Saturday, November 4, 2023

This Week in Religion - Rise of antisemitism and Islamophobia on campuses

Lead story

Jewish Rutgers University students and members of the community gather holding placards and flags to hold solidarity and vigil for Israel.

Editor's note:

At Tulane University, an attempt to set an Israeli flag on fire. At Cooper Union, a dozen Jewish students sheltering in a library as pro-Palestinian demonstrators banged on doors and windows. At Cornell, death threats against Jewish students posted on a message board. Around the U.S., incidents of antisemitism have spiked sharply in the weeks since the Hamas attacks on Israel, as criticism of Israel’s retaliation in Gaza has become more widespread. “These kids have been barraged with some of the most vitriolic, heinous rhetoric,” one graduate teaching assistant told RNS reporter Yonat Shimron. At the same time, as RNS reported previously, many Muslim and Arab American students are experiencing a rise in hate speech and Islamophobic incidents. In dozens of interviews students counted the cost of condemning Israel’s role in the crisis. Many students, scarred from a childhood filled with news of school shootings, are triggered by the inflamed tensions. “There’s definitely a foreboding sense — when’s the next tragedy?” one student told RNS.

A portrait of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor at Religion News Service.
 

Religion News

In Benin, Voodoo’s birthplace, believers bemoan steady shrinkage of forests they revere as sacred 

In Benin, the birthplace of Voodoo, practitioners of the faith believe the country’s forests are home to the spirits they seek guidance from and pray to. But those woodlands in the West African nation are disappearing because of development and other factors. By Sam Mednick/The Associated Press 

How a South Dakota priest inspired 125 years of direct democracy — and the fight to preserve it 

Thanks to a rabble-rousing, socialist priest, it’s a milestone year for direct democracy in the U.S. and not just because Ohio voters are circumventing their Republican-controlled legislature to decide for themselves if they have constitutional abortion rights. By Holly Meyer/The Associated Press 

 Pope Francis’ synod on synodality never sought to answer the church’s hot-button questions, but it achieved its goal of promoting dialogue. By Claire Giangravé/Religion News Service

A student lays out electronic candles in the shape of a Star of David.

Jewish and Muslim chaplains navigate US campus tensions and help students roiled by Israel-Hamas war 

For many of the university chaplains and faith leaders caring for students angered and shaken by the Israel-Hamas war, the needs are acute, the days intense. The bloodshed has roiled campuses in the United States, at times sparking rival rallies and competing demands. By Mariam Fam/The Associated Press 

Mike Johnson, pedigreed evangelical, suggests his election as House speaker ordained by God

Johnson, who peppered his first speech as speaker with religious references, has a history of challenging interpretations of the separation of church and state. By Jack Jenkins/Religion News Service

 

Commentary and Analysis

A scholar who has studied Palestinian refugees for 20 years explains the history of their displacement and the stakes involved for those living in an indefinite exile. By Michael Vicente Perez for The Conversation

Halloween’s influence is transforming popular festivities around Día de los Muertos and its ceremonial customs in rural and urban areas of Mexico in some fascinating ways. By Mathew Sandoval for The Conversation

Across cultures, death rituals give mourners a chance to grieve. But they also offer one last opportunity to help the deceased as they transition to the next stage of existence. By Liz Wilson for The Conversation

In conflict, our compassion should not be limited to the side who can prove more pain. By Tarunjit Singh Butalia/Religion News Service

 
Women dance in front of an idol of Hindu goddess Durga.

Women dance in front of an idol of Hindu goddess Durga before it is immersed in the Hooghly River in Kolkata, India, Oct. 24, 2023. The immersion of idols marks the end of the festival that commemorates the slaying of a demon king by lion-riding, 10-armed goddess Durga, marking the triumph of good over evil. (AP Photo/Bikas Das)

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