In communion with the trees: how nature is taking over from church
Swedish professor David Thurfjell says the woods, the lakes, and the mountains of Sweden have come to replace churches as the source of spiritual refreshment
News
Religion news 10 September
Priests in Queensland told to ignore secrecy of confessional in child sex abuses cases or face jail; Church of England condemns destruction of aboriginal site by Rio Tinto Zinc; Rabbis welcome TikTok’s decision to tackle hate speech.
First, a panic, but Welby insists: new Covid restrictions will not shut the churches
Religious worship is exempt from the new Covid19 restrictions which limit social gatherings to six people.
Religion news 9 September
93% of British Catholics accessed church services online in lockdown; Church weddings may be declining but the marriage ceremony is ‘extraordinarily bouyant’; 17 Birmingham mosques take part in blood donor campaign in fight against Covid-19.
No illegal hitches: all wedding ceremonies will be lawful, even on the beach
For the first time in Britain, wedding ceremonies in all religions could be legally recognised under new proposals, the family law commissioner Professor Nick Hopkins told a web briefing held by the Religion Media Centre.
Oxford dean cleared by abuse investigation
The embattled Dean of Christ Church, Oxford, the Very Rev Martyn Percy, has been cleared by a Church of England safeguarding investigation.
Religion news 8 September
77 year old priest arrested in climate change protest – again; Roman Catholic priest says repent of being a Democrat or burn in hell; campaign to pardon ancient witches of Scotland.
Religion news 7 September
Pope says gossip is a plague worse then Covid19; British churches observe Climate Sunday; and Oxford and Cambridge top university Theology and RS departments.
The Puritans’ pursuit of ‘further light’ has been abandoned by much of modern American evangelicalism
The Pilgrim fathers shaped the emerging American story through their religious convictions and strong belief in the common good and social gospel, now abandoned by much of modern US evangelicalism.
How women of faith have carried a greater burden in the pandemic
Four women of faith – Jewish Christian, Muslim and Hindu – explain how they carried the load during the pandemic, with extra caring duties, home schooling, job losses and rising cases of domestic abuse. Campaigners want their voice to be heard.