslims,” Kurian says, “but at the same time want references favorable to Islam.”
Hate Crimes Prevention Act Sets Foundation To Destroy Free Speech In The U.S.
As everybody is being distracted by the vastly overhyped swine flu hysteria, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009 which will serve as a mechanism to destroy free speech. This legislation will allow the federal government to provide support for state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies in the prosecution of any crime if it is believed to be motivated by prejudice based on race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. This bill sets the foundation for the government to impose greater penalties on individuals who have a belief system that might be perceived to be prejudiced against any particular group of people. Clearly, this bill is designed to setup the building blocks to destroy what’s left of the First Amendment.
Judge rejects Norse name change
A Nebraska judge rejected a prisoner’s request for a religious name-change because the government needs to keep track of him.
Lancaster County District Judge Steven Burns wrote in his ruling that Jonathan Thomas, 23, said he wanted to change his name to Sinner Lawrence Bilskirnir, which he said has to do with the Norse religion, “because he is a heathen and Thor is his ‘high god,’” the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal Star reported Thursday.
Schoolboys punished for refusing to kneel in class and pray to Allah
Two schoolboys were given detention after refusing to kneel down and ‘pray to Allah’ during a religious education lesson.
Parents were outraged that the two boys from year seven (11 to 12-year-olds) were punished for not wanting to take part …
