The House of Representatives passed a bill on Wednesday aimed at addressing reports of rising antisemitism on college campuses, where activists angered by Israel's war against Hamas have been protesting for months and more recently set up encampments on campus grounds. (Sprunt, NPR)
Read MoreAn independent watchdog on religious liberty has recommended Azerbaijan be listed among the State Department’s “countries of particular concern” that have committed the most egregious violations of religious freedom. In its annual report, issued Wednesday (May 1), the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom also urged the addition of Kyrgyzstan to the department’s second-tier “special watch list.” (Banks, Religion News Service)
Read MoreMazu, sometimes known as the Goddess of the Sea, is the most widely venerated of dozens of folk deities that many people in Taiwan turn to for solace, guidance and good fortune. The huge annual processions to honor her are noisy and gaudy. (Buckley & Chien, The New York Times)
Read MoreAcross the U.S., the Catholic Church is undergoing an immense shift. Generations of Catholics who embraced the modernizing tide sparked in the 1960s by Vatican II are increasingly giving way to religious conservatives who believe the church has been twisted by change, with the promise of eternal salvation replaced by guitar Masses, parish food pantries and casual indifference to church doctrine. (Sullivan, AP News)
Read MoreArizona is waving goodbye to a Civil War-era ban of nearly all abortions as a repeal bill reaches the desk of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs. Hobbs says the repeal, scheduled for signing on Thursday, is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive healthcare in Arizona. (Snow & Lee, AP News)
Read MoreOn campuses from New England to Southern California, students leading one of the largest protest movements in decades have increasingly strapped on face masks and checkered Palestinian kaffiyehs in a polarizing bid to protect their anonymity even as they demand universities and governments be held to account. (Fandos, The New York Times)
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