Articles – Page 12

Tibetan Buddhism: China erases Dalai Lama’s face from Lhasa

By Sudeshna Sarkar - Indo-Asian News Service, 30 August 2009

There are 999 rooms and a sprawling cave in the awe-inspiring, centuries old Potala Palace in the centre of Lhasa Valley in Tibet. But there is not a single photograph of the exiled Buddhist spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, in the palace-turned-museum where he spent his teenage, was educated, held religious ceremonies and met government officials and envoys.

© 2009 IANS India Private Limited, New Delhi. Posted on Religioscope with permission. — Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) is India’s first multinational and multilingual wire service. Website: www.ians.in. Subscription enquiries: contact IANS (mention Religioscope).

Lutherans: American Lutheran Church’s vote on gay rights to carry wide significance

By Richard Cimino - Religion Watch, 30 August 2009

The decision by America’s largest Lutheran body to bless homosexual relations and approve of the ordination of gays and lesbians is likely to cause new divisions in American Lutheranism as well as disrupt ties with their global Lutheran and ecumenical partner churches.

Richard Cimino is the founder and editor of Religion Watch, a newsletter monitoring trends in contemporary religion. Since January 2008, Religion Watch is published by Religioscope Institute. Website: www.religionwatch.com.

Analysis: the rise or the fall of Scientology?

By Richard Cimino, 30 July 2009

Is the Church of Scientology gaining or losing members and influence? The answer to that question may depend on who you ask about the controversial movement. A recent group of defectors from Scientology claim that the church is showing signs of decline in participation and finances due to abuses by leaders. In contrast, a new scholarly book on Scientology is more divided about whether the movement and its distinctive blend of science, psychotherapy and esoteric religion is growing.

India: Sikh leaders order demolition of Golden Temple replica

By Indo-Asian News Service, 21 June 2009

Furious over a sect’s attempts to replicate the design and structure of the Sikh community’s holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, Sikhism’s highest temporal seat Akal Takht Friday ordered it to raze the structure.

India: outrage over Golden Temple replica in Punjab

By Jaideep Sarin - Indo-Asian News Service, 16 June 2009

The Sikh leadership in Punjab is furious over attempts by a sect to replicate the design and structure of their holiest shrine – the Golden Temple or Harmandar Sahib at Amritsar.

Religion in the world: book finds faith making a return—US-style

By Richard Cimino, 16 June 2009

Even as the debate continues about the place of capitalism in solving the world’s economic problems, the new book, God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World, argues that a free market in religion is where much of the world seems to be headed.

John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, God Is Back: How the Global Revival of Faith Is Changing the World, The Penguin Press, 2009, 416 p.

Reformed Church: celebrating Calvin by planning merger

By Ekklesia, 16 May 2009

At an historic meeting in Geneva, Switzerland later this month, leaders of two global Reformed church organizations representing over 80 million Christians will gather to plan their merger into one worldwide communion of churches.

© 2009 Ekklesia. Posted on Religioscope with permission. An initiative of the Anvil Trust, Ekklesia is a not-for-profit think-tank which works to promote theological ideas in the public square. Website: www.ekklesia.co.uk

Hinduism: are gods turning against Nepal’s Maoist government?

By Indo-Asian News Service, 5 May 2009

When King Gyanendra’s army-backed reign ended three years ago followed by the abolition of monarchy in the world’s only Hindu kingdom, it did not come as a surprise to the Himalayan nation’s devout Hindus. “It was on the cards,” says Upendra Dahal, a Brahmin priest who also dabbles in astrology at the revered Pashupatinath temple in Kathmandu. “The gods were against him and sent him omens.”

Religion and homosexuality: South African priest upsets Hindu community after gay wedding rites

By Fakir Hassen - IANS, 3 May 2009

A Tamil priest who conducted South Africa’s first known gay wedding by Hindu rites has gone underground as upset community leaders slammed the elaborate wedding of two young men, complete with embossed invitations, outfits from India and one tying a necklace with a pendant of Lord Ganesha on his partner.

Religion around the world: new initiative will seed research on global Pentecostal-Charismatic movements

By Richard Cimino, 26 April 2009

A new initiative hopes to help map and explain the rapid growth and social impact of Pentecostal and charismatic churches through sponsoring 22 research centers and other projects around the world.