Thursday, February 22, 2024

This Week in Religion - North Carolina city council moves to support a cease-fire

Lead story

Protesters attending a Durham City Council meeting hold up signs that support a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Editor's note:

In the very wee hours of the morning Monday (Feb. 19), after a long night of emotional and passionate public testimony, the Durham City Council passed a resolution in support of a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. A day later, the U.S. vetoed for the third time a U.N. resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in the war. While the Durham resolution seemed to make little to no impact on Tuesday’s decision, the city joins an increasing number of American municipalities in demanding the country support a ceasefire. The North Carolina city is the second in its state and the 69th in the nation to do so, joining Chicago, Minneapolis, Detroit and Seattle. These local movements have been propelled in large part by religious activists from across faiths, but perhaps most notably Jewish Voice for Peace, which has been a leader in urging cease-fire resolutions, writes Yonat Shimron for RNS.

A picture of Roxanne Stone, Managing Editor at Religion News Service. She has wavy reddish brown hair and is wearing a patterned blouse.
 

Religion News

5 years after pope's abuse summit, victims still traumatized by the very system to address their claims 

Five years ago this week, Pope Francis convened an unprecedented summit of bishops from around the world to impress on them that clergy abuse was a global problem and that they needed to do something about it. Yet the system has proven to be incapable of dealing with the problem. By Nicole Winfield/The Associated Press 

Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon? 

Greece has become the first majority-Orthodox Christian nation to legalize same-sex marriage under civil law. At least for the near future, it will almost certainly be the only one. By Peter Smith and Dasha Litvinova/The Associated Press

For nearly a century, Southern Baptist churches have banded together to raise funds for missions in the US and around the world, raising more than $20 billion through their Cooperative Program. But the trust that once held the program together is fraying. By Bob Smietana/Religion News Service

Joe Biden, sits beside Mike Johnson and Hakeem Jeffries during the National Prayer Breakfast. All three men have their heads bowed.

Many believe the founders wanted a Christian America. Some want the government to declare one now 

Large numbers of Americans believe the founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation. The belief is especially strong among Republicans and their white evangelical base. Historians say such views misread and simplify a complex history.  By Peter Smith/The Associated Press 

Hinduism has no rules against marrying outside the faith. But couples say it has its bumps.

Among American Hindus, a survey by the organization Interfaith Shaadi found that 38% marry outside the umbrella of Dharmic faiths — Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism. By Richa Karmarkar/Religion News Service

 

Commentary and Analysis

The Turkish government started sending imams to Germany in the 1980s, but under a new agreement, imams will be trained in Germany instead. By Brian Van Wyck for The Conversation

Faith and reason are often treated as opposites. But some philosophers believe they can only strengthen each other, including the Jewish sage Maimonides, who wrote the famous 'Guide to the Perplexed.' By Randy L. Friedman for The Conversation

The church is the last place where cultural stereotypes should be upheld as biblical truth. By Karen Swallow Prior/Religion News Service

You can donate to environmental charities and even purchase carbon offsets, but not having an additional child typically has a much greater impact. By Trevor Hedberg for The Conversation

 
A Catholic priest kneels to mark a cross of ashes on a student's forehead. There are other students in line behind that student.

Students line up to get their foreheads marked with a cross of ashes during Ash Wednesday Mass in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. Ash Wednesday for Catholics worldwide ushers in a period of penitence and reflection, known as the season of Lent, which leads up to Easter Sunday. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

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