Christianity

Officials Say Priest Attacks Menorah In Moldova

December 14, 2009

Author: Corneliu Rusnac

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h5QM7rGb_P_klRNQyXOJthQfGhiAD9CJ7ENO1

Dozens of people led by an Orthodox priest smashed a menorah in Moldova's capital, using hammers and iron bars to remove the candelabra during Hanukkah, officials said.

The 1.5 meter(5-foot)-tall ceremonial candelabrum was...

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Malaysia Hearings Start In Catholic 'Allah' Fight

December 14, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iBsivc5w3lwu3BlDOW-WCA4b01cgD9CJ2H081

Lawyers for the Roman Catholic Church urged a court Monday to let Christians use "Allah" as a translation for God and overturn a government ban that has become a symbol of religious grievances in Muslim-majority Malaysia.

The High...

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Wiccan to Sit Out Two Christmas Songs

December 12, 2009

Author: Brenda Bernet

Source: Amarillo Globe-News

http://www.amarillo.com/stories/121209/new_news2.shtml

Fifteen-year-old Katarina Keen won't sing along to "Silent Night" or "Listen to the Stars," two Christian songs planned for her choir's upcoming Christmas concert at Borger High School. But she will sing "Jingle Bells" and "A Carol in Winter."

Katarina and her family are Wiccan.

The Borger High choirs have given a concert every...

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Eritrea Arrests 30 Praying Women, Relatives Say

December 11, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8407704.stm

Thirty elderly women have been arrested in Eritrea while praying together, one of their relatives living in the United States has told the BBC.

Requesting anonymity, she said she only found out about her mother when she phoned to speak to her this week.

Most of the women belonged to an outlawed evangelical group.

The government recognises only four...

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Fast-Growing Christian Churches Crushed In China

December 10, 2009

Author: Christopher Bodeen

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hr5vqPX-47JQ152pcwUWfiUi3O5wD9CGIPTG2

Towering eight stories over wheat fields, the Golden Lamp Church was built to serve nearly 50,000 worshippers in the gritty heart of China's coal country.

But that was before hundreds of police and hired thugs descended on...

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Compromise Aims to Quell Ore. 'Giving Tree' Uproar

December 10, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: KGW

Wire Service: AP

http://www.kgw.com/news/local/78933227.html

A southern Oregon elementary school principal's decision to remove a holiday "giving tree" after a family's complaint has created an uproar. Now school district officials have decided to replace the original tree with a holiday display including three trees, snow and gifts for needy children.

Ashland School District...

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Courthouse Display Debate Continues; Requests Both Religious, Controversial

December 10, 2009

Author: Erika Jacobson Moore

Source: Leesburg Today

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/12/10/news/9956displays121009.txt

As many predicted during the debate about whether holiday displays should be allowed on the grounds of the courthouse, the controversy did not end with the vote of the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday and what started as a request to place a Christmas tree on the courthouse lawn has branched out in...

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Missionaries Face Fines for Sharing Their Faith

December 3, 2009

Author: Alexander Bratersky

Source: The Moscow Times

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/missionaries-face-fines-for-sharing-their-faith/390816.html

Ordinary believers face fines for sharing their faith with strangers in the metro or on the street under amendments drafted by the Justice Ministry that are stirring worries among Protestant groups about a clampdown on religious freedom.

...

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Chambersburg Borough Council Decides Nativity Scene Must Be Removed From Memorial Square Fountain Area

December 3, 2009

Author: Rob Luff

Source: Public Opinion

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/ci_13854798?source=most_viewed

An atheistic and agnostic group plans to seek legal action against the Borough of Chambersburg following a decision Monday night that bans anything other than flags and flowers from adorning the Memorial Square fountain war memorial.

The unanimous decision from Chambersburg Borough Council came after Carl Silverman,...

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Not So Jolly: Loudoun Reins In Its Holiday Display

December 1, 2009

Author: Derek Kravitz

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/30/AR2009113003974.html

Carrying coal and wearing Christmas red, dozens of Loudoun residents stormed into a county meeting Monday night to protest a new policy barring structures, religious or otherwise, from the lawn of the century-old courthouse in Leesburg. The county's new rule, residents say...

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Happy Holidays: Board Overturns Committee Decision

December 1, 2009

Author: Erika Jacobson Moore

Source: Leesburg Today

http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2009/12/03/news/9970display120109.txt

Taking the Grinch out of Loudoun's holiday season, the Board of Supervisors today voted to overturn the decision of the Courthouse Grounds and Facility Task Force to prohibit displays of all kinds on the grounds of the historic courthouse in Leesburg.

The decision to allow all religious...

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China Sentences 5 Church Leaders to Labor Camp

December 1, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Google News

Wire Service: AP

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gcwPZdgx2c7bPVLxm71nb1xl11ZQD9CB13S00

Five members of an unregistered Chinese Protestant congregation have been sentenced to two years in a labor camp following a police raid on their church, a monitoring group said Wednesday.

The report comes less than a week after...

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