A new proposal in Quebec reignites the battle over where secularism ends and religious freedom begins.
Tag: secularism
Has France’s chronic decline in Christianity reached a low point? That trend now coexists with another dynamic: a second wind of religion among disaffiliated young people.
In Syria, the Muslim Brotherhoods and the Kurds have long suffered from repression more than other factions in Syrian society. They suffered not only because of their opposition to the regime but also their identities. Rebuilding a functional Syrian state requires deep reflection and hard compromise on what the nation’s identity and laws will be.
France’s churches are a rich religious heritage that, unlike other European countries, largely belong to the national or local governments. But with strained budgets and years of neglect, keeping these historic churches standing has become a daunting and costly struggle.
Scenes of violence against Syrian refugees are no longer unusual in Turkey, a country marked by rising nationalism amid a deepening economic crisis.
In the run-up to India’s general elections this spring, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been showcasing his adventures in social media posts, his preferred method of communication, saturating the digital landscape of a highly connected country — and avoiding hard questions from the press.
With Monday’s consecration of the controversial new Hindu temple, Ayodhya Ram, Indian Prime Minister Narenra Modi declared that God had “made him the representative of the people of India” to be present at the ceremony. This is a dark watershed in modern India’s attempt to reconcile church and state.
Updated Nov. 16, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. It was 35 years ago today when voters elected Benazir Bhutto to be the youngest ever and first female Prime Minister of Pakistan. Who was Benazir Bhutto? Bhutto was the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a former Pakistani prime minister who was executed by his political rivals after […]
Turkey heads to the polls in May, with a newly formed opposition bloc hoping to dislodge President Tayyip Recep Erdogan. Despite some party infighting, many remain hopeful they can bring an end to Erdogan’s 20 years in power. But first, clarity from within a complicated coalition is needed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to power with the most right-wing government in the country’s history has revealed a deep schism in Israeli society between settlers and secularists.
The showdown between Iranian protesters and the clerical regime is another episode in a decades-long clash of theocracy and Western-style secular modernity. Its outcomes will reverberate across the entire Islamic world, so the West needs to pay attention.
For decades, France did well in accommodating the religious needs of Muslims — on the condition they went back to their country of origin. Now, demands to express one’s faith are often labeled: separatism.
The controversy over France’s Decathlon athletic hijab is a symbol for misunderstood secularism. Let’s leave the regulation of clothing to those who practice it so well, from Saudi Arabia to the Taliban.
Can practitioners of Islam also believe in the ideals of a secular state and democracy? A Turkish academic poses the question and finds some interesting answers.
-OpEd- ISTANBUL — Parliament leader Ismail Kahraman said Turkey’s new constitution should be based on religion, not ideals of secularism. Needless to say, this created a fuss. And yet, it is no secret what Mr. Kahraman thinks. The Unity Foundation, of which the parliament head is a founder, had a committee that proposed a draft […]
For a secular country, France sure does have a lot of Christian symbolism. The National Front’s youngest leader, 26-year-old Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, thinks it’s as it should be. She says France is a Catholic nation, where Muslim
The nativity scenes, signs of hope and time for contemplation of modern Christmas is so retrograde! Let’s celebrate the secular and modern solstice. But really?
-Analysis- PARIS — The Nov. 13 attacks that saw jihadists slaughter at least 129 people in Paris raise two crucial questions: Who ordered these attacks? And who carried them out? The answer to the first is ISIS, the so-called Islamic State that spreads terror, slaughters Muslims and non-Muslims, destroys treasured monuments inherited from centuries and […]
Despite the fall of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013, religion still dominates the public sphere. Against the odds, the founders of a new party are fighting for the separation of mosque and state.
Not even the first Latin American Pope! Studies show fewer Catholics in Latin America, and more people identifying as atheist or secular. Now non-believers are fighting for a true separation of church of state.
When Gezi Park protesters held up posters of Kemal Ataturk amid a fog of tear gas, they were searching for stability in a changing world. Reflections on 70 years of the Turkish Republic.
New rules on school uniforms in Turkey will now allow young girls to wear headscarves while attending religious vocational schools. The move comes as a part of a new regulation that will no longer force children in state schools to wear secular school uniforms. Children will be able to wear their own choice of clothes, […]
MOSCOW – It’s hard to shake the feeling that the idea of reinstating mandatory school uniforms has been discussed on and off ever since school uniforms were abandoned two decades ago. To recall the discussion last spring: The Duma came to the conclusion that uniforms could ease tensions between social classes at school, and even […]