Stories tagged "religion"

A six month ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza has expired and late on Thursday Hamas announced it would not be extending the truce. The Hamas spokesman, Fawzi Barhoum, says the Palestinian people don't feel they have anything to gain by keeping the ceasefire in place. In recent weeks, there has already been an upsurge in violence. Katya Adler, a BBC Correspondent in the Middle East, joins The Takeaway to discuss this troubling turn of events.

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As India still reels from a series of terrorist attacks that led to standoffs in Mumbai, both authorities and the public are looking for where to point the blame. The former Pakistani ambassador to the U.N. joins The Takeaway to talk about internal turmoil in India, and why it's politically convenient to look for a Pakistani connection. M. J. Gohel, executive director of the Asia-Pacific Foundation, offers his analysis from London.

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"That's God's wife. Not only did he have a wife, but he had many girlfriends, too."
--Gary Glassman, from the upcoming Nova documentary on the Bible

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As of October 2008, 520 detainees had been released from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and a new study from the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley, finds the stigma of being a prisoner still haunts many of them. After spending an average of three years in the prison, six of the 62 former detainees tracked (none of which were convicted of a crime) had found employment, and many were not able to return home.

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Dan Fritz of California's KPFK discusses Proposition 8, the ballot measure that would amend the California constitution and ban same-sex marriage in California.

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Hasidic Rabbi Aaron Rubashkin expanded his family's Brooklyn butcher shop into the largest kosher meat plant in the nation. The underside of his success was revealed this spring after an immigration raid at his Iowa plant, including violations of child labor laws.

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Black and white evangelicals, who preach from the same Bible and hold many of the same values, consistently vote for opposite political parties. Seventy-seven percent of historically black churches (which includes black evangelical churches) identify as Democrats. In 2004, 79 percent of white evangelicals voted for President George W. Bush. Randall Balmer and Lisa Harper explain that the fundamentally different historic experiences of black and white evangelicals outweigh issues of abortion and gay marriage in determining how these groups vote. Our guests talk about the historic segregation and political divide of the evangelical church and what it means for this election, with the country’s first African American presidential candidate.

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Over the past three decades, evangelicals have consistently embraced conservative values and Republican politicians. But in recent years, evangelicals have shifted toward progressive values and away from the GOP. Because they haven’t necessarily landed with the Democratic Party, many of their votes are up for grabs.

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The economy is down, but attendance at religious services is up. One block from Wall Street in lower Manhattan, Trinity Church is offering counseling on dealing with stress and looking for a new job.

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In 2004, Muslim comics Preacher Moss and Azhar Usman formed "Allah Made Me Funny," a comedy tour based around the American-Muslim experience. Friday, an independent movie based on the tour opens for a one-week run in theaters across the country.

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Republicans have long been successful at courting evangelical voters. Lisa Sharon Harper, evangelical leader and author, explains how politicians use language to appeal to evangelicals. History, race and language have all played a role in mobilizing one of the most influential voting groups in the country.

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This Sunday, pastors across the country will stand before God and break the law. The crime? Delivering a sermon that either endorses or opposes a political candidate by name. Churches and other non-profit groups have tax exemptions that come with a price: They are not allowed to have any involvement in political campaigns. The Takeaway hears from two pastors with opposing views on politicizing the pulpit: Pastor Gus Booth, who will make an endorsement this Sunday, and Pastor Eric Williams, who will honor the separation of church and state.

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In the Amazon, some native tribes are burying their babies alive if they are born with birth defects — defects that can often be treated with modern medicine. Evangelical Christian missionaries have launched a campaign against the practice, and Brazilian politicians are getting caught in the middle. ABC Correspondent Dan Harris has been deep in the Amazon investigating the debate.

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The Archdiocese of Chicago agreed to a $12.7-million settlement six years after the first Catholic Church sex abuse scandal broke. Despite the Pope’s call for change, has the church addressed this problem?

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A story of golf and resurrection is playing out in Detroit, where a 94-year-old golf course (and an icon of urban decay) was purchased by the Greater Grace Temple for $2.5 million.

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All of the 800 Anglican bishops who gather this week for the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference were invited personally by the Archbishop of Canterbury himself. Gene Robinson, the church’s first openly gay bishop, was not one of them. But he's there anyway, speaking up for the gay and lesbian clergy.

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In a major court case, Turkey's ruling AK Party has been accused of subverting the country's secular government. The Turkish constitutional court is expected to rule in a few weeks' time on whether the party should be shut down and its leaders banned from national politics. Also, prosecutors in Turkey have indicted 86 people from Ergenekon, a mysterious nationalist group, over an alleged coup. Many are still at large.

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The Mother Mosque of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, the oldest mosque in the United States, was flooded under nearly ten feet of water. As its members surveyed the damage an interfaith coalition of volunteers united to help sift through the wreckage.

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