Religion

The South China Morning Post reports: Five men in Malaysia were sentenced to jail and canings on Thursday by an Islamic court for attempting to have gay sex, local media and a rights group said. Sodomy and same-sex acts are illegal under Islamic law in Muslim-majority Malaysia, although convictions are rare. The Selangor Shariah High Court sentenced four men to …

The Ames Tribune reports: The Ames man accused of tearing down a pride banner from Ames United Church of Christ and setting it on fire was found guilty by a jury Wednesday morning. Adolfo Martinez, 30, was found guilty of a hate crime, third-degree harassment, reckless use of fire and habitual offender, Story County Attorney Jessica Reynolds said. The habitual …

Hemant Mehta reports at the Friendly Atheist: About a month ago, Chicago Bears kicker Eddy Piñeiro made a game-winning field goal. He reacted with a tweet telling atheists they should start believing in God. He was even more specific during a post-game interview in which he said, “If you don’t believe in Jesus Christ, you better start, because he’s real. …

The Associated Press reports: Catholic bishops from across the Amazon called Saturday for the ordination of married men as priests to address the clergy shortage in the region, an historic proposal that would upend centuries of Roman Catholic tradition. The majority of 180 bishops from nine Amazonian countries also called for the Vatican to reopen a debate on ordaining women …

The Associated Press reports: A proposed conversion therapy ban in Utah is in danger of being derailed after The Church of Jesus of Christ of Latter-day Saints came out in opposition, just months after it said it wouldn’t stand in the way of a similar measure under consideration. The church said in a statement that the regulatory rule prohibiting Utah …

Via press release from the Vatican: The Click To Pray eRosary is an interactive, smart and app-driven wearable device that serves as a tool for learning how to pray the rosary for peace in the world. It can be worn as a bracelet and is activated by making the sign of the cross. It is synchronized with a free app …

Just in from Pew Research: The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip. In Pew Research Center telephone surveys conducted in 2018 and 2019, 65% of American adults describe themselves as Christians when asked about their religion, down 12 percentage points over the past decade. Meanwhile, the religiously unaffiliated share of the population, consisting …

The Ocala Post reports: A Lake City woman says she attempted to kill her four children — ages 6 to 13 — because her husband “put a hex” on her. Calica Williams, 36, is now facing four counts of attempted murder. According to the arrest affidavit, Williams told the children to take off their seatbelts and stretch out their hands. …

Fox Business reports: Rap legend Kanye West said he will only make gospel music going forward — no more secular music, according to a Chicago music promoter who was in the room. West reportedly made the comment Saturday at a listening party in Chicago for his new album “Jesus is King: A Kanye West Experience.” “Kanye also announced that he …

Time Magazine reports: The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester was the first in New York to seek bankruptcy protection under the weight of new sexual misconduct lawsuits, but lawyers and church leaders say it may not be the last. All eight of the state’s Roman Catholic dioceses face financial pressures as a result of the state’s new Child Victims Act, …

Reuters reports: Indonesia is poised to pass a new penal code that criminalizes consensual sex outside marriage and introduces stiff penalties for insulting the president’s dignity – a move rights groups criticized as an intrusive assault on basic freedoms. Indonesia is the world’s most populous Muslim majority country and has substantial Christian, Hindu and Buddhist minorities, but has seen a …

The Guardian reports: The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, focused on 436 residents of North Carolina, the state most affected by Hurricane Florence last year. The participants were given $5 “in support of their hardship” and asked how much, if any, they were willing to exchange to receive thoughts and prayers from strangers, …

The Washington Post reports: It was billed as a holy journey, a pilgrimage with West Virginia Bishop Michael J. Bransfield to “pray, sing and worship” at the National Shrine in Washington. Catholics from remote areas of one of the nation’s poorest states paid up to $190 for hotel rooms and overnight bus rides to the nation’s capital. Unknown to the …

The Hill reports: A Baptist church in Birmingham, Ala., is capturing national attention for a sign saying that a black person voting for President Trump “is mental illness.” The controversial sign put on display outside the New Era Baptist Church reads on one side, “A black vote for Trump is mental illness.” The other side of the sign displays another …

The Associated Press reports: Pope Francis said Sunday that the Amazon forest is vital for our Earth and is urging prayers that fires there are quickly controlled. Francis added his voice to the chorus of international concern that the blazes in Brazil will have grave repercussions on the world’s environmental health. The pontiff, who is from the neighboring South American …

NBC Philadelphia reports: A Chester County priest who took the place of a disgraced Archdiocese official is now in trouble with the law as well after being accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from his own church. Father Joseph McLoone, 56, of Downingtown, Pennsylvania, was arrested Wednesday and charged with felony theft and other related offenses after allegedly …

The Associated Press reports: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has issued a warning to members that coffee is prohibited no matter how fancy the name, that vaping is banned despite the alluring flavors and that marijuana is outlawed unless prescribed by “competent” doctors. The new guidance in the August issue of a church youth magazine does not …

ABC News reports: Hundreds of lawsuits are expected to be filed in New York today as the state’s window allowing alleged child sexual abuse survivors to seek civil recourse opens. Earlier this year, state lawmakers passed the Child Victims Act, which allows civil claims of child sexual abuse from any time period to be brought forth, in spite of existing …

The New York Daily News reports: The handwritten missives, many signed simply “Uncle T.,” were sent to aspiring young priests as part of defrocked cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s perverse wooing of his victims, according to a pair of abuse prevention experts. Several postcards and letters sent by McCarrick to his sexual targets were made public by The Associated Press, with experts …

The Christian Post reports: Former pastor and evangelical author Joshua Harris demonstrated his support for the LGBT community by marching in Vancouver’s annual Pride Parade less than a month after announcing he no longer considers himself a Christian. On August 4, Harris, former pastor of Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, shared several Instagram photos of himself participating in the …