Finnish primary school afraid “Messiah” production could fall foul of laws
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Finnish primary school afraid “Messiah” production could fall foul of laws

A Finnish primary school canceled a concert featuring the Messiah out of fear of having to compensate students unwilling to attend religious events, following a similar case. This decision surprised both believers and non-believers. The government criticized the school’s principal, calling the reaction an overreaction.See the full story here

Asylum for Christian converts, midwives’ rights, religious education, religious slaughter, hate speech laws considered in Swedish report to UN
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Asylum for Christian converts, midwives’ rights, religious education, religious slaughter, hate speech laws considered in Swedish report to UN

The Swedish Evangelical Alliance, along with the European and World Evangelical Alliances, submitted a report to the UN Human Rights Council for Sweden’s Universal Periodic Review in May 2025. The report highlights concerns about religious freedom in Sweden, covering issues such as asylum for Christian converts, midwives’ right to conscientious objection in abortion, religious education,…

Parliament meeting highlights Christianity’s role in defending human rights
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Parliament meeting highlights Christianity’s role in defending human rights

Members of the All Faiths Network attended a dinner in the UK Parliament hosted by MP Brendan O’Hara and organised by Bellwether International and Roots of Humanity Foundation. Bellwether International responds to freedom of religion or belief in pre- and post- genocide communities and works to prevent or protect communities in these conditions. The meeting…

OIDAC Report Discrimination against Christians in Europe
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OIDAC Report Discrimination against Christians in Europe

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe issued issued its annual report 2022/23 last November. The report finds an increase of anti-Christian hate crimes, rising to 748 cases in 2022. This matches the data of the new OSCE Annual Hate Crime Report, which documents 792 anti-Christian hate crimes in 2022. OIDAC Europe’s…

Jeremy Hunt orders global review into persecution of Christians
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Jeremy Hunt orders global review into persecution of Christians

Taken from THE GUARDIAN The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has ordered an independent, global review into the persecution of Christians of all nationalities amid claims that not enough is being done to defend the rights of nearly 200 million Christians at risk of persecution today. The unprecedented Foreign Office review will be led by the…

Poll finds that religious views are considered a cause of terrorism – but not so much with the young
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Poll finds that religious views are considered a cause of terrorism – but not so much with the young

A YouGov poll on attitudes to the causes of Islamic and Christian terrorism shows a significant differences of views between younger and older respondents. While “religious views” is thought to be the main cause of terrorist acts, in neither Christian or Islamic cases is terrorism thought to reveal anything about the faith. Asked “Generally speaking,…

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Human Rights Watch report highlights curtailment of liberty amid fear of terror attacks

  World Report 2016 is Human Rights Watch’s 26th annual review of human rights practices around the globe. It summarizes key human rights issues in more than 90 countries and territories worldwide, drawing on events from the end of 2014 through November 2015. In the introductory essay, “Twin Threats: How the Politics of Fear and…

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Upcoming House of Commons meeting: Religion and Interfaith in relation to Empire and Colonialist abuse of power and racism

TUESDAY 16 FEBRUARY 2016 AT 6.00 ARRIVAL FOR 6.30PM PROMPT START UNTIL 8.30PM IN PARLIAMENT (ROOM TO BE CONFIRMED) The meeting will be considering the vexed questions of religion and interfaith in relation to issues of empire, colonialist abuse of power and racism.  This is particularly relevant to the Church of England-led interfaith scene in the…

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Muslims give Christians their hijabs to save lives in Al-Shabaab terror attack

After Kenyan authorities reported that Al-Shabaab terrorists attacked a bus near the northeastern village of El Wak, attempting to separate Muslims from the Christian passenger, a number of Muslims reportedly stood up against the radical gunmen and told them “to kill them together or leave them alone,”. The Bishop of Garissa in Kenya has said…

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Muslim cleric supports pastor’s right to criticise Islam

“If ‘Satanic Islam’ pastor James McConnell goes to jail I will go with him, insists Muslim cleric” is the headline in the Belfast Telegraph, as the Belfast Pastor faces prosecution for a sermon describing Islam as heathen and satanic. The prosecution of Pastor McConnell, under the 2003 Communications Act, has been described as “absurd” by Dr…