Lead story
Editor's note:
In huge, not heavily populated Maine, not all towns can support their own secondary school. Instead, the state provides for kids to attend nearby schools, or even private schools – so long as they’re not religious.
Well, that was the case until this week, anyway. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court decided Maine’s program discriminates against religion and struck down its requirement that schools receiving tuition aid must be “nonsectarian.” It’s a win for the "school choice" movement, with consequences that could go beyond the state. But for many critics, it sets a troubling precedent – and continues the court’s trend of lowering the wall of separation between church and state in education.
With just a few days left in the court’s current term, we’ll be watching for another religion and education case: Can a public high school football coach pray on the field?
Religion News
France rules against burkini swimwear for religious reasons
While worn by only a small number of people in France, the head-to-ankle burkini draws intense political debate in the country. By the Associated Press
Buddhist leader in Bhutan fully ordains 144 women, resuming ancient tradition
Damcho Diana Finnegan, an American Tibetan Buddhist nun, called the ordination ceremony ‘a major step towards ending the institutionalized inequality between men and women in Tibetan Buddhism.’ By Haley Barker/Religion News Service
Earlier this year, Barber contacted Religion News Service to open up about his health struggles in detail for the first time. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service
Camino pilgrims help rural Spain’s emptying villages survive
Over centuries, villages were built along the Camino de Santiago, a 500-mile pilgrimage route crossing Spain. Today, Camino travelers are saving those towns from disappearing. By Giovanna Dell’Orto/The Associated Press
Two Nigeria churches attacked; worshippers killed, abducted
Gunmen attacked two churches in rural northwestern Nigeria on Sunday, killing three people, witnesses and a state official said, weeks after a similar attack in the West African nation left 40 worshippers dead. By Chinedu Asadu/The Associated Press
Commentary and Analysis
A scholar writes about how the Southern Baptist Convention's views on abortion changed during the 1980s, when a more conservative wing seized control of the denomination. By Susan M. Shaw for The Conversation
The Catholic Church considers St. Joseph a role model of fatherhood and faith. In many countries, Father's Day is celebrated on his feast day. By Gloria Falcão Dodd for The Conversation
For Wiccans, midsummer, with the maximum hours of sunlight, is the time for celebrating new life. By Helen A. Berger for The Conversation
Less than a month before the pilgrimage to Mecca was to begin, the Saudis changed the rules. By Dilshad Ali/Religion News Service
Messengers vote at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Photo by Justin L. Stewart/Religion News Service
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- This Week in Religion is a publication of the Global Religion Journalism Initiative, a collaboration among the Religion News Service, The Associated Press and The Conversation U.S.
- The three news organizations work to improve general understanding and analyze the significance of developments in the world of faith.
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