· June, 2011

Stories about Religion from June, 2011

Vatican: A ”Historic” Tweet From Pope Benedict XVI

  30 June 2011

“Dear Friends, I just launched  NEWS.VA.Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI“: this is how Pope Benedict XVI engaged Twitter users on June 28, 2011, with his first tweet, descrived as “historic” by Vatican News website.

Cuba: Methodist Pastor Replaced

  28 June 2011

“When Cuba is free, those who accommodated, appeased and apologized for the Castro regime to preserve their own standing will not be absolved”: Uncommon Sense blogs about the actions of Cuba's Methodist Bishop, who reportedly replaced one of the church's pastors, allegedly “because of his good relations with Cuban dissidents.”

Egypt: Sawiris and the Niqabi Minnie Mouse

Egyptian Christian business tycoon, and recent politician, Naguib Sawiris, posted a cartoon on his Twitter today showing Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie Mouse in Niqab. He commented: “Micky and Minnie after…” The cartoon sparked a lot of criticism, forcing Sawiris to remove it.

Video: Celebrating the Solstice

The celebrations for Summer and Winter Solstices were full of lanterns, dances, flowers and bonfires. Lets tour around the world to check out the different celebrations: Solstice at Stonehenge, Feast of Saint John's bonfires in Spain, Inti Raymi in Peru, we tripantu in Chile and Kupala Day in Russia or Midsummer's night in Poland.

Bolivia: The ‘Gran Poder’ Festival in Photos

  21 June 2011

Pablo Andrés Rivero writes [es] about the ‘Gran Poder‘ festival in La Paz. Pablo describes the music, dances and colorful clothing worn during the parades. He also links to his set of photos of the event on Flickr under a Creative Commons license.

Russia: The Origins of Anti-Clericalism in the Blogosphere

T.Chumakova at portal-credo.ru writes [ru] about anti-clericalism in the LiveJournal communities. She distinguishes 5 types of anti-clerical users and lists the origins of the phenomenon: 1. “Influence of neo-pagans, Old Style Believers, Protestants, and other ‘external agents’,” 2. Lack of religious education, 3. Transformation of the Orthodox church into the ritual...

Nigeria: On an Explosive Projectile?

  19 June 2011

It was like a Nollywood premier, but this time there were neither props nor digital effects. Nigeria has joined nations under terrorist threats following the bomb explosion that pierced the Nigerian Police HQ in Abuja on June 16.

Peru: Controversy Over ‘Cristo del Pacífico’

  15 June 2011

President Alan Garcia's announcement that a giant Jesus Christ would be installed on top of the Morro Solar in Lima has drawn both criticism and praise from bloggers and social media users. Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager Juan Arellano links [es] to several bloggers who have discussed the...

Pakistan: The Beasts Kill Again

  14 June 2011

“The beasts in Pakistan have made it a habit to kill. Kill in the name of sect. Kill in the name of religion. Kill in the name of tribe. Kill in the name of Islam – They are not aware that in Islam killing one person is like killing the...

Pakistan: Religious Racism Spotted

  14 June 2011

Farhan Janjua captures the photo of a banner situated in Garden Town, Lahore, Pakistan which reads: “Christian’s Graveyard in Muslim Population is Not Acceptable! Not Acceptable!.”

Pakistan: Stop Hate Speech Against Ahmadis

  12 June 2011

Meera Ghani at Pak Tea House informs that “a group called All-Pakistan Students Khatm-e-Nubuwat Federation is handing out vile, hate fuelled pamphlets calling for outright murder of the already persecuted Ahmadiya community in the city of Faisalabad” and calls to resist this hate campaign.

Nepal: Religious Intolerance?

  10 June 2011

Nepal Blogs refutes the negative news on religious freedom in Nepal and comments: “It is unfair, [..] to chastise an entire nation because of few intolerant idiots.”

Dominica: Existing Sodomy Law

  6 June 2011

“Either accept it is part of the belief system the country wants to communicate to the world, or consider that controlling sexuality through a combination of religious thought systems and laws is dangerous and repeal the [sodomy] law”: For Caribbean Man, it's all a question of consistency.

Bermuda: Why the Homophobia?

  3 June 2011

“While I understand that some people…find the thought of gay relationships and physical sex abhorrent, I don’t understand the level of hatred that they express”: Breezeblog thinks that Bermuda's current attitude to gay rights “is a sad and unacceptable state of affairs.”

Philippines: Debate on Divorce Bill

  3 June 2011

With Malta's approval of divorce, the Philippines is now the only country in the world that prohibits it. There is now a raging debate on whether it is time to pass a divorce law which is being fiercely opposed by the powerful Philippine Catholic Church.