The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast: Recent Episodes
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The Religion and Ethics Report, where religion and ethics meet news and current affairs in Australia and around the world.
Israel is tearing itself apart with mass demonstrations, threats of army desertion, even warnings from the president of civil war. So what do Australian Jews think of Israel?
The Unification Church in Japan is at risk of being dissolved. The government is investigating allegedly predatory financial schemes and shadowy links with politicians.
For centuries, some Christian communities have shut themselves off from the outside world. But the Exclusive Brethren sect are especially strict about contact with outsiders.
Given the Chinese government's severe restrictions on religion, it’s been difficult to know for sure whether religion in the country is indeed, booming. Now the leading research group the Pew Centre, has done a deep dive into every piece of data it could find on the topic.
The Pan Malaysian Islamic Party was an austere movement on the edge of politics. But now it's leading a coalition that did very well in recent state elections. It’s also using images from Islam’s glorious past to build its popularity.
Pope Francis flies into Mongolia this week for his 43rd foreign visit since taking office in 2023. Why is he going?
According to documents turned over to the US House of Representatives, agents from the FBI have been monitoring traditionalist Catholics for possible political extremism.
In the 1970s, sociologist and religious scholar Robert Bellah predicted neoliberal economics would create a hole in many communities that would one day be filled by an authoritarian populism. Bellah also made famous the idea that as America lost its Christianity, it would create a so-called civil religion.
Twenty-two million people are now in dire need in Myanmar following the 2021 coup. The southern African country of Zambia is in a similar situation. They are among the countries where the aid organisation Compassion Australia is starting new projects.
When the hardline Islamic movement regained control of Afghanistan two years ago, there was a lot of talk about a reformed Taliban, conservative but less punitive, open to things like girl's education. That future was not to be. But religion might not be the highest priority for the Taliban regime with the possible dangerous new form of ethnic nationalism driving the regime.
There is an increase in harassment of Christian pilgrims and tourists in Jerusalem's Via Dolorosa, the path said to be where Jesus walked to his Crucifixion.
New York Times correspondent Isobel Kershner's new book explores the cultural and religious shifts which she fears challenge Israel's democratic ideals.
About 40 per cent of Americans are in religiously diverse partnerships. Despite herself being in a successful inter-racial and inter-faith marriage, leading writer and commentator Naomi Schaefer Riley says there are pitfalls, particularly with interfaith romances.
The Sound of Freedom has become an unlikely movie hit in the US, but there are concerns about its representations of the issue of child trafficking as well as its main star's connection to radical QAnon conspiracies.
US report claims minority religions target of new restrictive laws and policies in Europe
The largest protestant denomination in America is expelling churches that have ordained women.
Young voters in Europe are defying trends in the UK, Australia, and the US by drifting towards the nationalist right. For example, young voters are a major component of the Meloni government in Italy, Le Pen coalition in France, the nationalists in Scandinavia and the resurgent right in Greece.
The Hollywood blockbuster Barbie release was delayed in Pakistan's largest Province. It was eventually released with some dialogue cut.
Could the continuing cover-ups of sex scandals and annual church taxes be behind the alarming number of Catholic Germans leaving the church?
It started as a simple parade, a celebration of the Indian diaspora in the US in a middle-class suburb.
It’s been an uncomfortable few days in the Senate for the multi-millionaire partners at Australia’s major consulting firms. The scrutiny began after revelations that PwC Consulting had used its contracts with the Federal government to acquire confidential tax information, then pass it onto corporate clients.
For some Amish, shunning even basic electricity and plumbing is part of a religious commitment to simplicity. Now a top US court has upheld their right not to install septic tanks on their land, despite a local government law.
Self ID would allow transgender people to officially change their gender on government documents.
What if the UN had its own permanent peace-keeping army that could step in before the bloodshed has begun?
What are the ethics of the US agreeing to supply Ukraine with cluster bomb munitions, which are banned by 123 countries because of the danger to civilians?
The Good Shepherd Sisters in Melbourne has been running a financial support program for 40 years, but the demand today is especially great.
With a national spotlight on anti-corruption, what does it mean for the transactional nature of politics today?
Türkiye's Erdogan is beginning his third term after a narrow re-election last month. While he's playing peacemaker in Ukraine, at home he grows more autocratic.
Are the vicars of England about to walk out of their pulpits and onto the picket line? It's the first time in history that the clergy are demanding a pay rise.
Buried deep inside key Russian security documents is the doctrine of so-called "spiritual security." It argues that Russia needs to defend not just territory, but also against moral values from the west.
An increasingly common practice in India is the so-called dowry – the valuables a woman’s family must provide to her husband when they marry. But dowries are also behind a rising tide of violence against wives whose parents struggle to meet constant demands for money.
Modern slavery is a global crisis entrapping 50 million people, including 41,000 in Australia. Human rights commissioner Lorraine Finlay is calling on the federal government to do more to combat modern slavery,
Kenyan woman Sophie Otiende was taken from her family at just thirteen, put to work and denied the education promised by her uncle. She now runs a fund to combat modern slavery globally.
Almost 1,200 Australians received honours in the first ever King's Birthday list. Most recipients are involved in community service, thinking of more than themselves. But does our political and economic system foster enough of that spirit?
Pope Francis is currently fighting on three fronts – recovering from serious surgery, bringing peace to the war on Ukraine, and calming the bitterness and vitriol that consumes social media.
Two Christian conservatives – Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence – have entered the Republican primary. But can they draw religious voters away from Trump?
Two Christian conservatives – Florida governor Ron DeSantis and Trump’s former vice president Mike Pence – have entered the Republican primary. But can they draw religious voters away from Trump?
Religious sermons are supposed to come from a combination of the head and the heart, from a preacher steeped in the knowledge of their religious text. But to what extent could chatbots take over the job?
Around the world, there’s a vast population known as internally displaced people, forced by disaster or conflict to move within their countries. In 2022, that number hit a record high, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Progressive British magazine The New Statesman, has unveiled its annual list of the 50 most influential lefties. And coming in at number 27, is none other than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Why did this oil executive-turned Church of England bishop make the list?
Even in a rapidly secularising Australia, it's a minority that totally reject the idea of a divine presence or saviour. So what replaces the God of the Bible in this search for a new redeemer?
The back-channel negotiations that could lead to a breakthrough in the Vatican's peace plans for Ukriane and Russia
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church says it has broken all ties with the mother church in Russia.
Jewish Israeli Rami Elhanan and Palestinian Bassam Aramin both lost innocent daughters in the Israel-Palestine violence. But in their grief, they have become close friends, on a pursuit for peace.
What do Australians really think about religious liberty, especially the hiring practices of faith-based schools, hospitals and welfare organisations? A new poll reveals interesting results.
The ACT government will legislate to forcibly acquire the Catholic-run Calvary Public Hospital in Canberra. The decision raises questions about the independence of faith-based institutions and whether they can operate according to their values.
Türkiye’s ruling AKP party, led by President Erdoğan, has been trying to frame the election as a contest between Sunni Islam and western liberalism. Erdoğan has even been calling his opponents 'social deviants.' But is it working?
Do we need religion to be moral? The Pew Research Centre surveyed 22,000 people across 17 countries, and got some very interesting responses – including from Australia.
PM Anthony Albanese is part of a growing group of Australians calling themselves non-practising or cultural Catholics. Why does Catholicism have a strong cultural grip on Australia, even as religious observance falls?
Activist Simon Woolley is a close friend of the King. He’s also the first Black man to head a Cambridge college. He forged a friendship when Charles was Prince of Wales, at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement.
For all the pomp and statecraft, the coronation is essentially a religious event, and traditionally Anglican. But how will this coronation reflect a modern, and religiously diverse, Britain?
How has the King’s commitment to religious diversity shaped attitudes towards the monarchy among non-Christian communities?
Have you hiked the Camino trail in Spain? Some of you may even tinker with a little Zen decor at home. But are these acts of curiosity, taste, or are they appropriating something deeply religious?
Myanmar's Buddhist monks are divided over whether to voice their support or opposition to the military dictatorship.
British politics is no longer the exclusive domain of an Anglo-Christian elite. Does this shift indicate that British multiculturalism is flourishing?
We live in a part of the world that Harvard biologist Joseph Henrich calls W.E.I.R.D. —nations that are Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich and Democratic. And he says part of the reason for their prosperity is a 600-year-old Catholic rule.
As Northern Ireland celebrates 25 years of the Good Friday peace agreement, Israel and Palestine plunge deeper into violence.
According to a recent survey, 45% of Americans say the US should be a Christian nation. There's differing views on what that means, but some Republican politicians now call themselves "Christian nationalists." This includes far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. We explore why this is a troubling trend.
A landmark book makes the case for why the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a profoundly spiritual document.
Soon after settling in Brisbane, Hindu community leader Prakruthi Gururaj met two inspiration Indigenous elders. They became friends but, in a way also sisters, with a lot to share.
How has race shaped US religion and politics? "Christian nationalism" has taken hold in the country, especially among white evangelicals. And the country's largest Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, is facing its own reckoning over racial issues.
Is Israel really on the brink of a civil war? President Isaac Herzog thinks so, using those very words recently, talking about the huge anti-government protests that have gripped Israel.
At this time of the year, supermarket shelves are groaning with Easter chocolates. But there's a troubling story behind these popular products. Child exploitation is a huge problem in the cocoa industry – cocoa being the main ingredient in chocolate.
During the covid pandemic, hatred and conspiracy theories festered online. Many Australian Muslims bore the brunt of covid-inspired abuse, a new report on Islamophobia finds.
Thirty neo-Nazis stood on the steps of Victoria's parliament house over the weekend, giving the "Heil Hitler" salute.Their behaviour has shocked the Andrews government into legislating a ban on the symbol. But will a law overcome a wider, even growing, ignorance of Nazism and its monstrous history?
20 years ago this week, the United States military began a so-called "shock and awe" campaign against Iraq, bombing the capital Baghdad. 44 days later, then president George W. Bush proclaimed "mission accomplished." But what really happened to Iraq and its people after the US-led invasion, and to the country's multi-ethnic and multi-religious population?
The Scottish National Party is in the throes of a divisive leadership election. A leading candidate, Kate Forbes, is a member of the conservative Free Church of Scotland and has traditional views on sexual and gender identity. There's been a backlash against Forbes for her views. What could this mean for the role of personal faith in politics?
For 30 years, the United States has seen a steep increase in deaths from suicide, alcoholism and drug abuse. Over the same period, there’s been a major decline in religious participation. New research from three leading US economists suggests the two trends could be linked.
A piece of troubling data reveals that around 400,000 Australian women aged 45 and over are at risk of homelessness. Danusia Kaska of the Xavier Social Justice Network warns of a social crisis.
What do Catholic women want? Pope Francis opened the floodgates when he invited submissions to the Synod of Bishops to address major issues facing the church. Now, the women have spoken. Over 17,000 women, in fact, from 104 countries. It's the largest survey of Catholic women ever undertaken.
If the next two years of American politics promises to be as divisive as ever, one group of Americans is trying to create a more civil and constructive environment – by not trying to bury all political difference, and to disagree with more respect.
In the discussion around global warming, of course you’ll hear a lot from the scientists, and even the economists. But what about the voices of religious leaders and ethicists?
In the US, at least one Republican politician is challenging Donald Trump for the party's nominee at the 2024 presidential election. Nikki Haley is of Indian heritage but it's her religious background that's captured attention.
More earthquakes have struck the Türkiye Syria boarder region, causing further causalities and leaving hundreds wounded in both countries. The weeks of disaster have affected usual religious requirements for burial in the Muslim-majority country.
How can tech companies deploy AI technology ethically? It's a question the Vatican is attempting to answer with its Rome Call for AI Ethics, first signed between the Vatican, tech companies and the UN in 2020. This year, Jewish and Muslim representatives also signed onto the agreement.
What happens when Christianity and celebrity collide? Recent stories of narcissistic behaviour and extramarital affairs have cast doubt on whether there’s enough accountability for celebrity megachurch pastors.
There are laws to protect human rights during war, but do they actually create wars without end? Yale law professor Samuel Moyn has written a book on the subject.
India's major film industry Bollywood is not just hugely popular, it's also very influential on politics and culture. With the rise of Hindu nationalism continuing largely unchecked, hardline protesters are now demanding the film industry join the campaign. And that means Indian Muslims are portrayed in ever more negative ways.With Professor Ira Bhaskar.
Sister Nathalie Becquart is Undersecretary to the Synod of Bishops, making her the most senior female in the Vatican. She's often the only woman in the room when some of the biggest decisions are being made about the future of the global Catholic church.
Malta was one of the first countries in the world to outlaw gay conversion practices. So what happens when a young man goes on a popular TV show, then a radio show, and shares his experience of being no longer gay because he found God? That's the story of Matthew Grech, whose case has been brought to court.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has told British MPs he would rather see the Church of England disestablished, rather than see the church split over disagreements over conducting same-sex weddings. That's according to multiple reports.
One of America’s oldest universities is mired in a debate over Islamic art. Hamline University in Minnesota terminated the contract of an adjunct lecturer who displayed two reverent artworks of the Prophet Muhammad. This episode raises questions over academic freedom and whether images of the prophet can ever be shown.
The spiral of violence worsens in Israel and the Palestinian territories. Could this be the start of a third intifada?
If Francis is facing another round of destabilisation from his right-wing critics, how likely is the church to survive?
In the days after his death, it was revealed that Australia’s Cardinal George Pell was the author of a searing critique of Pope Francis and his relatively liberal leadership. Writing under the pseudonym Demos, the late conservative cleric branded this papacy a "disaster" and a "catastrophe." So what motivated these claims?
Australian Sikhs, along with millions of others around the world, will vote this Friday in a referendum to establish a separate Sikh state in India. Sikhs have faced increasing discrimination in India, especially with the growth of Hindu nationalism.
Has the sexual revolution that began in the early 1960s had unintended – and possibly damaging – consequences?
Cardinal Pell’s sudden death has been met with mixed responses by the public, including an outpouring of anger, disturbance, and sorrow from survivors and survivor groups. How much reform has the Catholic church in Australia made on the issue of sexual abuse?
A new phase in the Catholic Church is taking place in 2023 – with two powerful conservative figures passing away within weeks – Cardinal George Pell and former Pope Benedict. So what does this mean for the future of the Catholic Church?
Danny Casey first worked with the Cardinal as business manager of the Archdiocese of Sydney, then as Director of the Secretariat for the Economy at the Vatican. So how effective was Cardinal Pell's work in Vatican finances?
The fear of Black Consciousness is, in part, what Afro-Jewish philosopher Lewis Gordon means when we continually fail to deal with the legacy of our history, and address questions like the place for guilt.
We explore the question of forgiveness — including one of the most pressing — is it ever possible for a Ukrainian to forgive Vladimir Putin? And what does it take to break the cycle of vengeance and resentment?
Pentecostal Christianity is in a three-way race with Islam and Hinduism to become the world's fastest growing religion. In the English-speaking world, one of its biggest names is the Hillsong church. In the past year it's hit turbulence with the departure of its charismatic, and at times controversial, founder Brian Houston.
2022 has been a year of political change in Australia, war in Europe, and a pandemic that isn’t going away. But can we see in this time of turmoil, the opportunity for religious themes like redemption and renewal? A panel discussion with Dr Kate Harrison Brennan and barrister Gray Connolly.
A spat has broken out between Indonesia and the United Nations after the parliament in the world’s biggest Muslim nation passed a new criminal code that includes tougher laws against sex outside of marriage. But for many Indonesians, the new code simply upholds Pancasila, the founding ideology of post-colonial Indonesia.
You’ve probably seen the protests roiling China. Tens of thousands are in the streets and on campuses, fed up that almost three years on from the COVID-19 outbreak, the regime still enforces lockdowns on the people. A fire in an apartment building killed 10 people who were unable to flee because of restrictions. But the protests also carry another message for leader Xi Jinping.
The 6th of May 2023 is when Charles III is crowned. The coronation is the big event – both a pageant and a deeply religious ceremony. It's been 70 years since there's been a coronation, and Britain looks vastly different today. Will the coronation reflect a modern Britain with diverse beliefs?
The COVID-19 pandemic licensed governments around the world to exercise unprecedented levels of control over their citizens. The debate continues as to how useful, or damaging, the lockdowns were. New findings by Pew Research reveal how faith communities globally were affected by the restrictions.
Have you hiked the Camino trail in Spain? Many of you regularly roll out the yoga mat. Some of you may even tinker with a little Zen decor at home. But are these acts of curiosity, taste, or are they appropriating a something deeply religious?
Founder of the Hillsong megachurch, Brian Houston, faces court in Sydney this week. But whatever the outcome of the trial, the Hillsong empire is in turmoil, after controversies involving church figures in the US.
If you’re a doctor opposed to euthanasia or a nurse with qualms about late-term abortion, should you have the right to opt out of such procedures, even when they’re entrenched in law? Australian ethicist Dr Xavier Symons wades into this debate in his new book, Why Conscience Matters: A Defence of Conscientious Objection Healthcare.
Right-wing parties won a clear victory in Israel’s recent election. Forming a government, however, is proving much harder than the presumptive prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, expected
Qatar has reportedly spent $US230 billion on the FIFA World Cup, including building new stadiums and public transport. And it's that infrastructure, and the migrant workforce that built it, which attracts controversy. For decades, Qatar used a system of bonded labour that exploited and abused workers from Asia.
The big news in US politics is that the Democrats retained control of the senate in the mid-term elections. One of the lesser known but fascinating stories was the success of American Muslim candidates— who have in fact, made historic gains.
Israel's president has officially asked Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government. Netanyahu will rely on his traditional allies in the orthodox religious parties but also on a far-right parliamentary group called the Religious Zionists. And that's where it gets controversial because this party embraces ethnic nationalism and anti-Arab rhetoric.
Australia has signed an agreement with Thailand to fight human trafficking. But with 50 million people around the world falling prey to modern slavery, do we need dozens more bilateral agreements to ensure Australian companies do not use, deliberately or accidentally, exploited labour?
With NSW's anti-slavery commissioner Dr James Cockayne.
India's major film industry Bollywood is not just hugely popular, it's also very influential on politics and culture. With the rise of Hindu nationalism continuing largely unchecked, hardline protesters are now demanding the film industry join the campaign. And that means Indian Muslims are portrayed in ever more negative ways.
With Professor Ira Bhaskar.
Since the world’s richest man Elon Musk bought the social network Twitter, he's halved the number of staff, especially those responsible for monitoring content. There are calls for more regulation, particularly over social media's dark side, including from ANU Professor Shirley Leitch.
Over 6 million people are trapped in the global sex trafficking trade – almost 5 million of them are women and girls. Australia is not immune to this. This week, Nine media reported that crime bosses are using loopholes in Australia’s immigration system to run a prostitution ring involving possibly hundreds of vulnerable migrant women.
We hear from Kathy Chambers of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Australia.
Americans vote in mid-term elections next week and, according to a survey done by the Pew Research Centre, 45% of Americans say the U.S. should be a Christian nation. There's differing views on what that means, but some Republican politicians now call themselves "Christian nationalists."
This trend is deeply troubling for Professor Paul D. Miller.
An employment tribunal in the United States is set to rule on whether the City of New York should pay for commercial surrogacy to allow same-sex couples to have children.
The case has reopened a debate about the ethical minefield of surrogacy.
We hear from Charles Camosy, a leading ethicist and professor of medical humanities at Creighton University.
History is being made in Britain this week with the appointment of Rishi Sunak as prime minister. Not only is he the first person of colour to assume the job, he’s also the first non-Christian. What does his rise say about a multi-faith and multicultural Britain? And what's its significance for the South Asian diaspora?
Professor Gurharpal Singh of London University’s School of Oriental and African Studies and Dr Edward Anderson of Northumbria University explain.
Israel holds national elections next week — the 5th in just over three years.
As Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem, the big change in this election is the popularity of a far-right Jewish religious party.
Anglicans in Melbourne recently voted to step up Christian engagement with science, especially on the pressing issues of transhumanism and artificial intelligence. The Archbishop of Melbourne has also appointed a special advisor for science and faith education.
The Albanese government made a decision to reverse the previous government's position recognising West Jerusalem as Israel's capital. So, what are the implications?
An investigation by the UN and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, accuses Russia of gross human rights abuses targeting Ukrainians between 4 to 82 years old.
Protests have convulsed Iran for three weeks and counting, following the death in police custody of young Kurdish woman Masha Amini. It's compulsory for women in Iran to cover their heads, but these protests are about much more than headscarf rules.
A nation wide survey of church attendees has some surprising findings; on average, women make up 60 per cent of churches – even though 80 per cent of congregations are male-led. Attendees are also more culturally diverse, about half are first or second-generation migrants.
In Australia, the debate over religious discrimination has flared again. Does Andrew Thorburn have a legal case after Essendon told him to choose between the club and the church?
Businessman Andrew Thorburn has quit as CEO of the Essendon football club, less than 30 hours into the job. Thorburn says he had to choose between a prestigious role in Australian sport or an honorary position in his church. There's many issues to unpack in this case.
Now here's a question you might not expect in an increasingly secular west — is the social justice movement becoming another form of religion? With British writer Helen Lewis.
This year, the politics of France, Sweden and Italy have all been swept up in the tide of right-wing nationalism across Europe. When, or even will, this tide peak?
Australia has 20 percent of the world's poker machines and half of those are in just one state – New South Wales. Two leading clergy have begun a campaign to introduce tighter restrictions on an industry they describe as parasitic, taking money from the poor.
The recent death in custody of young woman Mahsa Amini, for wearing her headscarf in a way that showed too much hair, has thrust Iran back a generation. Since a controversial election brought President Ebrahim Raisi to power a year ago, social progress has stalled.
Kenya's new president William Ruto is the country's first evangelical Christian to become head of state. How does faith play a role in his politics?
Charles believes nature and the environment are the best expressions of God and religion. And to the extent that any monarch is allowed to have a political worldview, this is his. But now as King, he must also deal with the violent history of Britain's imperial era.
How does religion play into the politics of the far-right in Italy? The party that's leading in the polls is the 'Brothers of Italy,' and its origins lie in a post-war neo-fascist movement. Their leader is Giorgia Meloni.
In his first speech as monarch, Charles III went out of his way to emphasise his loyalty to the Church of England. But why does the man who is the so-called Defender of the Faith need to reassure people?
One of the late Queen's chaplains remembers a sincerely religious monarch, and wonders if the new King Charles can resist the secular tide that is sweeping Europe.
For a woman who pledged at her coronation to uphold the Protestant religion, the Queen spent a lot time trying to overcome a division that went back centuries — the one with the Catholic Church. Two of the most historic efforts came late in her reign.
Has the sexual revolution that began in the early 1960s had unintended – and possibly damaging – consequences?
According to a new paper published in The Journal of Sex Research, those with strong religious beliefs have more satisfying sex lives. And married religious women are especially happy.
The Black Sea isn't just an area of geostrategic importance for Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. For centuries it's also been the focus of religious, ethnic and cultural competition.
For months, there have been rumours out of the Vatican that Pope Francis is getting ready to retire. So there's interest around the Pope has naming 20 new cardinals, who will one day choose his successor. They're also the most diverse group ever appointed.
With high unemployment and persistent poverty, Timor Leste is especially vulnerable to human and sex traffickers.
Amartya Sen is one of the great minds of the past century. And he has searched around in his life, for what he sees as a place to belong.
In the past five to six years, there's been a 300% increase in the rates of right wing political extremism throughout the world.
The death of Daria Dugina in a car bombing in Moscow recently has shone a spotlight on her father Alexander Dugin. So who is he, and why has he been described as 'Putin's brain'?
What exactly, is a fatwa, and how does the one issued against author Salman Rushdie work?
How can we begin a conversation about race? It can be awkward, confronting for white people, and for people of colour, it can be traumatic.
A breakaway Australian diocese of the Anglican Church has been announced. It will exist as an entity separate to the global Anglican communion, which has the Archbishop of Canterbury as its leader.
Since March, over 46,000 people in El Salvador have been arrested over alleged gang connections. Over 60 people have died in custody and children as young as twelve have been detained. President Nayib Bukele has used spiritual language to frame his policies.
Competing identities play a key role in many of the conflicts in our world. With all of our differences, is there any way we can live in peace together? With renowned philosopher Charles Taylor.
The stand-off over Taiwan raises ethical questions over what it means to adopt a strategy of ambiguity. The US, like Australia, recognises one China, but there is enough wriggle room built in for all sides to avoid conflict. But what happens when that ethical ambiguity fails, and are we seeing that now?
In a world of contested beliefs, rights, and identities, renowned philosopher Charles Taylor ponders over these important questions: what binds us, and how can we live well together?
Australians will vote, in a referendum, on a constitutional Voice for Indigenous people. Critical to this is the place of First Nations people in our country, and sovereignty never ceded — that was the message from the Uluru Statement from the Heart which kickstarted this process.
Al Qaeda mastermind and former deputy to Osama Bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri has been killed in a US drone strike. Another leader is gone, but the terrorist group still persists.
At the end of the Cold War, Political Scientist Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history — liberalism and democracy, he said, had triumphed over communism. Fast forward: how does that look today?
Mawunyo Gbogbo has penned the recent memoir "Hip hop and hymns" which tells of her life growing up in small town Australia, wrestling with her African and Christian identity.
While the world is focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine, mass violence is shaking the African nation of Ethiopia, a country largely divided along ethnic lines. How are religious divisions playing into the conflict?
At last week's National NAIDOC awards, Stanley Grant Snr recently received the NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award, for his efforts on saving the Wiradjuri language. Stan Grant caught up with his father, and asked him about the importance of language to First Nations people.
Media headlines have represented the Catholic Church as polarised over the issue of women's recognition in the church. Does that adequately represent what those within the church may feel? And what does the future for female deacons look like in Australia?
U.S. President Joe Biden will sit down with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman later this week. Questions of human rights are front and centre — but so is the question of Saudi Arabia's influence on Islam around the world, particularly Wahhabism, which has fuelled a lot of radical insurgencies of Islam.
President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa has fled the country after protests and an ongoing economic crisis. What does this mean for the country which has been riven by ethnic and religious division, but is now coming together with a voice of anger?
Tensions emerged during this weeks' national Plenary Council as bishops overruled the people's votes. At one point the bishops rejected women-in-leadership motions, including ordination to diaconate. Women’s leadership was only one contentious issue.
For the first time in Australia's census history, fewer than half of respondents identified as Christian. So, how might the rise of 'no religion' play out in our legal system?
After a four-year consultation process, involving 220,000 people, the Plenary Council will reach its second and final assembly in July. Rebuilding confidence in the church will be a significant agenda item.
The reversal of constitutional abortion rights in America proves that if you can capture the courts, you can change society.
How strong is religious extremism in South Asia right now? The fall of Kabul and return of the Taliban last year, raises concerns that we could see the region become a hotbed of militancy once again.
The man who assassinated Gandhi, Nathuram Godse, is becoming a celebrated figure amongst Hindu Nationalists, including some in Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
There is always conflict in our world, from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to Africa, to the Middle East to parts of Asia. World War I was supposed to be the war that ended all wars. So why do we keep repeating the past, one catastrophic conflict after another?
Sheryl Sandberg has resigned as Chief Operating Officer of Meta, the company that brought us Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. She, along with Mark Zuckerberg have connected us in ways previously unimagined, but it's also opened a Pandora's box of issues including privacy, political meddling and fake news.
There's a long history of African American Catholic sisters, but it has been overlooked, even erased. Now, a new book tells the powerful story of how these Black nuns brought their faith and voices to the struggle of civil rights in America.
Once again, a church is being rocked by allegations of sexual abuse — this time, it's the powerful American Southern Baptists. Hundreds of cases of abuse that have now lasted for decades, and a shocking cover up.
A new US government report is shining a light onto generations of Native American children who were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools, to be forcibly assimilated. Many, at least thousands of children died in those institutions.
One of the first things new PM Anthony Albanese has committed to is a referendum for a voice for Indigenous people in the constitution. There is a groundswell of support in the Australian public — including amongst faith groups. You don't hear much about religion and the Uluru Statement from the Heart, but it is a document of profound faith and hope.
Australians deserted Liberal and Labor in droves. Labor won, but the big winners here were the others, especially the Independents. Dai Le is one of them, she defeated Labor's high-profile Kristina Keneally, winning the seat of Fowler in Sydney's religiously and culturally diverse west.
There's an old saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" — but is that true? What about those who cling too strongly to the past, and what happens when the past is weaponised?
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is a political leader who wore his faith publicly. Of course, he's also an expert on China and China's place in the world. We asked him about the future of religious discrimination legislation in Australia, his personal faith, and whether the role of faith in China presents a challenge to the Chinese Communist Party.
Given the headlines you could be forgiven for thinking the Anglican church is tearing itself apart over the question of same-sex marriage. The tension in the church goes deeper as well — what is the future of the clash between progressives and conservatives in the church?
The fear of Black Consciousness is, in part, what Afro-Jewish philosopher Lewis Gordon means when we continually fail to deal with the legacy of our history, and address questions like the place for guilt.
Should the sins of the past be visited upon us? The Abrahamic faiths talk about guilt, atonement and redemption. Indigenous Australians have long called for truth-telling, a reckoning with our past as a way to justice and healing. But collective guilt today is a hot button topic — is the idea a helpful or harmful one?
In part two of our interview with renowned theologian and Yale Professor Miroslav Volf, we explore identity, faith and remembering history rightly.
Clashes at the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem became a feature of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which ended this week. Israeli officials blame Palestinian militant groups for inciting young men to riot, but many Jerusalem Palestinians say they are fearful that Israel plans to allow Jewish prayer at the Al Aqsa compound.
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the man likely to become the next president of the Philippines when the nation goes to the polls on May 9. His father Ferdinand Marcos was a dictator and kleptocrat who held a grip on power for two decades between 1965 and 1986. How has fake news and disinformation been influencing this election and the likely return of power for the Marcos family?
Today we explore the question of forgiveness — including one of the most pressing — is it possible for a Ukrainian to forgive Vladimir Putin?
This week Australians have commemorated Anzac Day, again remembering the sacrifice of those in war. But is it more than that? What began in Gallipoli in WWI has now become sacred.
The federal election campaign descended quickly into a game of political 'gotcha.' The two major parties are trying to focus on leadership, stumbles and scandal. But is it possible to create a politics where there are clear distinctions and a commitment to the common good?
With the 2022 election campaign now under way, we check in with one of Australia’s top experts on religious voting trends.
Many Australians will enjoy Easter as simply a long weekend. But in a new book, Dr Kevin Donnelly argues that Christianity underpins much of the Australia we know today.
As Russian troops tried to encircle the Ukrainian capital Kyiv last month, and even began shelling the city, the mayor said almost half the population had been forced to flee. One man determined to stay at his post is Fr Aleksey Samsonov.
An astonishing 85 per cent of Australian companies are not complying with national laws against modern slavery. That’s the finding from the International Justice Mission, a faith-based organisation that fights human trafficking.
What links the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the Saudi bombing of Yemen and the persecution of the Rohingya people of Myanmar? For Pope Francis, they’re all part of World War III.
It’s a controversial ritual of French politics: during presidential elections, nationalist candidates push a combination of anti-immigration and anti-Islamic rhetoric. But at this election, even centrist president Macron is using softer language to advocate similar things.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is fighting to retain power after a vote of no confidence in the parliament. He’s blamed a foreign conspiracy – the United States in particular – for trying to thwart his independent foreign policy.
Pentecostal Christianity is in a three-way race with Islam and Hinduism to become the world’s fastest growing religion. In the English-speaking world, one of its biggest names is the Australian founder of the Hillsong church empire, Brian Houston. But he’s had a dramatic fall. So just how significant is Brian Houston's resignation for the faith?
Muslims from the Russian republic of Chechnya are fighting on both sides in Ukraine. Some are Chechens who despise Putin for laying waste to their capital Grozny in the early 2000s. Others are followers of Ramzan Kadyrov, the warlord that Putin installed as leader of Chechnya.
Another controversial ruler who's been stoking war in a neighbouring country is Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The 36-year-old heir to the House of Saud styles himself as a modernizer, but bin Salman is bombing Yemen and detaining his political enemies — proving that modernisation doesn’t necessarily mean democracy and human rights.
US President Joe Biden has labelled Vladimir Putin a war criminal. Would the simplest way to end a war that Putin started be to assassinate him? It’s a shocking proposition but the concept of tyrannicide goes back to ancient philosophy.
In Argentina, severe drought threatens the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farmers. These extreme variations in weather have led Argentina's former environment minister to call for an economy that works in harmony with nature.
Ukraine's controversial surrogacy business has been disrupted by Russia's invasion, with headlines about surrogate children stranded in the war zone.
As the budget looms, one of the Australia's biggest faith-based welfare organisations, Anglicare, is calling for major changes to support low income Australians — one of which includes a universal basic income.
Vladimir Putin has long styled himself as a defender of Christian values. But his idea of the Russian Orthodox faith as a global political force has a lot in common with the Islamic concept of the Ummah – the worldwide community of believers.
In a sign of growing dissent inside the Russian Orthodox Church, almost 300 priests have signed a statement not only condemning Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine but warning that damnation awaits those who give orders to kill.
Pope Francis has begun his own effort to end the war in Ukraine. In an unprecedented break with protocol, Pope Francis walked across to Russia’s embassy at the Vatican to demand a meeting with the ambassador. He not only condemned the bloodshed but offered the Vatican as an intermediary.
Vladimir Putin is not just involved in a violent land grab. He believes he's fighting his own holy war to restore the ancient territory of the 'Holy Rus,' with the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as the 'Third Rome.'
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims the same justification for his attempted takeover of Ukraine that the US, Britain and Australia claimed for their 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for foreigners to join the fight against Russian invaders. Meanwhile, Australia and NATO countries are sending weapons to the Ukrainian resistance. But what happens when foreigners join a faraway fight and a region is flooded with arms that cannot be traced?
What's the difference between character and personality? Character often reflects certain values like self-reliance, restraint and good judgement, whereas personality is about self-expression.
India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is in the middle of local elections. The current chief minister is the fiery Hindu priest Yogi Adityanath, well-known for his anti-Muslim rhetoric The Indian media are also asking if he could eventually replace fellow Hindu nationalist, PM Narendra Modi.
The West is certainly divided along political lines, turbo-charged by social media. But are Vladimir Putin and China’s Xi Jinping poised to take advantage of these fractures?
A dangerous QAnon conspiracy theory is undermining one of the most important battles today — the one against modern slavery.
Three leading figures in the German Catholic church have spoken out against compulsory celibacy for priests.
Why has Vladimir Putin's culture wars campaign against sexual and moral liberalism won him support in Russia — and abroad?
This week, Queen Elizabeth marks an extraordinary milestone — 70 years as a monarch, the longest reign ever. For centuries, there's been a lively debate over the 'divine right' of kings and queens.
Federal parliament is poised to vote this week on the controversial religious discrimination bill. At the heart of the bill is a clash of equally powerful rights, according to Dr Renae Barker.
The military junta in Myanmar is presenting itself as the defender of the country's majority Buddhist culture, even planning to build the world's largest sitting Buddha statue.
A special episode looking at who's really responsible for war crimes — the soldiers on the battlefield or the commanders and politicians who sent them?
Tammy Faye Bakker, along with her husband, were two of the most popular — and controversial — televangelists of the 1980s. They came out of a very conservative Pentecostal tradition, yet Tammy Faye also became a beloved figure among the gay community.
Pope Francis delivered his first major speech of the year to foreign ambassadors to the Vatican, warning against what he called "ideological colonisation."
Russian president Vladimir Putin has been amassing troops along the border with Ukraine, escalating fears of an invasion. But how could Orthodox Christian leaders help ease tensions?
Think back to when the pandemic began. Governments around the world spent trillions of dollars – sometimes reluctantly – to businesses that had to shut down. There was lots of talk about a new communitarian age. But is that how it turned out?
Today, a deep dive into a world where religion, politics, war, and peace come together, featuring the ABC’s International Affairs analyst Stan Grant.
Around 80 per cent of white American evangelicals voted for Donald Trump between 2016 and 2020. For African-American historian Anthea Butler, this says a lot about Christianity in America today.
Is it time to declare Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, a saint?
This year's ABC Australia Talks survey showed that neither religious nor political leaders enjoy much credibility these days. So it's quite brave to suggest that church teaching might actually improve politics.
Facebook is facing a US $150 billion lawsuit from Rohingya refugees, who claim the social media giant allowed hate speech to appear on its platform. They say the language contributed to the killing of at least 10,000 Muslims in Myanmar.
There have been half a dozen biographies of Menzies but none that have delved deeply into his faith like Dr David Furse-Roberts' new book on Menzies and God.
Why have police in Israel reopened two "cold case" murders from over three decades ago? The suspect is the rabbi of a small ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect.
Pope Francis made a dramatic visit to the Greek island of Lesbos earlier this week, urging world leaders not to abandon millions of refugees, and also making a historic apology.
The federal government’s proposed religious discrimination law has ignited debate over how much freedom faith-based institutions should have to promote their beliefs and doctrine. We look at different perspectives on the bill.
A recent law in France imposes heavy conditions on places of worship, religious funding, and even food.
China might officially be an atheist country, but it treats its communist heroes like saints. So much so that a new law makes it a crime to criticise the heroes — or so-called heroes — of the 1949 revolution.
Another bill has also landed in parliament – the long-awaited legislation on religious discrimination. Why are Muslims leaders, in particular, invested in a bill that mainly Christians have pushed so hard for?
Centre Alliance MP Rebekha Sharkie has introduced a bill into the House of Representatives to ban the importation of goods made overseas by forced labour. It's designed to strengthen the fight against modern slavery, which ensnares more than 40 million people worldwide.
Think back to when the pandemic began. Governments around the world spent trillions of dollars – sometimes reluctantly – to businesses that had to shut down. There was lots of talk about a new communitarian age. But is that how it turned out?
At the 700-year-old Dongguan mosque in Xining, the dome and minarets have come down. Anything that looks Middle Eastern is replaced by architecture that looks more Han Chinese. But is this remodelling part of a broader campaign to suppress minority cultures?
Across the Middle East, millions of Christians have fled their ancient homelands, especially since the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003. Most have not returned — and probably never will. Renowned journalist Janine di Giovanni documents their plight in her new book.
Almost 6,000 people fleeing violence in Indonesia’s West Papua region have taken shelter in local churches. Now 30 local Catholic priests have signed an urgent appeal for a ceasefire.
Africa has the highest prevalence of modern slavery today, with an estimated 9.2 million victims according to the Global Slavery Index. Now, a new app has been designed to allow for the speedy reporting of slavery and forced labour.
For the past two decades, from Beirut to Kabul and onto Hong Kong, the people have built vibrant, liberal societies. But they've also lived with the threat of powerful forces overwhelming them.
With the COP26 climate summit just days away, governments need to build popular support to slash carbon emissions. In the US and Australia, climate change sceptics sometimes pitch their arguments to conservative Christians, suggesting global warming is another culture war issue, like critical race theory or personal pronouns.
Australia has become the latest country to sign onto a statement that defines anti-Semitism. You might think this is relatively uncontroversial – condemning the world’s longest hatred. But the definition of anti-Semitism has divided even the Jewish community.
Images posted on Facebook are alleged to have incited a rampage in Bangladesh targeting the Hindu minority. At least ten people have died and about 120 Hindu temples desecrated in the violence.
As world leaders gather in Edinburgh next month for the COP26 climate summit, we look at the threat to Pacific nations like Tuvalu, and the Christian case for helping your neighbour in the climate emergency.
In a rare rebuke, the leaders of South East Asian nations have shunned the military junta in Myanmar, telling its prime minister he isn’t welcome at next week’s ASEAN summit. Since the junta seized power in February, the UN estimates the Burmese army has killed more than 1100 civilians.
New South Wales could soon legalise euthanasia or voluntary assisted dying, after Independent MP Alex Greenwich introduced a bill this week. Religious leaders hold different views on the bill.
The COVID pandemic confined much of the world’s population to their homes and curbed all kinds of activity. But new Pew Research reveals that even before its onset, religiously motivated violence had been on the decline. Yet at the same time, government restrictions on religion were higher than ever.
One of the starkest images from Afghanistan in the 1990s was the Taliban’s destruction of the ancient Buddha statues. Now there are fears that the war in Ethiopia could wreak similar destruction on the ancient holy city of Lalibela, a World Heritage listed site.
Balbir Singh Sodhi almost became a forgotten victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks twenty years ago. His story is a poignant one, yet he wasn’t among those who died in the Twin Towers or the Pentagon or Pennsylvania.
The historic Catholic Plenary is asking how the church can regain public trust after the sexual abuse scandal, bring lost Catholics back to the pews, and give more authority to woman and lay people. Join host Andrew West, ABC Religion Unit specialist Noel Debien and three leading Catholic women to analyse the summit so far.
Is it make or break time for the Catholic Church in Australia? A major summit, taking place in October, is called to consider the future of a church in crisis.
For the first time in over 80 years, leaders of the Australian Catholic Church and, more importantly, representatives of the churchgoers will hold a major summit to chart the future of the Australian church. Former royal commissioner into child sexual abuse Robert Fitzgerald, says the church needs to seize this chance to confront the secrecy and power that enabled the abuse.
Deputy president of Fair Work Australia Lyndall Dean has said compulsory vaccinations for workers would create ""medical apartheid" in the nation. Ms Dean was dissenting from a majority judgement that upheld the right of a nursing home to sack a worker who refused vaccination. So, can mandatory vaccinations for workers be introduced in an ethical way?
There are laws to protect human rights during war, but do they actually create wars without end? Yale law professor Samuel Moyn has written a new book on the subject.
The Taliban continues to impose a harsh religious agenda on Afghanistan, now refusing to allow teenage girls back to school, and urging women to stay in their homes. The militant group are now in charge of a sovereign state — but should the international community recognise the regime?
Has "workism" and obsession with achievement replaced religion? In a new book, Justine Toh challenges the market-driven idea of meritocracy, saying it has created a culture of smugness for the successful and a politics of humiliation for those left behind.
For a decade, immigration and refugee policy has ignited German politics, but predictions of a new refugee surge out of Afghanistan have not moved voters. There has, however, been an unusual focus on the religious connections of the Christian Democrat candidate.
Pubs, theatres and sporting events may demand patrons have COVID vaccination certificates before entering — but should the same rule apply to churches and places of worship? The Anglican and Catholic archbishops say they cannot turn away people because they are unvaccinated. Constitutional law expert Dr Joel Harrison explains.
Muslim Australian artist Abdul Abdullah was a teenager in Perth when 9/11 occurred. Abdul recalls the backlash and racism his community encountered in the wake of 9/11, and its role in shaping his identity today.
After the collapse of the World Trade Centre on 9/11, what fractures appeared across the Islamic world, especially between pro-western leaders and their people? How did the terrorist attack turbo-charge nationalism in Europe and the U.S., fuelling the idea of a "clash of civilisations"?
What was the world like on 10 September, 2001? What discontent had been simmering across parts of the Arab and Islamic worlds that fuelled the Al Qaeda plot?
Popular activist Nizar Banat died after he was severely beaten by Palestinian police in late June. But Palestinians are still on the streets — and they’re invoking the cause of a new Arab spring.
With the U.N. predicting that half a million Afghans could try to flee their country following Taliban takeover, is one possible answer a Kurdish-style solution?
It was one minute till midnight when the last American plane left Afghanistan this week. The Taliban fired their guns in celebration. They now control the country. But what about the fate of Afghans who still need to leave?
Rubber bullets on the streets of Melbourne, jail sentences for lockdown protesters in Sydney, and what about the NSW Police Commissioner telling officers they’re no longer accountable if they wrongly issue citizens with a fine? Renowned human rights lawyer Justine Nolan explains what happens when you give free rein to police during a pandemic.
Where did today’s Taliban leaders and fighters learn their harsh brand of Islam? You may have heard about the madrassas, or religious schools, that have operated throughout Pakistan’s tribal areas for decades. But since 2001, this new generation of Taliban have also been nurtured by technology — and the simple desire for money.
A group of Christian leaders want the Prime Minister to increase Australia’s refugee intake from Afghanistan. They say Afghans who will suffer under the Taliban will need a safe haven here — and they’ve invoked the founder of Australian liberalism to support their case.
One of the world’s leading human rights scholars, Professor Samuel Moyn, ponders the fundamental freedoms we’ve sacrificed in our response to COVID-19.
As Afghanistan succumbs to the Taliban, could moderate Muslim leaders use their power to tame the extremists?
The Taliban has sealed control of Afghanistan, which raises the obvious question - will it again impose its harsh religious law on the people?
Jaivet Ealom is the only known refugee to have ever escaped Australia’s offshore detention centre on Manus Island. Jaivet opens up about his story in a new book, Escape From Manus: The untold true story.
High-profile Pentecostal pastor Brian Houston has been charged with allegedly concealing information about child abuse committed by his late father in the 1970s. The news raises fresh questions about the future of his famous Hillsong megachurch.
We look at a new book containing a candid interview with the Prime Minister. Despite a lot of public interest, Scott Morrison doesn’t often talk about his faith, but he has opened up to journalist Greg Sheridan.
Religious conservatives have won national power in Australia. But why has the culture become more liberal on their watch?
The effect of COVID-19 on public health around the world has been stark – some 4 million fatalities. But what’s been the effect on global conflict?
Do restrictions slow down the so-called longevity machine – that web of economic, family and social activities that have seen our lifespans increase, especially over the past 20 years?
Australian businesses are at risk of using slave or coerced labour in their overseas and even local supply chains. A survey of 150 top companies has found serious lapses in the way corporations comply with Australia’s national anti-slavery law.
A new study from the Australian Human Rights Commission found that almost 80 percent of Australian Muslims have experienced some form of local discrimination - but a large majority still believe Australia is a welcoming society.
Is it time to declare Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa a living saint?
When federal parliament resumes next month, the senate will vote on controversial new regulations governing charities. One leading Liberal senator, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, has expressed her fear that the rule could curb freedom of speech.
The effect of COVID-19 on public health around the world has been stark – some 4 million fatalities. But what’s been the effect on global conflict?
As COVID-19 grips Australia’s largest city, hopes for a return to normal life fade – at least for now. Vaccinations have increased and that will stem the health crisis. But will the fear of disease paralyse the country for years to come?
US President Joe Biden has called on Americans to reject the “dark” and “sinister” conspiracy theories swirling around America about the so-called stolen election last November. Most the theories circulate on the internet but many also find followers in the white evangelical church.
In Haiti the mystery over who is responsible for the assassination of President Moise deepens. Local police have arrested a Florida-based evangelical pastor.
The federal government has decided to half the number of overseas arrivals into Australia. So, what are the ethical implications of tightening the borders in a country where almost half the population are first or second-generation migrants?
India is the world’s biggest religious marketplace, but it remains a nation with deep religious divides.
While Australians scramble to get vaccinated against COVID-19, one of the world’s top development experts is urging the wealthy countries to share vaccines with poorer nations.
The Anglican Church of Australia recently published damning research into the prevalence of intimate partner violence among Anglican Australians. It found that biblical teachings are being used by perpetrators to justify their behaviour. The Melbourne Anglican diocese has been responding to this urgent problem in the form of a family violence prevention program for church leaders.
The ABC has been releasing this week more results from its Australia Talks National Survey that involved 60,000 participants.
The elections in Ethiopia is taking place in the shadow of an unfolding disaster in the northern province of Tigray. A guerrilla war between the National Army and Tigrayan separatists has created conditions that the UN warns could led to the worst famine in a decade.
Next week, more than 15,000 members of America’s biggest Evangelical church, the Southern Baptists, gather in Nashville, Tennessee, for their first big meeting since the defeat of Donald Trump. Southern Baptists were part of the Trump power base. Now they are fighting over their future.
The new government of Israel is the first since 2009 that doesn’t have Benjamin Netanyahu as its leader. The new coalition headed by Naftali Bennett is a patchwork of very different parties – nationalists on the hard right through to the traditional peace camp of the Meretz party on the left.
Pope Francis has released a tough new edict governing sexual abuse in the church, including removing any discretion that bishops have over whether to report accusations of abuse to civil authorities.
Ebrahim Raisi's election could cement religious control over the presidency, parliament and judiciary.
The family of a prominent Turkish dissident hold grave fears for his safety after he disappeared in the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. Orhan Inandi is a follower of the influential Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, whom the Turkish government blames for the failed 2016 coup.
As traditional religious affiliation declines in the US, people are replacing it with a religious-like devotion to politics. Whether it is the shadowy QAnon on the far right or extreme identity politics on the hard left, many Americans are participating in politics in ones that are eerily ritualistic, from Christ-like representations of Donald Trump to atheist versions of the nativity scene featuring George Washington.
As tensions cool in Israel and Gaza after weeks of violence, the plight of the Palestinians continues to raise the temperature of Indonesian politics.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and girlfriend Carrie Symonds wed in a private ceremony at the weekend. But their happy day turned controversial after the revelation that the twice-divorced Johnson married in a Catholic ceremony at Westminster Cathedral, the seat of Catholic power in Britain.
In 1956, India's first Dalit lawmaker and anti-caste activist Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar started a movement that has inspired thousands discriminated against by India's caste system to convert to his unique interpretation of Buddhism known as Navayana. And as Australia's Indian diaspora grows, how does Navayana exist among the community?
Kanishka Raffel is the new Archbishop of the Anglican diocese of Sydney. He will be the first person from a non-European background to hold the position.
As Peru heads into a presidential election, all eyes are on candidate Pedro Castillo.
While he tilts strongly to the left on economics and workers’ rights, his populist campaign is also attracting a following among Catholics and evangelicals because of its embrace of traditional social values such as marriage and abortion.
The religious motivations behind the Israel-Palestine conflict. And, we are joined by an expert who warns that Israel’s own Arab citizens are so upset at the way Palestinians are treated, they could destabilise Israel in an unprecedented way.
The Hermit Kingdom is a label normally hung on the closed and secretive country of North Korea. But journalist Amelia Lester says her homeland – Australia – is the new hermit kingdom because of the border closures that make it all but impossible for ordinary citizens to enter and leave.
The ABC’s International Affairs analyst Stan Grant has a distinguished history as a foreign correspondent. He spent 14 years with CNN, based in China and the Middle East. He had a box seat in the theatre of a radically changing world.
When should governments use trade bans to help persecuted minorities? We talk to an Australian Uyghur about a proposed ban on goods produced by Muslim Uyghurs.
The Federal Budget will be delivered next week. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has made it clear that he will not impose austerity measures. So, if a budget is a values statement – what should that statement then look like? And, what should it articulate as Australia emerges from the pandemic, knowing the rest of the world remains in crisis mode?
Do police respond differently to suspects from minority ethnic and religious groups? And how can a better screening of applicants for jobs on the force improve police ethics?
How many countries, including Australia, could follow US President Joe Biden in recognising the Armenian Genocide by Turkish forces during WWI? And could post-war Germany provide a good model for countries that need to come to terms with dark parts of their history?
A speech by Scott Morrison to a Christian conference has caused uproar. The prime minister is Pentecostal, part of the fastest growing Christian denomination in Australia. In his speech, he didn’t talk about government policy or even religious freedom. But did say his faith had restored him during a low point in the 2019 election campaign.
We take a look at one of the hidden stories of ANZAC - Australian soldier Edward Ryan. He was a wounded hero who ultimately faced a death sentence.
The announcement by President Joe Biden that the US will withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by September 11 this year raises some critical ethical questions. Having promised democracy and human rights to the people of Afghanistan, is it right to pull out the troops that are guarding the fragile gains?
India is in the grip of another wave of COVID-19 and one of the reasons for this outbreak is a major Hindu festival that’s been taking place. The Kumbh Mela attracts millions of pilgrims.
A community in Tanna in Vanuatu revered the late Prince Philip as a deity. Local leaders were even invited to Windsor Castle to meet the Duke of Edinburgh and they traded gifts. They are mourning his death but they want to continue their relationship with the royal family.
The religious life of Prince Philip, from Greek Orthodox to Church of England and back to Orthodoxy, founding along the way an international organisation that links religion and environmentalism. He also pioneered inter-religious dialogue as Britain became more multicultural. We speak with Catherine Pepinster of The Tablet.
Have the sanctions on Iran hurt the very people who can reform the country? Azadeh Moaveni from the International Crisis Group joins the program looks at the disappearing middle class among Iranian women.
Northern Ireland’s new “troubles”. How much of the latest outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland is driven by enduring religious divisions. Duncan Morrow of Ulster University was a key player in the peace process, having headed the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council for a decade.
Feminist researcher Caroline Norma of RMIT University says that porn consumption among young men starts at a very young age. The average age of first exposure is around 13 years.
In Victoria, the Andrews government looks set to act on the recommendations of former sex industry lobbyist turned politician Fiona Patten to totally decriminalise the industry. But could an even more liberal system add to the problem of sex trafficking?
In a potentially serious dispute for global politics, a deep division has emerged in the ruling family of Jordan. Earlier this week, King Abdullah put his half-brother, Prince Hamzah under house arrest, accusing him of conspiring against national security. Hamzah has since pledged allegiance to the king but the rift exposed allegations of corruption in the royal household.
Do our political tribes make sense? One of Britain’s leading young thinkers, James Mumford explores the question in his new book.
How the hit musical Hamilton is a parable for Easter, especially for its theme of the search for redemption.
An American nun and nurse working in the West Bank and Egypt during the worst of the COVID crisis, has been recognised with one of the most prestigious accolades in the US - a Woman of Courage Award.
US President Joe Biden insists he is a devout Catholic – and carries a set of rosary beads in his pocket. But he is facing a showdown with many of America’s Catholic bishops over his support for abortion. Some are even asking him not to take communion when he attends church this Easter.
Harry and Meghan Markle have answered the question we posed a couple of episodes ago when we asked which of their two weddings was real. They have clarified that their private ceremony, three days before the official wedding in 2018, was an exchange of vows.
Israel has just had its fourth election in two years. And it’s ended in more uncertainty. For our next guest, however, unless Israel reaches a just peace with its Palestinian neighbours, one outcome is certain. It will cease to be any kind of democracy.
A Muslim woman has just become leader of Tanzania. Samia Suluhu Hassan took over the presidency after the death of President John Magufuli. She joins a growing list of Muslim women who have become president or prime minister. But how significant is her rise in particular?
A new generation of so-called “swarm drones” is raising major ethical questions about the ease of killing in war.
Melinda Tankard Reist, director of the women’s empowerment group Collective Shout, says programmes to educate young men about sexual consent will fail unless the government addresses the corrosive effects of pornography.
Earlier this week, the government of Sri Lanka announced that it was looking at banning the full-face covering worn by some Muslim women. It’s also moving to shut down hundreds of Muslim schools. So what exactly has the government proposed?
China is using its Belt and Road Initiative to forge ties with countries stretching from South East Asia to Europe. The initiative usually involves pouring billions of dollars into infrastructure, such as railways, ports, and power generation. But Chinese leader Xi Jinping is also mobilising religion to cement relations, especially with its neighbours.
Pope Francis has told Catholics around the world they should take the vaccine for COVID-19. Now Islamic leaders are urging Muslims to do the same.
During their two-hour chat with talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Meghan Markle revealed that by the time she reached the altar of St George’s chapel at Windsor Castle for their public wedding ceremony, the couple were already married. They’d had a secret wedding three days earlier, alone with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby. Does it raise questions about the validity of their marriage?
Despite the twin threats of a pandemic and terrorism, the first ever papal visit to Iraq begins on Friday. And, the former Chaldean Archbishop of Iraq, Amel Nona now living in Australia talks about his escape from Iraq and ISIS.
Before winning the presidency, Joe Biden promised a foreign policy that was more ethical than that of Donald Trump. So what’s happened?
Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic won his ninth men’s title at the Australian Open on Monday. But for Djokovic personally, there’s only one title that counts – his Serbian Orthodox faith.
Whether you see it as a terrorist group or a welfare agency, Lebanon’s Hezbollah is a major player in the Middle East. The Shi’ite movement is also known as the Party of God – a fixture of Lebanese politics since 1992. Hezbollah also crosses borders, getting involved in Syria and Yemen. But a string of crises might curb its reach.
Pope Francis is set to fly to Iraq next week, making an historic trip to a country still mired in sectarian conflict.
Last April, the High Court of Australia unanimously overturned Cardinal Pell’s convictions on child sexual abuse and ordered his release from jail. We look at the controversial new book titled 'The Persecution of George Pell'.
It’s almost a year since the World Health Organisation officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic. The responses of governments in East Asia differed markedly from those in Europe and the United States. One of Asia’s leading intellectuals says this shows a gap in values.
The fallout continues for the Crown corporation, after an enquiry in New South Wales found the company was not fit to run a gambling casino in Sydney. As the enquiry exposed, gambling is almost always a dirty business. So why do governments permit such ethically problematic enterprises?
A new book reveals that there is already tension between the new US administration and conservative bishops. The book also argues that the fates of the president and Pope Francis are deeply intertwined.
QAnon is a strange internet phenomenon that presents itself as a government insider, drip-feeding to its online followers supposedly hidden truths about groups that really control the world. As the world saw on January 6, when hundreds of extremists overran the US capitol, there’s some overlap with Donald Trump supporters. It might surprise you to learn there’s also an overlap with parts of the so-called “wellness industry”.
As Israel Folau looks to make a comeback to Australian football, a new book looks at the free speech war his 2019 tweets ignited.
In a year of COVID, we have seen churches shuttered, weddings cancelled, even funerals down to a handful of mourners. The pandemic has been the most serious blow to religious practice since perhaps the black plague. But how has it affected religious belief?
The army in Myanmar staged another coup this week, but the opposition from Buddhist monks is much weaker. So what has broken them as a force in Burmese society?
An archival interview with Geoffrey Robinson, a former auxiliary bishop of Sydney, who died on 29 December 2020. Bishop Robinson pushed for accountability in the Catholic Church.
Samuel Moyn on reconciliation and the lost cause of national unity in the U.S. even with the Biden inauguration.
Claire Beck, World Vision’s director of Humanitarian Health discusses the need to bring faith leaders into the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, especially in the developing world where mosques, temples and churches remain major centres of gathering and information for communities.
The liberal values of modern Australia – and the west more broadly – have mounted a strong challenge to religious traditions, especially around sex and sexuality. How should religions respond? Should they change doctrines and teachings they believe to be eternal truths? Or should the political world be more pluralist and accommodate these views?
How will the next generation of leaders, especially those formed in a liberal western environment, understand this emerging world?
A new book looks at how Christians and Muslims Can Be Friends and some of the reasons disenfranchised Muslims can become radicalised.
A look at how lockdowns divided populations and amplified political division in societies already riven by cultural divisions.
A look at the haemorrhaging support for US President Donald Trump among evangelical leaders after he refuses to accept the results of the November election.
In this year of pandemic – of being shut in and working from home – you may have sought distraction by lying on the sofa watching some streaming service.
It’s been a good pandemic for some. USA Today reports that Jeff Bezos, the world’s richest man, has seen his wealth almost double – from 113 billion to 203 billion in just six months.
Retiring CEO of Wesley Mission, Keith Garner discusses his new book about what the church can teach business.
The youth wing of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in India has registered a police complaint against Netflix, alleging that the BBC adaptation of A Suitable Boy has hurt religious sentiments.
The CIA and the KGB attempted to recruit the disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick during the Cold War. McCarrick agreed to be a CIA asset but he was also open to blackmail because of rumours about his sexual behaviour with, as it was known at the time, young adult men.
Young Australians are less likely than ever before to belong to a religious tradition or organisation. But for those who are devout, there can often be a conflict between their religious beliefs and social pressures to date, or their sexual preference.
This week RN is looking at what it calls the Big 20 – the momentous first 20 years of this century. And central to so many events has been religion. From the historic resignation of a Pope to the huge growth of politicised Islam, Hinduism and evangelical Christianity.
Even if he never said it, it sounds like something from the great novelist G K Chesterton. “When man ceases to believe in God, he doesn’t believe in nothing, he believes in anything.”
A Vatican report into sexual abuse by former US cardinal Theodore McCarrick was deeply critical of the late pope, John Paul II.
Most of the news about the Labor Party this week has focused on an internal war over coal mining and climate change.
Moral theologian, writer and former Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks died of cancer earlier this week. He was 72-years-old.
Playwright Tom Stoppard famously said, “It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting”. And in the US, the counting continues to affirm Joe Biden as the next president.
The Defence Minister, Linda Reynolds, and defence chiefs are now examining a report into Australian military action in Afghanistan, including allegations that soldiers killed unarmed civilians.
What are the implications of this uncertain U.S. election, particularly for the political left?
The United Kingdom has increased its terror alert to “severe”, after a deadly attack in Vienna by terrorists claiming loyalty to the Islamic State group.
Dr David Smith from the US Studies Centre takes a look at where the religious vote might be showing up as the US election results come in - the Jews in Florida, white Catholics in Western Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio, Hispanic Catholics in Texas and Arizona, Muslims in parts of Michigan, and of course the white Evangelicals across the country.
We look back on the Arab Spring which began with one sacrificial act almost a decade ago.
Queensland premier Anastacia Palaszczuk says a re-elected Labor government would bring on a conscience vote in parliament to allow assisted dying. We take a closer look at the possible laws.
Pope Francis, with his 20 million Twitter followers, probably isn’t too worried about being trolled. But for writers and thinkers, especially women, who disagree with the latest ideology on, say, gender or coronavirus, the social media platform is toxic.
A new survey of Australia's Muslim community looks at attitudes to communal religious life and the relationship with the state.
In the midst of all the political intrigue in the Vatican over the past fortnight, Pope Francis released his latest – and possibly most political – encyclical. It’s called Fratelli Tutti, translated roughly as “All Brothers”.
A new book explores how Saudi Arabia’s ambitious 20th century proselytization campaign changed the Muslim world.
Could a former Vatican official have paid more than a million dollars to tilt the 2018 sexual abuse trial against Cardinal George Pell?
Psychiatrist Dr Tanveer Ahmed looks at the history and contemporary rise of shame. Dr Ahmed argues that the stigmatisation of shame is part of a wider "tyranny of the positive". This stigmatisation of negative emotions limits human flourishing and contributes to the growth in disorders such as anxiety and self-harm, aspects of which are often grounded in unnamed and tamed shame.
A new book explores the history and contemporary rise of shame and its overlap with group identity and mental health.
Donald Trump’s nominee for the US Supreme Court is already stirring controversy for being part of a religious community known for ideas that blur the line between church and state.
The conflict in the Nagorno Karabakh region of the Caucuses has worsened. As of Wednesday afternoon, about 100 people had died. The region is officially part of Azerbaijan but its population is majority Armenian. So what's behind the escalated violence?
Why ethnic diversity in Catholic schools is driving some middle-class Catholic parents away.
This week the US imposed sweeping new sanctions on Iran to curb Tehran's nuclear, missile, and conventional arms threats. Will the decision tighten the hand of the religious hardliners in Iran?
The death of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg makes the future of the court a flashpoint in the US election. What are some of the divisive that might come before the court.
The annual New College Lecture series begins on September 22. They are always a provocative series of talks and this year especially so.
Michael Lind, author of ‘The New Class War’ on why western democracies need what he calls Democratic Pluralism - putting religious communities, labour unions, businesses and local politics back around the table - as the best bet against rising demagoguery and extremism.
Overnight, Israel, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates signed a deal normalising diplomatic relations. While US President Donald Trump has hailed it as "the dawn of a new Middle East", others see it as a meaningless spectacle.
One of the findings of the sexual abuse royal commission was that the worst abuse often occurred in regional communities – where the church had prestige, where working class families trusted the priests and bishops to care for their sons, and where that trust was betrayed.
One of the few things that Palestinians have in common with Israel’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities is the wedding – the big wedding.
The news that Kurdish authorities may have removed Australian women and their children from a refugee camp in Syria has focused attention on almost 6 million refugees scattered throughout the region.
While Pew Research tells us religion is growing abroad, especially in Africa, Asia and Latin America, in Australia numbers are down with every census.
Sister Simone Campbell and Sister Deirdre Byrne are two Catholic nuns who addressed the Democratic and Republican conventions in the U.S.
Myanmar holds elections in November and the poll highlights the moral dilemma facing the country’s first democratic leader.
US Republicans are this week celebrating a president loved by evangelicals. But Donald Trump had a Hollywood predecessor, John Wayne who was adored even more by the Christian right.
In massive floods in South Sudan, almost 100 people have died, over 300,000 people have been displaced, and thousands of homes have been destroyed, along with crops and livestock.
The Sydney archbishops of the Catholic, Anglican and Greek Orthodox churches have written this week to the prime minister. They are concerned that a potential vaccine for COVID-19 being developed at Oxford University could be traced back to the cells of a female foetus that was aborted electively in 1973.
In almost two decades since the September 11 attacks by Islamist terrorists, politicians, scholars and intelligence agencies have been trying to understand the thinking behind religiously inspired violence.
The McKrindle research group had some interesting data this week about how Australians are responding to COVID-19. Among the results, 33 per cent of people are thinking more about God during the pandemic and 28 per cent have engaged more in prayer.
US Democrats meeting this week in a virtual convention are enthusiastic about the nomination of California senator Kamala Harris for the vice presidency.
Do you use resources to keep alive a six-year-old girl, whose long term prospects are not good, or do you use resources to extend the life of a 90-year-old patient?
Roger Kiska is legal counsel for Christian Concern, which is representing a devout British Muslim couple, both of whom are medical doctors, who were forcibly removed from their dying daughter's bedside. The hospital wanted to remove the daughter's life support, against the will, especially of the father, who is a respiratory expert.
If there’s a nation that’s struggling for life at the moment, it’s Lebanon. It’s been under strain for almost a decade. Can the religious and sectarian arrangements, where power is divided between religious groups survive the latest turmoil?
Medical science has crashed through many boundaries – even taboos. But is it on the threshold of making something so fundamental as motherhood unnecessary?
Dr Kwadwo Adusei-Asante on why Muslim and Christian leaders in Mali are trying to calm a political stand-off in the west African nation?
Christoph Reuter of German magazine Der Spiegel on his expose of mercenaries and their role in tearing apart Libya – and being COVID-19 super-spreaders.
Peter Beinart, editor of Jewish Currents, on why he now supports a binational state with equal rights for all in Israel-Palestine, and how religion that’s helped divide Jews and Palestinians can become an agent of reconciliation.
Why the Catholic Church only has to look to its history – and a forgotten part of its law – to empower women with real authority.
At the weekend, the first Islamic prayer services in 85 years took place at Hagia Sophia, a magnificent ancient building in Istanbul.
The United States lost one its greatest civil rights heroes this past week. John Lewis was a Democratic congressman from Georgia who came out of the black church movement.
A Pope who champions human rights under fire for dealing with Beijing’s autocratic government. And, how faith motivates Joshua Wong's activism.
Across Asia, an arc of countries stand out for their success in handling the COVID-19 crisis.
It’s one hundred years since the great German thinker Max Weber died. What lessons does his famous essay Politics as a Vocation hold for leaders dealing with the COVID-19 crisis.
Is the coronavirus a part of nature that we can defeat, or that we simply have to accept and manage?
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced recently that his government would help fund a Hindu temple in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad. But within days, a mob had demolished the foundations of the planned Shri Krishna temple -and with it the hope of religious pluralism.
Do our political tribes make sense? One of Britain’s leading young thinkers, James Mumford explores the question in his new book.
The Saudi government has cancelled the Hajj for all but a thousand locals and the decision could have implications for the stability of the regime.
Twenty-five years ago this week, as conflict in the Balkans was winding down, troops from the Bosnian Serb army advanced on the town of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia. By mid-July reports began filtering out of Srebrenica of a massacre. It would come to symbolise the worst ethnic and religious persecution during the Balkan wars.
Even if China is a strategic threat to Australia, should it be an offence to disagree with the proposition?
A new CIS paper on how the government’s response to COVID-19 should not displace civil society groups.
Is Russian President Vladimir Putin is weaponising religion in his campaign to win a constitutional referendum?
A new research paper looks at how ethnic and religious minorities could be at particular risk from a possible second wave of COVID-19, often because they work in areas most exposed to the virus, such as aged care and the face-to-face service sector. For some communities, such as young men of African background, there is fear about using mobile phone technology that’s designed to trace or detect COVID-19 cases.
Pastor Alvin Jackson of the group Repairers of the Breach, discusses the launch of the Poor Peoples Campaign on June 20, designed to mobilise up to 200 million poor people around the world.
Yale law professor and human rights expert Samuel Moyn on why the label “fascist” for leaders like Donald Trump and Viktor Orban is misguided, allowing elites that created the conditions for populism off the hook.
Is joining a political party in large numbers the only way for ethnic and religious minorities in Australia to get a foothold, as citizens, in the political system?
Bryan Massingale looks at how the protests at the weekend took on a decidedly religious tone.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set July 1 as the date for the formal annexation of Palestinian territory in the West Bank.
In 2018, the New South Wales parliament unanimously passed legislation to combat modern slavery – a trade that the human rights group Walk Free estimates ensnares up to 45 million people around the world.
Writer and priest Ormond Rush discusses his new book, The Vision of Vatican II, and how the failure to fully embrace the proposed reforms may have contributed to the clerical sex abuse crisis.
The title of the document sounds very ordinary – An Appeal for the Church and the world to Catholics and all people of goodwill.
For two days, mainstream Christian leaders have criticised US President Donald Trump for using religion as a prop in his response to the violence that has shaken America.
In a sign of what's truly countercultural today, young Christians in America are heading to ultra Orthodox style religious services, such as the Latin Mass and High Church Episcopal services. It's a stark contrast to the idea that every hipster believer wants to go to Hillsong.
The sting operation inside Israel's Orthodox Jewish community that could lead to the extradition of Australian woman Malka Leifer, accused of sexual abuse.
Churches in the US have been shuttered but cannabis shops are still open. It's prompted a COVID culture war.
Australian writer Lech Blaine discusses his investigation in the current edition of The Monthly into the Hillsong Church empire.
Sweden stands as a country in the middle of the table when it comes to the lives lost to coronavirus.
Former assistant secretary-general of the United Nations, Ramesh Thakur argues that lockdowns have proven to be especially harsh in countries like India.
Judy Maltz of Ha’aretz newspaper explains a controversy over an evangelical Christian TV station in Israel that is allegedly proselytising to Jews. The dispute could shatter the long alliance between nationalist Jews and so-called “Christian Zionist” evangelicals, who have provided funding for Israeli settlers on Palestinian land.
Philosopher David Killoren says Australians under lockdown have been given the false choice between staying isolated to save lives or going out to party. He says there is a very high social, communal and economic price to continued lockdowns and policy-makers have to balance a wicked problem not go for absolutes.
Sonia Khush from Save The Children discusses a new report 'A Children’s Crisis', detailing the desperate condition in the Al Hol refugee camp in northern Syria, where 7000 children, including 47 Australians, whose parents went to fight in the Syrian civil war, should be allowed to return to their countries of origin, given they are not to blame for their parents’ decision.
Leaders speak of coronavirus as a war – and under the fog of war other crises erupt. That includes some sectarian or religious tensions that could go unchecked.
Coronavirus is exacerbating inequality not just between nations, but within nations. And this is especially the case for displaced people.
One of the casualties of the COVID-19 outbreak is the deepening inequality within and between nations.
Cardinal George Pell told journalist Andrew Bolt in a Sky News interview this week that the so-called culture war in Australia – over issues such as abortion, sexuality and gender – had played a role in a public campaign against him.
The term “human rights” can be ambiguous. Someone’s right to free speech can infringe on another’s right to dignity or even safety. One couple’s right to a child might clash with a child’s right to a mother. It’s very fraught. But everyone wants to claim the banner of human rights for their cause – including many religious groups.
Will the public's experience of confinement, even in the relative comfort of home, make people more empathetic to the confinement, and often extreme isolation, of prisoners?
The shutdown of religious activity due to the Coronavirus doesn’t just affect the faithful. Twenty of the twenty-five biggest welfare agencies in Australia are faith-based.
Easter is normally boom time in Jerusalem. Tens of thousands of pilgrims flock to Christianity’s holiest site – the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the Old City. It’s built on the Hill of Golgotha, where the Bible records that Christ was crucified.
Now, for the first time in living memory, the coronavirus means Church is closed for Easter.
Before he returned to Australia in 2017 to fight the charges, Cardinal Pell was one of the most senior officials in the Vatican, running its finances. He didn’t always get on with Francis but the Pope always said he would await the outcome of the High Court appeal deciding George Pell’s future. So what might it be?
If the United States has become the new epicentre of coronavirus, Germany appears to be limiting fatalities from Covid-19. The German government has imposed a tough lock-down of the country. But are Germans also more willing to make a short-term personal sacrifice for a wider social benefit?
Some ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, also known as Haredi, have reportedly been ignoring the government’s instruction to isolate at home. The news comes as the Australian media reports that in Melbourne some ultra-Orthodox men attended secret services.
New reports suggest the holy city of Qom in Iran could have been the transmission point for coronavirus that spread to at least seven countries.
1947 was supposed to be the birth of modern India – the year the sun finally set on the British empire in South Asia and India gained independence.
Communal services across almost every faith, have been cancelled. Ministers, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders are opting for digital worship.
If the Coronavirus overwhelms our health system – which, as we discussed last week, it’s done in Italy – what sort of choices could face Australia’s medical professionals?
It’s been six weeks since public comments closed in response to the federal government’s proposed religious freedom legislation.