http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Sat, 20 Mar 2010 00:13:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23986/indian-police-arrest-assaulted-christian-couple http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23986/indian-police-arrest-assaulted-christian-couple#comments Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:21:14 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23986 A pastor and his wife remained behind bars Friday, December 18, after they were mistreated by militants and police detained them for “forceful” conversion of Hindus to Christianity in India's state of Karnataka, Christians said.

Church groups have reported increased pressure on Christians in several states where authorities have been cracking down on what they view as "forced" conversions by missionaries and church leaders.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23986/indian-police-arrest-assaulted-christian-couple/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23928/nepal-gadhimai-festival-slaughter http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23928/nepal-gadhimai-festival-slaughter#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:51:09 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23928 Up to a million Hindu devotees have gathered in a village in Nepal to witness the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of animals in a mass sacrifice that has drawn widespread criticism.

Worshippers travelled long distances, many coming from India, to attend the two-day Gadhimai festival, which honours the Hindu goddess of power and takes place once every five years in southern Nepal.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23928/nepal-gadhimai-festival-slaughter/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23866/hindus-yoga-teachers-question-us-sales-tax http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23866/hindus-yoga-teachers-question-us-sales-tax#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:38:08 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23866 Yoga practitioners are criticizing a Missouri sales tax that applies to yoga classes, claiming they should be exempt because the lessons include spiritual elements.

Some practitioners think such a tax is unconstitutional. They argue that yoga, with roots in ancient Indian meditation, is as much a spiritual practice as an exercise routine and should be exempt from taxation.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23866/hindus-yoga-teachers-question-us-sales-tax/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23864/hindu-anti-christian-terrorism http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23864/hindu-anti-christian-terrorism#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:50:15 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23864 After the recent arrests of numerous Hindu terrorists for exploding bombs, authorities increasingly view Hindu rightwing extremists as a threat not only to Muslim and Christian minorities but also to national security.

Historically Hindu terrorist groups have traded blows with India’s Muslim extremists, but because of a perceived threat from Christianity many analysts believe Hindu terrorists increasingly pose dangers to Christians as well.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23864/hindu-anti-christian-terrorism/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23744/festival-of-lights-amstelveen-netherlands http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23744/festival-of-lights-amstelveen-netherlands#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:18:37 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23744 Citizens in the Dutch town of Amstelveen have condemned plans by local authorities to support a controversial Hindu festival that would involve praying to a Hindu goddess from India, in the heart of the town.

Local officials said the 'India Diwali Festival', or 'Festival of Lights', is part of a policy to accommodate the Indian community in Amstelveen, a European gateway for international companies due to its location near Schiphol Airport and key highways.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23744/festival-of-lights-amstelveen-netherlands/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23710/ganesh-statue-calgary-zoo-offends-christians http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23710/ganesh-statue-calgary-zoo-offends-christians#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:20:02 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23710 A dancing elephant statue at the Calgary Zoo has kicked up controversy after a Christian group condemned the figure as an inappropriate religious icon.

Zoo officials say they have no plans to replace the Ganesh statue — which has stood near the elephant enclosure for at least two years — despite calls for its removal from Concerned Christians Canada.

Grahame Newton, the zoo's director of corporate services, says the Ganesh statue isn't a religious icon, rather a cultural symbol that shows the tie between the elephants and Asian culture.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23710/ganesh-statue-calgary-zoo-offends-christians/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23697/hindu-americans-face-challenges http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23697/hindu-americans-face-challenges#comments Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:19:57 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23697 The biggest challenge, speakers at a panel discussion on Hinduism said, is transmitting faith from immigrants, most of whom grew up in predominantly Hindu India, to their children, who are growing up in a predominantly Christian society.

Temples are launching religious education programs, modeled after those in churches and synagogues, but Anantanand Rambachan said there are other issues - for example, Hindus will have to decide what language to use for worship, and, he asked, “can we visualize English being a liturgical language for Hindus?’’

He called Hinduism “the least understood among American religious traditions,’’ noting that Judaism, Christianity, and Islam “are all suspicious about imaging the divine’’ and emphasize the oneness of God, whereas Hinduism offers a plethora of iconography and “celebrates a multiplicity of divine names and forms.’’]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23697/hindu-americans-face-challenges/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23579/hindu-extremists-persecute-india-christians http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23579/hindu-extremists-persecute-india-christians#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2009 06:41:29 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23579 Karnataka (India) police accompanied by 10 Hindu extremists on Friday arrested a Christian operator of a boys' hostel after the extremists accused him and another Christian of offering food, shelter, education and future job prospects as an "allurement" to convert to Christianity.

After falsely accusing the two Christians of fraudulently converting students to Christianity by luring them with food, shelter and education, the extremists slapped evangelist Rama Naik repeatedly. ]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23579/hindu-extremists-persecute-india-christians/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23538/christians-vulnerable-in-nepal http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23538/christians-vulnerable-in-nepal#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 12:27:14 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23538 They are now being targeted by militant Hindu organizations that blame the church for the abolition of Hinduism as the state religion and the end of monarchy.

A little-known, shadowy organization that claimed to be building an army of suicide bombers has achieved notoriety with two brutal attacks on Catholics in two years. ]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23538/christians-vulnerable-in-nepal/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23489/nepal-defense-army-church-bombing http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23489/nepal-defense-army-church-bombing#comments Wed, 03 Jun 2009 11:18:08 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23489 Vikash Patrick’s 19-year-old bride died while praying at the Assumption Church in Kathmandu valley’s Lalitpur district, the largest Catholic church in Nepal, in an anti-Christian bombing on May 23, the day they were to return home.

Claiming responsibility for the violence was the Nepal Defense Army (NDA), a group wishing to restore Hinduism as the official religion of Nepal.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23489/nepal-defense-army-church-bombing/feed 0