2013 Annual Report on the State of International Religious Freedom Identifies World’s Worst Violators

Washington, D.C. -- The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), an independent federal advisory body created by the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) to monitor religious freedom abuses abroad, today released its 2013 Annual Report.  The Report highlights the status of religious freedom globally and identifies those governments that are the most egregious violators.  

 

“The state of international religious freedom is increasingly dire due to the presence of forces that fuel instability.  These forces include the rise of violent religious extremism coupled with the actions and inactions of governments.   Extremists target religious minorities and dissenters from majority religious communities for violence, including physical assaults and even murder.  Authoritarian governments also repress religious freedom through intricate webs of discriminatory rules, arbitrary requirements and draconian edicts,” said Dr. Katrina Lantos Swett, USCIRF’s Chair.

 

The 2013 Annual Report recommends that the Secretary of State re-designate the following eight nations as “countries of particular concern” or CPCs: Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Uzbekistan.  USCIRF finds that seven other countries meet the CPC threshold and should be so designated:  Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.

 

“The Annual Report ultimately is about people and how their governments treat them. Violations affect members of diverse religious communities around the world, be they Rohinghya Muslims in Burma, Coptic Christians in Egypt, Buddhists, Uighur Muslims and Falun Gong in China, Baha’is in Iran, Ahmadis and Christians in Pakistan, or Muslims in Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan and in non-Muslim nations like Russia.  We recommend that the White House adopt a whole-of-government strategy to guide U.S. religious freedom promotion and that Secretary of State Kerry promptly designate CPCs, before currently designated actions expire later this year,” said Lantos Swett.    Continue at USCIRF

IMAGE

Receding Men and Rotting Hollywood

Peggy Noonan takes a hard line against the vulgar fare that seems to be so ubiquitous in the material coming out of Hollywood. She begins by noting the general malaise that has fallen over our country. She writes:

We are making more sick teenagers and young men now, not fewer, and this is going to continue as our culture breaks up. I think we all know this, deep down.

Let that land on you. She says “we” are making more “sick teenagers and you men.” By that, she means that we as a society are failing to raise up boys to be good sturdy men. I agree with her. The fact that the majority of young men today fail to make all the major transitions to adulthood until they’re nearly 30 years old easily proves the point (e.g., moving out of their parents home, becoming financially independent, getting married, having children).

I also agree that much of the material that Hollywood churns out every year is not helping. It is coarsening our culture, not ennobling it. On this point, Noonan really takes Hollywood to task, and it is worth quoting her at length:

Everyone who has warned for a quarter-century now that our national culture has become a culture of death—movies, TV shows, videogames drenched in blood and violence—has been correct. Deep down we all know it, as deep down we know our culture has a bad impact on the young and unstable who aren’t sturdy enough to withstand and resist sick messages and imagery. 

When Hollywood wants to discourage cigarette smoking it knows exactly how to do it, because it knows exactly how much power it has to deliver cultural messages. When Hollywood wants to encourage environmentalism it knows how to do it.   Continue at Peggy Noonan

Don't Mess With Her, Man

Male leadership in the church and the home is designed by God to be characterized by tender strength, courageous protection, and self-giving devotion. Male authoritarianism is about neither. Indeed, it's a pathetic distortion that broadcasts a gospel lie (Eph. 5:32).

Today is the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, a fitting occasion to rehearse some of God's thoughts on the matter. As it turns out, he has quite a lot to say about (and to) the sort of men who would ever dare harm their brides. Consider just a sampling:

"Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them" (Col. 3:19).

"Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered" (1 Pet. 3:7).

"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self . . . proud, arrogant, abusive . . . heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people" (2 Tim. 3:1-5).

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful. . . . Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor. 13:4-7).   Continue at Matt Smethurst

The Mocking of Muhammad and Condemning of Christ

Jesus’s uniqueness and beauty is on display if his followers respond with grace when he is reviled.

When adherents of Islam counter the mocking of their central figure with outrage and violence, they provide “another vivid depiction of the difference between Muhammad and Christ, and what it means to follow each,” says John Piper. 

Piper concedes that not all Muslims approve the violence, but notes that a profound lesson still stands: “The work of Muhammad is based on being honored and the work of Christ is based on being insulted. This produces two very different reactions to mockery.”

A Deep Difference Between Jesus and Muhammad

Jesus is unique. And Christians believe there is a divine beauty in the mocking that he willingly subjects himself to by becoming man — because it’s a mocking and reviling and bruising and dying that is for us and for our salvation. Piper continues in his 2006 article, “Being Mocked: The Essence of Christ’s Work, Not Muhammad’s”:

If Christ had not been insulted, there would be no salvation. This was his saving work: to be insulted and die to rescue sinners from the wrath of God. Already in the Psalms the path of mockery was promised: “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads” (Psalm 22:7). “He was despised and rejected by men . . . as one from whom men hide their faces . . . and we esteemed him not” (Isaiah 53:3).

When it actually happened it was worse than expected. “They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. . . . And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ And they spit on him” (Matthew 27:28–30). His response to all this was patient endurance. This was the work he came to do. “Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth” (Isaiah 53:7).  Continue at David Mathis

The Mormonizing of America

When on vacation last week I ambled into a wonderful little used book store in Fredericksburg, Virginia. There were hundreds of books that caught my eye there, but I left with only one—Faith and Betrayal, by Sally Denton, a biography that traces the life of Jean Rio, the author’s great-great-grandmother. One of England’s earliest and most notable converts to Mormonism, Rio set out from England to Utah in the 1850’s to settle down in Zion (which is to say, Salt Lake City, Utah). The book describes her journey, her arrival, and her eventual disillusionment as she comes to see the ugly underbelly of Mormonism—the violence, the polygamy, the greed and the utter hypocrisy of it all. It was a fascinating little book.

While Faith and Betrayal was interesting as history and biography, I read it at least in part because of an interest I have in Mormonism. It seems that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is coming into its own in recent days. Mormons tend to be high achievers and are increasingly finding their way into positions of power and influence, whether that is as CEO of a multi-billion dollar company or as a presidential candidate.  Continue at Tim Challies

Is Gun Control a Pro-Life Issue?

As the nation grieves over the shocking and senseless murder in Aurora, Colorado, the conversation turns to how to prevent such violence in the future. Some wonder what role violent media play in motivating twisted killers. Others suggest that stricter gun control is a key step in curtailing such havoc. Some of these are suggesting that gun control is not only the only sensible measure but the only thing consistent with a pro-life ethic.

In this morning’s Washington Post, David Gibson of the Religion News Service examines the charges by some religious leaders, most specifically a Jesuit priest in America magazine, that it is hypocritical to call oneself “pro-life” and yet not support extensive gun control measures. He asked me what I thought. Is gun violence a pro-life issue?

Gun violence is clearly a pro-life to the extent that murder is evil and a violation of the dignity of the person and the right to life. That said, usually what people mean by including gun violence as a pro-life issue is not about gun violence, directly, but about gun control measures.  Continue at Russell D. Moore

Five Problems with the Slutwalk Marches

[Language Alert:  I use the Sl** word in this post to address the phenomenon of thousands of women walking in Sl**Walk Marches]

This week marks the first anniversary of SlutWalk.

The first SlutWalk demonstration took place in Toronto, Canada, on April 3, 2011. The rally was held in response to a Toronto police officer's statement that young women could help safeguard themselves against rape by dressing more modestly. 

Feminist activist, Sonya Barnett, was incensed at his remark. She bristled at the implication that provocatively dressed women were in any way responsible for their own victimization and abuse. Barnett argued that girls should have the right to dress slutty without fear of sexual assault. Suggesting otherwise, places the blame on the female victim, and excuses the behavior of the male perpetrator. 

Barnett organized a protest march to the Toronto Police Station, which she dubbed "SlutWalk." Through it, she hoped to raise society's collective consciousness, and to encourage girls to:

• "reclaim" the word "slut" and other such negative male-defined labels,
• exert their right to reject male-defined, patriarchal norms of female dress and behavior, and
• protest a culture that puts blame on the victims of sexual assault.

Proud to be a Slut?

Over the past year, more than 50 SlutWalks have taken place in the US, Canada, and around the world, including Australia and Britain. The events are similar to "Take Back the Night" rallies. But they differ, because addressing sexual violence is only one of their aims. SlutWalk also wants to aggressively redefine notions about woman's sexuality.  Continue at Marry Kassian

The Slaughter in Nigeria

The Story: Last week, 185 people were killed in a series of attacks in northern Nigeria's largest city. The radical sect responsible, Boko Haram, is using violence to impose its version of Islamic law across the country. According to a UN report, governments in the region are growing concerned that Boko Haram is joining forces with Al-Qaeda and other hardline groups in West Africa.

The Background: Last year, several hundred Nigerians were killed---including five hundred Christians slaughtered with machetes by Fulani Muslims--- in a string of religious clashes. As Joseph Bottum reported at the time,

Christian leaders say they telephoned for protection from the national security forces as the Muslim crowd gathered, but the military apparently refused to react until 3:30 a.m., by which time the slaughter was mostly finished. Indeed, the failure to protect the Nigerian Christians was even more egregious---for the assailants seem to have come from out of state. Despite advance notice of their arrival, the military made no plans beforehand to protect the threatened villages.

Why It Matters: Violence against Christians has been escalating in the country and yet the Nigerian government will not---or cannot---do much to protect its citizens. In Kano, a city of more than 9 million people, Boku Haram has threatened to kill any Christians living there. Unless neighboring African states or international coalitions intervene, the group, which carried out a series of attacks on churches last Christmas, will continue to persecute Christians unimpeded.  HT: Joe Carter