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☆ William Friedkin’s Movie ‘The Exorcist’ Understands Old-Time Catholicism - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-12 | by ( Matthew Walther | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

It is one of those strange accidents of history that the best film ever made about the Roman Catholic Church was directed by a Jewish agnostic. When it came out, “The Exorcist” didn’t just shock audiences with lurid scenes of projectile vomiting and spinning heads. It also forced them to acknowledge a tension, most acutely felt in the Catholic Church but omnipresent in Western society, that had grown between two rival conceptions of religion. Is religion an expression of a transcendent moral and metaphysical order? “The Exorcist” came down on the side of tradition.

Persons: William Friedkin, ”, Friedkin Organizations: Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church, Catholic, Vatican Council

☆ Connecticut law ending religious vaccine exemptions for children is upheld
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-04 | by ( Jonathan Stempel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Michelle McLoughlin/File PhotoNEW YORK, Aug 4 (Reuters) - A divided federal appeals court on Friday rejected a challenge to a Connecticut law that ended the state's decades-old religious exemptions from immunization requirements for children in schools, colleges and day care. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said ending religious exemptions, while still allowing medical exemptions, was a rational means to promote health and safety by reducing the potential spread of vaccine-preventable diseases. He said many U.S. courts have reviewed vaccination mandates for children that lack religious exemptions, and only one, in Mississippi, has ever found constitutional problems. Five other U.S. states--California, Maine, Mississippi, New York and West Virginia--also lack religious exemptions. Connecticut's law, signed by Governor Ned Lamont, does not apply to children from kindergarten to 12th grade who previously had received religious exemptions.

Persons: Michelle McLoughlin, Denny Chin, Chin, Barack Obama, Ned Lamont, Joseph Bianco, Donald Trump, Norm Pattis, Brian Festa, William Tong, Lamont, Jonathan Stempel, David Gregorio, Leslie Adler, Deepa Babington Organizations: Pfizer, REUTERS, U.S, Circuit, Patriots USA, CT, Alliance, COVID, Patriots, Connecticut Office, 2nd U.S, Thomson Locations: Storrs , Connecticut, U.S, Connecticut, Manhattan, Mississippi, California , Maine , Mississippi , New York, West Virginia, 2nd, New York

At least ten copies of the Koran have been burned in Denmark over the past week. WHAT IS AT THE HEART OF THE ISSUE IN SWEDEN AND DENMARK? WHAT ARE SWEDEN AND DENMARK DOING NOW? Nevertheless, both Sweden and Denmark say they are examining ways to legally limit burnings to de-escalate tensions with Muslim nations. WHAT NEXT FOR THE LAW IN DENMARK AND SWEDEN?

Persons: Salwan Momika, Rasmus Paludan, Desecrating, Prophet Mohammad, Angel Gabriel, Tom Little, Susie Jessen, Tayyip Erdogan, Johan Ahlander, Johannes Birkebaek, Ahmed Rasheed, Gwladys Fouche, Andrew Heavens Organizations: WHO, Danish Patriots, NATO, REUTERS, Denmark Democrats, Reuters, Sweden's, Thomson Locations: COPENHAGEN, Denmark, Sweden, Iraq, Swedish, SWEDEN, DENMARK, Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, Tom Little Denmark, Baghdad, East, Stockholm

☆ Animal rights campaigners urge Pope Francis to denounce bullfighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Activists from the animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) protest against bullfighting near Vatican, in Rome, Italy, July 28, 2023. REUTERS/Antonio DentiVATICAN CITY, July 28 (Reuters) - A group of animal rights activists gathered near the Vatican on Friday dressed in red capes and fake horns to urge Pope Francis to denounce what they see as the barbaric practice of bullfighting. "Catholic Church: Silence is Violence! Denounce bullfighting," read a banner held up by the activists near the ancient Roman Castel Sant'Angelo fortress on the banks of the River Tiber, in view of St Peter's Basilica. Since bullfighting events "are often held in honour of Catholic saints or during holy Christian celebrations, the Catholic Church can and must help end this abuse by publicly condemning bull torture in the name of religion," animal rights group PETA said in a statement.

Persons: Antonio Denti, Pope Francis, Castel, Pope Pius V, Alvise, Peter Graff Organizations: PETA, REUTERS, CITY, Catholic, Roman Catholic Church, PETA Italy, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Vatican, Rome, Italy, Castel Sant'Angelo, Peter's

☆ In Israel, the Hobbling of the Supreme Court Is Just the Start - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Adam Shinar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Existing agreements among the coalition are explicit about these goals and legislation reflecting this agenda has already been introduced. To this, we should add subtler but no less drastic changes to the civil service, once heralded as professional and nonpartisan. It is the unraveling of Israel’s basic identity, that of a Jewish and democratic state. Across Israel, there is growing alarm about the rise of religion in the public sphere and the privileging of Jewish interests inside Israel and in the occupied territories. So here goes: Since its establishment, Israel has become only more fragmented and polarized.

Persons: Itamar Ben, Ben Organizations: Netanyahu Locations: Israel

☆ India’s Modi sparks political storm with pitch for common civil code
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-14 | by ( Yp Rajesh | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Currently, India's Hindus, Muslims, Christians and large tribal populations follow their own personal laws and customs, alongside an optional secular code, for marriage, divorce, adoption and inheritance. The Law Commission, a government-appointed advisory body, has sought public opinion by Friday on creating a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). The BJP says the common code is necessary to ensure gender justice, equality through uniform application of personal laws, and to foster national unity and integration. The comments were his most forceful in favour of the common code and set off a political storm. "Majoritarian morality must not supersede personal laws, religious freedom, and minority rights in the name of a code which remains an enigma," it said.

Persons: Narendra Modi, Modi, Sanjay Kumar, India's, playbook, Sushil Modi, Zakia Soman, YP Rajesh, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: BJP, DELHI, Indian, Bharatiya Janata Party, Commission, New Delhi’s, UCC, Muslim Women's Movement, YP, Thomson Locations: Egypt, India, Karnataka

☆ When Signs of Trouble Appear, Mayor Adams Turns to His Religious Base
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Jeffery C. Mays | More About Jeffery C. Mays | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The next day, a longtime associate of Mr. Adams had been charged in a straw donor scheme to raise money for his mayoral campaign; the mayor was not implicated. Amid the wave of negative news, Mr. Adams chose to lay low. “Hard is having someone talk down to you and expect for you to take it no matter what they say and what they do,” Mr. Adams told the parishioners. Carmel Baptist Church and the Fire Department chaplain, conducted a morning prayer with Mr. Adams. Andrew M. Cuomo was being investigated for sexual harassment, he visited a Black church in Harlem with political leaders, and was often photographed with Latino and Black members of the clergy.

Persons: —, Adams, Mr, “, ”, V, Simpson Turner, Eric Adams, Andrew M, Cuomo Organizations: New York Times, Christian Cultural Center, Carmel Baptist Church, Fire Department Locations: Mt, Carmel, ”, Harlem

☆ Oracle blasts IBM and publicly offers to hire Linux engineers after Red Hat's latest controversial move
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

IBM's Red Hat has caused an uproar in the Linux community with its latest attempt to squash competitors like Oracle that offer clones of its flagship Red Hat Enterprise Linux software. Oracle has also offered its own version of RHEL called Oracle Linux since 2006, and Oracle and Red Hat have had an antagonistic relationship ever since. And, because that new, you-shall-not-share provision violates the spirit of open source (and some question if it also violates open source licenses), there was a predictable backlash from open source advocates. The core of it — known as the kernel — is built by the Linux Foundation, a non-profit that is separate from Red Hat (although Red Hat supports the foundation). On Monday, Edward Screven, Oracle's top engineering leader, published a blog post with head of Oracle Linux development Wim Coekaerts slamming IBM.

Persons: CentOS, Alma, Greg Kurtzer, RHEL, Mike McGrath, We've, McGrath, Kurtzer, it's, we've, CIQ, Edward Screven, Wim Coekaerts, Coekaerts, Screven, Red, Edward Screven Oracle, Taylor Tyson Organizations: Linux, Oracle, Red Hat, IBM, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Alma Linux, Rocky Linux, Hat, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Red, Linux Foundation, Microsoft

☆ Opinion | Why We Shouldn’t Lose Faith in Organized Religion
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Tish Harrison Warren | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Stephen Prothero wrote the book “Religious Literacy,” about the absence of religious literacy in American civic life. I wonder how many people who are reading that have alarm bells going off about the state of American civil society. American religion has long been entrepreneurial, and American religion will likely adapt in ways that increase religious participation in the medium to long run. But I fear that American society and social services will suffer in the short run. This is my understanding of religion, of pluralism, of social change: If you tell an inspiring story, people will want to move in that direction.

Persons: Stephen Prothero, Jessica Grose’s, ”, — Organizations: Catholic Locations: America

☆ Opinion | Has the Supreme Court Gone Overboard in How It Favors Religion?
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Kate Shaw | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The court’s Groff opinion shows a different aspect of the trajectory of religious rights. It involved an evangelical Christian who for religious reasons did not wish to work on Sundays. When his employer, the Postal Service, began Sunday deliveries at his location, he initially sought and received a transfer. He filed a lawsuit arguing that the service was required to do more to accommodate his Sunday Sabbath practice. By elevating one set of needs — religious obligations — above all others, the court has undermined the ability of employers to respond to a diverse work force in ways that fairly account for different needs.

Persons: Groff, Alito, Smith Organizations: Postal Service, Airlines

☆ 14 promises Donald Trump has made in his campaign for a second term
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

CNN —Former President Donald Trump has hit the 2024 campaign trail and is giving voters a preview of what a second Trump presidency could look like if he’s elected. Drug cartels“The drug cartels are waging war on America—and it’s now time for America to wage war on the cartels,” former President Donald Trump said in a January campaign video. Trump also said in the campaign video that he would cut funding for schools that teach critical race theory and gender ideology. The former president added in a campaign video that he would stop lobbyists and government contractors from pushing senior military officials towards war. We will reverse almost all of them,” Trump said in a campaign video.

Persons: Donald Trump, Trump, He’s, –, it’s, ”, ” Trump, “, Joe Biden, … ” Trump, Equity “, Biden Organizations: CNN, America, Department of Defense, Education, of Justice, Department of Education, Conference, Marxist, Trump, Democrats, National Guard, Department of Justice, Cities, FBI, CIA, Trump Reciprocal Trade, Congress, Soros District, Rifle Association, Legislative Action, Equity, Pharmaceuticals Trump Locations: Ukraine, America, Washington, Russia, New Hampshire, New, China, United States

Finding it and nurturing it remain entirely consistent with the mission of higher education and, indeed, vital to our democracy. More than in any other setting, students who are raised in homogenous neighborhoods and schools first encounter difference — class, racial, ethnic and religious — in college. We should remember that these sorts of learning opportunities are relatively new in the history of higher education. For hundreds of years, many universities that today proudly champion a diverse society promoted and perpetuated class, racial and gender hierarchies. Like Bard College, schools could create early college programs, which allow high school students to take and earn college credits.

Persons: —, I’ve, William, Mary, Johns Hopkins, Sonia Sotomayor, Ketanji Brown Jackson, U.N.C, LaDale C, Brett Kavanaugh’s, Angela Duckworth Organizations: Ivy League, Yale Law School, Brown University, University of Virginia, Rutgers, Princeton Theological Seminary , Yale, University of North, Harvard, Bard College, University of California Locations: Georgetown, University of North Carolina, America

☆ Opinion | As a Rabbi, I’ve Had a Privileged View of the Human Condition
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( David Wolpe | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

I have had a privileged view of the human condition, and the essential place of religion on that hard road. Where else do people sing together week after week? I know the percentage of those who not only call themselves religious but also find themselves in religious communities declines each year. I have seen families receive meals for weeks, and in one case for years, after a loss. I have seen one child pick another up on the sports field and I have seen couples find their way back to one another after estrangements.

Persons: John Masefield, “

☆ Americans' donations to charity are at a 28-year low. Blame inflation, the rise of crowdfunding, and the decline of religion.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-01 | by ( Jacob Zinkula | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

It's part of the decades-long trend in which Americans have scaled back their charitable giving. There's evidence that this shift has impacted charitable giving. From 2000 to 2016, the share of Americans giving to religious causes fell from roughly 47% to 32%. Other donors have shifted their giving to political causes that wouldn't be classified as charitable giving either. Looking forward, Birkholz said he's optimistic the total giving figure will bounce back in 2023.

Persons: —, Josh Birkholz, We've, Birkholz, Jonathan Meer, Zers, I'm Organizations: Service, Privacy, Indiana University's School, Philanthropy, Indiana University, Pew Research Locations: Texas

The case, though framed as clash between free speech and gay rights, was the latest in a series of decisions in favor of religious people and groups, notably conservative Christians. A Colorado law forbids discrimination against gay people by businesses open to the public as well as statements announcing such discrimination. But when the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case, 303 Creative L.L.C. He was the author of every major Supreme Court decision protecting gay rights under the Constitution. But he was also the court’s most ardent defender of free speech.

Persons: Neil M, Gorsuch, Lorie Smith, Smith, Smith’s, Mary Beck Briscoe, Judge Briscoe, “, ” Judge Briscoe, Timothy M, Tymkovich, George Orwell, ’ ”, ”, Anthony M, Kennedy, Justice Kennedy, Jack Phillips, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: Supreme, U.S ., Appeals, Circuit, Colorado Civil Rights Commission Locations: Colorado, Denver, “ Colorado

☆ Conservatives are on a roll in their quest to remake America through the courts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Stephen Collinson | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

The Supreme Court’s gutting of affirmative action in college admissions on Thursday toppled another pillar of America’s liberal social infrastructure. The wider political battleThe court’s activism is being complimented by increasingly radical conservative legislatures in many states. The Supreme Court ruled that June that same-sex couples could marry in all 50 states and upheld the Affordable Care Act. And President Joe Biden’s view of the conservative majority on the bench could hardly be more dark. This allowed Trump to name Justice Neil Gorsuch as his first Supreme Court nominee in 2017.

Persons: CNN — Conservatives –, –, Franklin Roosevelt –, Roe, Wade, Ron DeSantis, Republicans –, Clarence Thomas ’, “, Dobbs, Matt Schlapp, Thomas, perversely, Barack Obama, ” Obama, Joe Biden’s, ” Biden, Obama, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Merrick Garland, Biden, Trump, Neil Gorsuch, McConnell, Amy Coney Barrett Organizations: CNN — Conservatives, Biden, Trump, White, Senate, GOP, Republican, Florida Gov, House, Republicans, Political Action, thunderbolts, Democratic, Liberal, Supreme, Conservative, Republican Party, White House, Independent Locations: Colorado, America, –

But under a Colorado public accommodations law, she said she cannot post the statement because the state considers it illegal. The ruling – rooted in free speech grounds – will pierce state public accommodation laws for those businesses who sell so-called “expressive” goods. It is the latest victory for religious conservatives at the high court and will alarm critics who fear the current court is setting its sights on overturning the 2015 marriage case. When the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case in February 2022, the justices sidestepped whether the law violated Smith’s free exercise of religion. In court, Waggoner said that the law works to compel speech in violation of the First Amendment.

Persons: Justice Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Lorie Smith, Gorsuch, ”, Smith’s, ” Gorsuch, Sotomayor, “, ’, Kristen Waggoner, Matthew Shepard, ” Sotomayor, Bostock, Trump, Kelley Robinson, Ritchie Torres, ” Torres, Waggoner, Smith, Smith –, –, ” Smith, ” Waggoner, Eric Olson Organizations: CNN, Chief, U.S, Supreme, Pride Month, Civil, American Civil Liberties Union, ”, Democratic, Twitter, Appeals Locations: Colorado, United States, Clayton County

☆ Supreme Court Sides With Postal Carrier Who Refused to Work on Sabbath
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The impact of the ruling could affect countless workplaces and could require many employers to make substantial changes to accommodate religious workers. The latest decision may be less divisive than some of the court’s recent rulings on religion, in part because protecting observance of the Sabbath may not split Americans along the usual lines. Indeed, liberal justices have tried in the past to shield workers from discipline and termination for following their faith, and all three on the court signed onto the decision. The case was brought by Gerald Groff, an evangelical Christian and former missionary who worked as a substitute mail carrier. After the Postal Service made a deal with Amazon in 2013 to deliver packages on Sundays, Mr. Groff said he had to choose between his faith and his livelihood, opting to quit after being disciplined for missing work.

Persons: Trump, Gerald Groff, Groff Organizations: Postal Service, Amazon Locations: Maine, Montana, Philadelphia

☆ Opinion | Religion Creates Community. We’re Losing That.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( Jessica Grose | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

If you get off that track (or never started on it), the U.S. is a more difficult place in which to thrive. What’s more, they write:Modern American churches are financially incentivized to target the wealthy and create a space where those on track feel comfortable. Not because I think people need to be religious to live good lives — I don’t believe that — but because almost everyone needs community to flourish. As the Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam, whom I spoke to for this series and who wrote “Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community,” has been preaching for decades, increasing social isolation is bad for all of us. At the same time, examples of that kind of grace don’t erase the damage that is sometimes done in the name of religion.

Persons: “, Robert Putnam, ”, Carson Curtis, ” Burge, Burge, Frank Capra, I’ve Organizations: Harvard, American Community Locations: America, U.S, Arizona

☆ John B. Goodenough, 100, Dies; Nobel-Winning Creator of the Lithium-Ion Battery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Robert D. Mcfadden | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

He was, he said in a memoir, “Witness to Grace” (2008), the unwanted child of an agnostic Yale University professor of religion and a mother with whom he never bonded. The two sides, called electrodes, hold charges — a negative one called an anode, and a positive one called a cathode. When a battery releases energy, positively charged ions shuttle from the anode to the cathode, creating a current. A rechargeable battery is plugged into a socket to draw electricity, forcing the ions to shuttle back to the anode, where they are stored until needed again. Materials used for the anode, cathode and electrolyte determine the quantity and speed of the ions, and thus the battery’s power.

Persons: Grace ”, Clarence Zener, Edward Teller, Enrico Fermi Organizations: Yale University, Yale, Army Air Forces, University of Chicago, Lincoln Laboratory Locations: Groton, M.I.T, Oxford

Lower court judges are bound by Supreme Court precedent, but they have some tools at their disposal. They can also give the historically permissive “rational basis” standard of review from the Dobbs opinion some teeth by more closely assessing abortion restrictions and the state’s purported rationales. Lawyers will need to bring cases raising novel issues so that judges can protect abortion rights in new ways. Even if cases and briefs in federal courts lose in the short term, having abortion cases in the pipeline is essential. The Supreme Court will not always look as it does today.

Persons: Biden, Dobbs, Roe Organizations: eventual Locations: Dobbs

☆ Opinion | Is There Any Twinge of Regret Among the Anti-Abortion Justices?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Linda Greenhouse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Because Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that saluting the flag or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance amounts to worshiping secular authority, they prohibit their school-aged children from engaging in the practice. The decision upheld a Pennsylvania school district’s expulsion of a Jehovah’s Witness brother and sister. A mere three years later, even though the United States itself was now at war, the court reversed itself. “Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the unanimity of the graveyard,” he wrote in West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette. The consequences of the decision were alarming, and the country paid close attention as the court took up the issue for reconsideration.

Persons: Robert Jackson, ”, Dobbs Organizations: West Virginia State, of Education, Minersville, Jackson, Health Organization Locations: Europe, United States, West Virginia

☆ Abortion is ancient history and that matters today
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

This long view of abortion matters, according to Mary Fissell, a professor of the history of medicine at Johns Hopkins University. That’s because assumptions about how abortion was viewed in the past color present-day arguments about abortion rights. Abortion opponents portray the rights granted by Roe v. Wade and legal access to abortion as an historical aberration, according to Fissell, which is not accurate, historians say. Earliest references to abortionThe first written references to abortion are contained in an ancient Egyptian papyrus written about 3,500 years ago. For most of history, abortion has not been an issue about the fetus, like it is today, but rather about women’s behavior.

Persons: Mary Fissell, Roe, Wade, ”, Fissell, “, Dobbs, it’s, Lysistrata, Aristophanes, —, Lisa Briggs, Briggs, Pliny the Elder, ” Briggs, It’s, Maeve Callan, Callan, ’, Saint Brigid, Patrick, Brigid, Peter Morrison, God, ” Callan, “ quickening, Pope Sixtus V, Pope Gregory XIV Organizations: CNN, Johns Hopkins University, US, Jackson, Health Organization, Cranfield University, British Museum, “, Simpson College, AP, quicken Locations: United States, Dobbs v, Rome, Cyrene, Libya, Iowa, Medieval Ireland, Ireland, Leixlip, Kildare

CNN —The Vatican said Thursday it will hand over evidence in the disappearance of a 15-year-old daughter of one of its employees 40 years ago to the Rome city prosecutor. Emanuela Orlandi, who was the daughter of a prominent Vatican employee and lived within the walls of the holy city, disappeared in the summer of 1983 while on her way home from a music lesson in central Rome. Her father, Ercole Orlandi, who died in 2004, worked for the Institute for the Works of Religion in the Holy See. Her mother, Maria Orlandi, still lives in the family apartment in Vatican City. A year later, the Vatican agreed to exhume the tomb of two princesses thought to be buried in the cemetery of the Pontifical Teutonic College inside the Vatican City.

Persons: Emanuela Orlandi, Alessandro Diddi, ” Pietro Orlandi, Antonio Masiello, Diddi, ”, “, Pietro Orlandi Orlandi, Ercole Orlandi, Maria Orlandi, Pietro Orlandi, Castel Sant ’ Angelo, Pope, Angelus, Orlandi, Mark Lewis, Mehmet Ali Agca, John Paul II, ’ Organizations: CNN, Vatican, Dei Catholic, Institute, Religion, Pontifical Teutonic College, Vatican City Locations: Rome, Vatican, St, Piazza Navona, Vatican City, Italy

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