http://www.religionnewsblog.com Religion news about religious cults, sects, world religions, and related issues Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:15:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23898/witches-real-or-not-persecuted-and-prosecuted http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23898/witches-real-or-not-persecuted-and-prosecuted#comments Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:16:54 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23898 Witchcraft, more recently repackaged by some as Wicca, is a pagan and/or neo-pagan religion.

Sadly, as many of the items in our Witchcraft news tracker show, throughout much of the world both practitioners and non-practitioners of witchcraft are subject to persecution based on superstitious beliefs.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23898/witches-real-or-not-persecuted-and-prosecuted/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23889/lawrence-omambia http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23889/lawrence-omambia#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:50:06 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23889 Of course it isn't all that unusual for a pastor to claim healing powers. Witness the blow-dried televangelists of America and elsewhere, who often advertise their dramatic healing powers in infomercials.

But in western Kenya the belief in the supernatural is far deeper, and the line between Christianity and the occult is thin at best.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23889/lawrence-omambia/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23801/churches-denounce-african-children-as-witches http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23801/churches-denounce-african-children-as-witches#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:58:38 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23801 An increasing number of children in Africa accused of witchcraft by pastors and then tortured or killed, often by family members. Pastors were involved in half of 200 cases of "witch children" reviewed by the AP, and 13 churches were named in the case files.

Some of the churches involved are renegade local branches of international franchises. Their parishioners take literally the Biblical exhortation, "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

"It is an outrage what they are allowing to take place in the name of Christianity," said Gary Foxcroft, head of nonprofit Stepping Stones Nigeria. [video]]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23801/churches-denounce-african-children-as-witches/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23717/harry-potter-medal http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23717/harry-potter-medal#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:05:30 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23717 A memoir by George W Bush's former speechwriter claims that Bush administration officials objected to giving JK Rowling a presidential medal of freedom on the grounds that her Harry Potter books "encouraged witchcraft".

Latimer, whose memoir Speech-Less: Tales of a White House Survivor was published last week by Crown in the US, says that the "narrow thinking" of "people in the White House" led them "to actually object to giving the author JK Rowling a presidential medal because the Harry Potter books encouraged witchcraft".

See also: Harry Potter is converting Christian critics, Christian themes abound in Potter and How the boy wizard won over religious critics -- and the deeper meaning theologians now see in his tale]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23717/harry-potter-medal/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23691/falsely-accused-of-witchcraft http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23691/falsely-accused-of-witchcraft#comments Wed, 23 Sep 2009 23:41:36 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23691 GENEVA (Reuters) - Murder and persecution of women and children accused of being witches is spreading around the world and destroying the lives of millions of people, experts said Wednesday.

The experts -- United Nations officials, civil society representatives from affected countries and non-governmental organization (NGO) specialists working on the issue -- urged governments to acknowledge the extent of the persecution.

Aides to U.N. special investigators on women's rights and on summary executions said killings and violence against alleged witch women -- often elderly people -- were becoming common events in countries ranging from South Africa to India.

And community workers from Nepal and Papua New Guinea told the seminar, on the fringes of a session of the U.N.'s 47-member Human Rights Council, that "witch-hunting" was now common, both in rural communities and larger population centres.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23691/falsely-accused-of-witchcraft/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23631/pennsylvania-pagan-festival http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23631/pennsylvania-pagan-festival#comments Sun, 13 Sep 2009 09:28:01 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23631 ADAMSTOWN, Pa. — In the rolling hills of deeply religious rural Pennsylvania sits Stoudtburg Village, a tiny hamlet modeled on a German town. On weekends, tourists come here to visit shops on the ground floors of closely set three-story houses painted bright colors on pedestrian-only streets.

But this weekend, plans for a nature-worshipping group of modern pagans and witches to hold a festival in this picturesque section of Adamstown are getting a mixed reception, with some shop owners welcoming the visitors but others saying they plan to close.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23631/pennsylvania-pagan-festival/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23472/children-accussed-witchcraft http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23472/children-accussed-witchcraft#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 13:38:36 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23472 In many African countries, as in other parts of the world, children are blamed for causing illness, death and destruction, prompting some communities to put them through harrowing punishments to "cleanse" them of their supposed magical powers.

Pastors have been accused of worsening the problem by claiming to have powers to recognize and exorcise "child witches," sometimes for a fee, aid workers said.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23472/children-accussed-witchcraft/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23469/rnbs-religion-news-roundup-faith-healing-witchcraft-exorcism-and-more http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23469/rnbs-religion-news-roundup-faith-healing-witchcraft-exorcism-and-more#comments Fri, 15 May 2009 21:57:13 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23469 Today's edition of RNB's Religion News Roundup includes two items about witchcraft, one somewhat funny, and one seriously disturbing.

The funny item involves the believe in Tanzania that by use of witchcraft one can transport crops from one farm to another (i.e. stealing in order to save oneself lots of hard work).

The serious item comes from Nigeria, where hundreds of children falsely accused of witchcraft have been killed.

There are also news items about faith healing, a link to resources for religion reporters covering the on-going torture debacle, and more...]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23469/rnbs-religion-news-roundup-faith-healing-witchcraft-exorcism-and-more/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23361/gambia-witchcraft http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23361/gambia-witchcraft#comments Wed, 25 Mar 2009 10:47:16 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23361 Victims of a purge on witchcraft in the secretive west African state of Gambia have told of horrific ordeals including rape after being force-fed potions inducing hallucinations.

According to Amnesty International and anonymous police sources in Gambia, as many as 1,000 people have been kidnapped and held by so-called witch hunters backed by armed men carrying out orders from the Gambian authorities.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23361/gambia-witchcraft/feed 0 http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23230/lawrence-harris http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23230/lawrence-harris#comments Tue, 03 Feb 2009 09:02:21 +0000 Religion News Blog http://www.religionnewsblog.com/?p=23230 Lawrence Harris, 26, who had an interest in witchcraft, told police his two stepdaughters had died when a spell he cast to protect their teenage brother reversed itself, killing them. His attorneys attempted to prove he was legally insane.

But after two weeks of testimony, jurors took only a couple of hours Thursday to find Harris guilty of two counts of first-degree murder.]]> http://www.religionnewsblog.com/23230/lawrence-harris/feed 0