About 10 million Hindus followed holy men into the cold waters of the Ganges yesterday as part of the world’s biggest religious event. About 50 000 policemen have also been deployed to keep order.
Well, we should have seen this coming. Those weird folk, otherwise known as the controversial Church of Scientology, are at it again. Technically, they’ve been at it for a while, but us mere mortals only learn things about them through time.
According to Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, head of the German Catholic Church he would have been. The Son of God would have retweeted, liked and pinned his love for you apparently. The Archbishop said nothing about whether Jesus Christ would have used Google plus or not.
Isn’t he in a jolly mood, that saucy old cad. The Associated Press report that the Pope has granted his former butler a Christmas pardon, forgiving him in person during a jailhouse meeting for stealing and leaking his private papers in one of the gravest Vatican security breaches in recent times. Fifteen minutes after the meeting, […]
A global study of religious adherence has found that about one out of every six people worldwide has no religious affiliation. To put it into perspective, that is about equal to the amount of Catholics in the world!
Pope Benedict XVI tweeted for the first time yesterday from a personal Twitter account. This follows last week’s announcement by the Vatican that Benedict would begin posting messages on Twitter in eight languages under the handle @pontifex – a Latin term for pope that means “bridge builder.”
Johan Huibers took 20 years to build this scale replica of the biblical ship, after having nightmares of his homeland flooding. Now what does he plan to do with it?
We have no words. Scientology either screws people up for life, or just attracts weirdos from the start. Nothing else can explain this strange rap featuring top members of the cult including a prominent spokesperson, and Cruise’s church-approved ex-squeeze.
The Supreme Court of Appeal has just stated that the South African government acted unlawfully when it delayed a decision on a visa application by the Dalai Lama. Do you remember the saga about the fact that the Dalai Lama couldn’t come to South Africa to celebrate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu’s 80th birthday in October […]
The members of the Westboro Baptist Church are some of the worst people you’ll ever encounter. Considered one of the most homophobic and anti-Semitic hate groups in the world, they are known for picketing at the funerals of soldiers – holding up posters with vitriolic phrases such as “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers”.
Egypt’s Coptic Christians elected a new Pope yesterday for the first time since 1971. Bishop Tawadros was named the 118th Pope in an altar lottery when a blindfolded boy picked one of three names out of a glass chalice at the altar.
Tomorrow marks the start of Islam’s annual Hajj (which means pilgrimage), a trek to the Grand Mosque in Mecca made by millions each year. These breathtaking photos offer a glimpse of the masses already at, or en route to, the mosque.
25 000 Muslim rioters left a trail of destruction in southeastern Bangladesh as they torched Buddhist temples and homes over the weekend near the town of Ramu. The group chanted “God is Great” while setting fire to the centuries-old temples.
Poor Tom Cruise. It seems he might be facing a crisis of faith because Scientology leaders are trying to force him to choose between his religion and his daughter.
This week we’ve reported about various violent protests on US embassies across the Middle East over a film deemed insulting to the Prophet Muhammad. The latest incident saw an attack against the U.S. embassy compound in Sanaa, Yemen. Check out footage inside.
A crap film is the cause of two attacks on American embassies in Libya and Eygpt. Followers of an ultra-traditionalist approach to Islam are very pissed about a video called the “The Innocence of Muslims” that not only portrays the prophet Mohammed, but ridicules him as a homosexual, an advocate of paedophilia, and shows him having sex.
The Catholic Church has earned itself a rather nasty reputation in the department of child abuse, and has been struggling to shake it ever since. Not helping this effort is a statement made by a highly prominent member of the United States clergy, Father Benedict Groeschel, host of the Christian TV Show, Sunday Night Prime.
Tony Blair has challenged South African Muslims protesting against his visit to SA to rather protest against the Muslims he says are doing most of the killing in Iraq and elsewhere.
Muslim groups have this week called for the arrest of visiting ex British Prime Minister Tony Blair for his role in the 2003 Iraq invasion. Yesterday, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu dramatically pulled out of the Discovery Invest Leadership Summit because of fellow speaker Blair, and Muslims were stoked.
Forget the Hawks, we need an exorcist to fight crime in South Africa, although in my opinion, I think the Ghostbusters would do an admirable job. North West human settlements and public safety MEC Nono Maloyi said on Saturday that “Satan has declared war on the people of South Africa.”
For the past 23 years, there has been a fatwā (Islamic death sentence) hanging over Salman Rushdie. The famous author of the “Satanic Verses”, is now also the subject of a new computer game aimed at teaching kids about his “sin”. It is called “The Stressful Life of Salman Rushdie and Implementation of his Verdict.”
In the first ruling of its kind in Germany, a local court ruled yesterday that circumcision performed for religious reasons on young boys be banned as it could cause long-lasting, irreparable damage. It went on to say that the act should be made illegal due to the serious bodily harm that it could cause.
Saudi Arabian officials have taken a huge, progressive step and will, for the first time ever, allow Saudi women to compete in the Olympic Games at this year’s event in London.
You just cannot make this stuff up! Fight Church is an upcoming documentary about the combination of Christianity and Mixed Martial Arts. The film follows several pastors and fighters in a quest to reconcile their faith with this violent sport.
The Commission for the Protection and Promotion of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities plans public meetings this month in Gauteng, Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The meetings relate to the revision of public holidays, in particular Christian holy days. This follows “complaints and requests” it has received that the present public holidays recognise Christians and unfairly discriminate against other religions.
An alleged ancient religious text, which was confiscated in 2000 by Turkish authorities, has since resurfaced following a request by the Vatican to view it. An Iranian report claims that the book’s contents will “trigger Christianity’s downfall by proving that Islam is the final and righteous religion.”
“So many of us look to the wisdom of the East, to solve our problems in the West.” Those are the words of filmmaker Vikram Ghandi, who set out to see how to see legitimate many of the sources of Eastern wisdom were, by impersonating a guru and then gaining a massive, legitimate following. Click through for the trailer and more details.
Lady Gaga has been denied a permit to perform in Indonesia next month, owing to security concerns. This follows Islamic groups in the country having voiced their concerns over the pop star’s ‘vulgar’ on-stage performance style. The 30 000 people who have bought tickets to her June concert in Jakarta will be disappointed.
Archbishop Tutu is set to deliver a commencement address at a Catholic university in the States this month, but his visit has drawn the ire of several Catholic groups who claim the Arch’s views are not a good fit for the institution that invited him. They have some petitions going, the University has yet to speak out, and we’ve got the full skinny on their righteous campaigning to stop the Arch, after the jump!
The Catholic Church in Ireland has apologized after gay porn popped up on screen during a PowerPoint presentation by a priest at a primary school. Father Martin McVeigh was presenting a talk for parents in preparation for their kids’ First Holy Communion. But when he inserted a flash disk into his computer, images of man to man action popped up on screen.