Officials, Police in Tamil Nadu State, India Halt Worship in 10 Churches
Officials and police in Tamil Nadu state, India, have ordered 10 churches to discontinue worship services, sources said.
Christian
Amid Pence promises, persecuted Iraqi Christians still in perilous limbo
Hundreds of thousands of persecuted Christians, Yazidis and other minorities driven from battered northern Iraq are still in a perilous limbo, as humanitarian groups struggle to make sense of a new Trump Administration initiative rolled out after Vice President Mike Pence’s October 25 promise to ‘stop funding ineffective relief efforts at the United Nations’ and ‘provide support directly to persecuted communities through USAID.’
‘It is as if prayer is a crime’: Egypt’s Christians appeal for help after church closures
Following the closure of a number of churches in recent weeks, Coptic Christians in the south of Egypt have renewed calls on local authorities for an end to discrimination.
Chinese Dissident: China Has ‘Conspicuously Intensified Its Control and Suppression of Religious Faith’
A report by Chinese human rights lawyer and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Gao Zhisheng has been smuggled out of China, and it reveals the magnitude and intensity of religious persecution that continues in the communist country.
Facebook Blocked Two Christian Ministry Pages This Month
Facebook shut down two Christian ministry pages this month, without warning or explanation, renewing fears about the social media giant’s ability to control access to an important corner of today’s public square.
North Korea Day of Prayer offers message of hope for Christians in pariah state
North Korea continues to imprison, execute and torture Christians but opportunities are opening to weaken the totalitarian regime’s grip, politicians, religious leaders and religious freedom charities heard on Wednesday.
Five Church Leaders in Sudan Arrested after Refusing to Cancel Worship Service
In an ongoing bid by the government of Sudan to take over leadership of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), police on Sunday (Oct. 22) arrested five SCOC church leaders after they refused to comply with an order to refrain from worship, sources told Morning Star News.
North Korean defector describes ‘life of hell’ for Christians
North Korean Choi Kwanghyuk is one of the lucky ones.
Trump to bypass U.N. and send aid directly to persecuted Christians in Middle East
Vice President Mike Pence announced Wednesday night that President Trump has ordered the State Department to shut off funding for ‘ineffective’ United Nations programs to help persecuted Christians in the Middle East, saying the administration will take over those efforts directly.
Texas Adoption Law Seen as Major Victory for Religious Freedom
In order to prevent such lawsuits in Texas, lawmakers passed a bill that would protect Christian adoption agencies for refusing gay couples.
African-American Leaders Defend Colorado Baker Amid Supreme Court Gay Wedding Cake Battle
A group of African-American rights activists have spoken out in defense of Colorado Christian baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop as his religious freedom case will be argued before the United States Supreme Court in December.
ACLU rejects Christian baker’s free speech claim: ‘This is not about the cake’
The American Civil Liberties Union told the Supreme Court on Monday the First Amendment doesn’t give a Christian baker the right to discriminate against a same-sex couple by refusing to bake them a wedding cake.
Atheists Demand Texas High School Remove Christian Flag So Students Respond by Flying Their Own
Students at an East Texas high school have responded to an atheist group’s demands that the school remove a Christian flag by bringing their own Christian flags to fly on school grounds.
Nepal: President Signs Law Criminalizing Evangelism, Human Rights Group Warns
The President of Nepal Bidhya Devi Bhandari has signed into law legislation that makes religious conversion a crime, the international human rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide has reported.
Australia same-sex marriage poll: Perth Church leaders come out for ‘yes’ vote
A number of senior church leaders in Perth are coming together to launch Australian Christians for Marriage Equality in support of the ‘yes’ vote in the country’s postal survey on gay marriage.
Footprints of God? Archaeologists baffled by giant sandal-shaped rocks near the Jordan River
They are being dubbed the ‘footprints of God’ — large sandal-shaped formations in the earth that archaeologists think date back to the time the Israelites entered the Promised Land.
Christian Magistrate Fired for Views on Gay Adoption Loses Court Appeal
A Christian magistrate who was fired from his job after he voiced belief that adopted children are better off with hetrosexual couples instead of same-sex couples has lost a court appeal against his former employer.
1 in 4 Church of England Congregations Did Not Have Any Children Attend Worship: Report
About a quarter of congregations belonging to the Church of England did not have any children for their worship services, according to recently released figures.
6 Police Officers Arrested for Beating Christian Teen to Death in Pakistan, Activists Say
Six police officers in Pakistan have been arrested and charged with murder after they allegedly beat to death a Pakistani Christian teenager earlier this month, according to human rights advocates.
Chinese House Church Leaders and Toddler Arrested After Singing in Public Park
A Chinese house church pastor, her daughter, and her young grandson have been arrested, weeks after being accused of overstepping the country’s newly tightened religious restrictions.