Latest Religion and politics News
Government restrictions on religion increasing worldwide
NEW YORK (AP) — Government restrictions on religion have increased markedly in many places around the world, not only in authoritarian countries, but also in many of Europe's democracies, according to a report surveying 198 countries that was released Monday. The report released by the Pew Research Center,...
Some Iranian women take off hijabs as hard-liners push back
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — The simple act of walking has become a display of defiance for a young Iranian woman who often moves in Tehran's streets without a compulsory headscarf, or hijab. With every step, she risks harassment or even arrest by Iran's morality police whose job is to enforce the strict dress code...
Israeli minister's remarks on gays widely condemned
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's new education minister's remarks in favor of "conversion therapy," a controversial technique that seeks to turn gays into heterosexuals, came under widespread criticism and led hundreds to protest Sunday. Rafi Peretz, who leads a small religious nationalist party, said in a...
Court order blocking contraception exemptions upheld
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court upheld a lower court order that blocked the Trump administration from enforcing rules that allow more employers to deny insurance coverage for contraceptives to women. The three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia said Friday that...
Priest's friends see 'lack of due process' for allegations
EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) — Donald Dusza, Tony Stopka, Frank Wyland, Shari Stopka and Sam Piccioni grew up together, attended Bishop Carroll High School together, traveled together and shared life's joys and sorrows together. And now, the longtime friends are standing together as one of them faces a serious,...
Indonesia leader meets defeated rival after divisive poll
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's president and his defeated election rival met Saturday for the first time since the divisive April poll and rode together on a recently opened subway in the capital, signaling a calming of political tensions in the world's third-largest democracy. In a choreographed...
Polis becomes 1st Democrat to address conservative summit
DENVER (AP) — Jared Polis, who last year became the first openly gay man elected governor of a state in the U.S., made history again Friday by becoming the first Democrat to address a Denver conservative conference. The liberal governor from Boulder was sandwiched between Secretary of Housing and Urban...
Clay seeks to free Honduran residing in sanctuary at church
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay has introduced legislation aimed at freeing Alex Garcia, a Honduran refugee who has spent the past two years residing in sanctuary at a suburban St. Louis church. The bill introduced Friday would change Garcia's immigration status to permanent legal...
Kuwait arrests Muslim Brotherhood members wanted in Egypt
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Kuwait's Interior Ministry says it has detained members of Egypt's outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group convicted of terrorism crimes. The statement published Friday on the state-run KUNA news agency did not say how many individuals were detained or if Kuwait planned on...
One boy's tale of family separation heads to court
BUDA, Texas (AP) — There were water balloons at Byron Xol's birthday party — bunches of them, filled a dozen at a time. He squeezed them with both hands, until the water burst on his face and chest. "Super good!" the 9-year-old yelled, again and again. It's a new catchphrase — but then, Byron...
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