Church of England takes action against Shell over climate change
The Church of England Pension Board, which has shares in Shell, voted against the re-election of the Shell directors at its AGM yesterday, because its track record in spending on renewables and low carbon energy is lower than the level required. Christian Climate Action joined other protesters outside the AGM, calling for Shell to stop exploring for new fossil fuels and instead invest in renewable energy. Church Times story here
The central place of Buddhism in Tina Turner’s life
The Los Angeles Times tells the story of how Buddhist faith drove the fortunes of the legendary rock icon Tina Turner, who died this week. It says she credited the religion with helping her find the strength to leave her abusive partner Ike Turner in 1976. She is known to recite Buddhist chants daily, demonstrating this on Larry King’s show on CNN in 1997. She is quoted saying: “The more you chant, the more you become liberated mentally”.
US National strategy to combat antisemitism
President Joe Biden has announced more than 100 initiatives his administration could pursue to tackle antisemitism The Associated Press reports his view that the first National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism sends a forceful message evil will not win and hate will not prevail: “the venom and violence of antisemitism will not be the story of our time.” The strategy aims to increase awareness and understanding of antisemitism and improve safety and security for Jewish communities.
Scottish faith leaders come out against assisted dying
Faith leaders from the Church of Scotland, the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, and the Scottish Association of Mosques have issued a joint statement opposing assisted dying. They say a bill about to be considered by the Scottish parliament would be detrimental to the most vulnerable in society: “Our faith traditions are united in the principle that assisted dying in itself inevitably undermines the dignity of the human person, and to allow it would mean that our society as a whole loses its common humanity”.
Unity for the King among Christian denominations in Armagh
King Charles met representatives from the Church of Ireland, the Roman Catholic Church, the Presbyterian Church, the Methodist Church and the Irish Council of Churche, at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Armagh, on the second day of his visit to Northern Ireland. The meeting is seen as a continuation of his desire for inclusion of different traditions in society, which was emphasised in his coronation when many different faiths as well as denominations took part.
Bursts of religiosity and innovation sparked from pandemic
Researchers at the London School of Economics have found that a destructive event such as a pandemic, leads to an increase in religiosity or a boost in innovation efforts and that both reactions can occur at the same time. In response to the 1918 flu pandemic in the USA, they found records showed a strengthening of faith and a burst of creative medical advances leading to new vaccines. They based their analysis on Biblical babies’ names, the number of patents issued during the period and the scientific share of occupations.
Man arrested after thefts from five London mosques during prayer
The BBC reports that a man has been arrested following a series of thefts of wallets and phones belonging to Muslim worshippers during prayer. Police believe all incidents in the Newham area are linked and have arrested a man. Further reports of thefts have been reported in Kensington, Wembley, Enfield and Tower Hamlets.
The Jewish festival of Shavuot is time to try out 64,000 varieties of cheesecake
The Jewish festival Shavuot is commemorated today and tomorrow, remembering the date when Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. It is the custom to eat dairy foods on Shavuot and this year there is a boon for festival chefs thanks to the new app “CheesecakeWizard.AI” , which has created 64,000 recipes for cheesecakes that are kosher. Jewish News reports that the app’s creator, Brooklyn marketing executive Abraham Bree, wants to show his fellow Orthodox Jews that ChatGPT and other AI tools can be a boon to Jewish observance, not a threat. The mix and match creations include cheesecakes with from carrot-cake crusts, maple and sweet potato filling and savoury toppings such as an olive tapenade.
