The Hungarian government has been criticized for changes to the country’s constitution that threaten religious freedoms and other rights. Constitutional amendments adopted by the government in March were the latest in a series of changes described by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as ‘problematic’. For example, a new law granted state recognition to only 14 religious groups while refusing to recognize the rest, resulting in the loss of official status for more than 300 Protestant groupings and minor Catholic religious orders. Although the Hungarian Constitutional Court struck down some of the laws introduced by the government, the latest amendments reintroduced the same laws by changing the constitution and cancelling the Constitutional Court’s power to overrule those changes. HRW has called for the EU to consider suspending Hungary’s voting rights and a spokesman for the European Commission said it won't rule out sanctions to ensure that Hungary complies with EU law.
Pray: that the government will reconsider its constitutional amendments which are threatening religious rights. (Pr.31:9)
More: http://www.worthynews.com/12198-hungarian-constitutional-changes-threaten-s-religious-freedom
Humanists want the church out of schools
13 Jun 2013A group of humanists are demanding that faith schools should be open to all children, regardless of their parents’ religion. The Fair Admissions Campaign wants all state-funded schools in England and Wales to be open equally to all children, without regard to religion or belief. The Church of England’s website says: ‘Latest available statistics indicate one in four primary schools and one in 16 secondary schools in England are Church of England schools. Approaching one million pupils are educated in more than 4,700 Church of England schools.’ The Fair Admissions Campaign claims that it is ‘widely supported’, by those at its meetings. In the real world, according to the Church of England: ‘Seven in ten (72%) of the population agree that Church of England schools help young people to grow into responsible members of society and 8 in 10 (80%) agree that they promote good behaviour and positive attitudes.’
Pray: that faith will continue to be central in our schools' teaching and the developing of positive attitudes. (Rom.15:5)
More: http://www.christianvoice.org.uk/index.php/2013jun07fac/
The Salvation Army has won a government contract to oversee help for victims of trafficking, but humanists have hit out at the move. The £6m contract went to the Christian group because it had put in a stronger bid than a secular group which had held the contract, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said. But the British Humanist Association (BHA) attacked the move, calling it ‘deeply concerning’. The Salvation Army will oversee support and accommodation for male and female victims of all types of trafficking, including sex trafficking. It said its aim was simple: ‘To ensure that every woman and man who is identified as trafficked will receive a quality support package that is tailored to their individual needs.’ The MoJ said the previous group, Eaves Housing, ‘had done a very good job’ in recent years but Salvation Army had put in a stronger bid for the contract.
Pray: that the Salvation Army through this contract will be enabled to make a huge difference in this area. (Ep.4:16)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/humanists-angry-over-6m-contract-salvation-army-win/
Human trafficking in Scotland
29 Mar 2012For a number of years Christian organisations have rightly campaigned on the issue of global human trafficking, leading national and international debate on the issue. Organisations such as International Justice Mission, Stop the Traffik, and CARE have raised awareness of both trafficking within and outside the Church. Most recently, a group of Christian musicians came together to produce the song Twenty Seven Million. The song tells the true story of a girl trafficked from Eastern Europe into London's sex trade. In Scotland the issue is also gaining momentum both within and outside the Christian community. Recently the Scottish Parliament held a debate looking into the extent of human trafficking in Scotland and the possibility of legislating to strengthing the law. Subsequently the Equal Opportunities Committee brought together a number of key stakeholders to begin the process of developing a holistic strategy for tackling trafficking in Scotland.
Pray: that the Scottish Parliament will strengthen the law legislating against trafficking. (Ps.119:53)
More: http://www.eauk.org/current-affairs/politics/human-trafficking-in-scotland.cfm
Human Trafficking in Olympic year
12 Jan 2012The 2012 Games are likely to be a key target for criminal gangs who will look to take advantage of a larger than usual number of visitors heading to the UK. In July Theresa May launched a human trafficking strategy and started working with other countries to combat the expected increase in human trafficking in the British Isles in the run up to the Games. Police estimated that 2,600 people were trafficked for sexual exploitation alone in 2009 and fear around 300 children are smuggled in to the UK every year. Anti-trafficking campaigners are saying, ‘Human trafficking may increase during the 2012 Olympic
Games in London because of a heightened demand for sexual services and cheap labour,’ and Bex Keer of Stop the Traffik said, ‘There is always talk around any big sporting event of how it increases the demand for trafficking victims, whether that’s for sexual exploitation, forced labour or street begging and crime.’
Pray: for unity between experts in the fields of clubs and vice, human trafficking, immigration and crime, as they work together to powerfully to eliminate human trafficking. (Ps.29:11)
Human rights and Christian values
17 Jan 2011Christian assemblies in schools could be scrapped if campaigning atheists and teachers get their way. According to the National Secular Society, a legal requirement for pupils to take part in a daily act of collective worship ‘of a broadly Christian character’ discriminates against young atheists and non-Christians, and infringes human rights. The Association of School and College Leaders has also suggested assemblies should end, and the British Humanist Association is campaigning on the subject. But the most direct attack on religious assemblies, which represents yet another assault on Britain’s historic Christian values, has come in a letter to Education Secretary Michael Gove from Keith Porteous, executive director of the National Secular Society. This week, former Lord Chief Justice Lord Woolf joined the Bishop of Winchester in saying the Bench had gone ‘too far’ in curbing the rights of Christians to demonstrate their faith at work. (See story above)
Pray: that human rights would not be used to attack this nation's Christian values. (2Ch.20:12)
Laws originally designed to protect basic freedoms are instead being used to strip British society of its Christian foundations while upholding the rights of minorities. The warning, from a prominent Church of England bishop, comes as part of a landmark case on religious freedom in Britain to be heard at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg next week. In a powerful submission to the judges, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, warns of a distorted “human rights agenda” which he likens to the atheist communist regimes in Eastern Europe which also suppressed Christianity by preventing public manifestations of faith. Unless basic Christian values are upheld, human rights will become “another inhuman ideology”, like the totalitarian regimes of the past, suppressing individuals, he says. The case is being brought by four workers including Shirley Chaplin, and Nadia Eweida, who were denied the right to wear a cross at work as a visible manifestation of their faith.
Pray: for this case and that the references to religious freedom in Human Rights will be reasserted (Jos.24:15)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9511836/Human-rights-agenda-is-new-totalitarianism-bishop-warns-judges.html
How churches fight belief in witchcraft
02 Aug 2010
African churches in Britain are learning how to safeguard children's rights against exploitative pastors. Monday’s ‘Dispatches’ programme on Channel 4 highlighted the harm caused to children in the UK, mainly from an African background, by church pastors who are apparently labelling them as witches or as in some way ‘possessed’. Enormous strides have been made recently in building relationships with African churches, many of whose members do not speak English as their first language. To that end, the Child Protection Advisory Service has already trained more than 5,000 church leaders and volunteers in the optimum standards of child protection. The practices of a minority of ‘rogue’ churches and pastors are being challenged by African communities. This voice has been strengthened by community-led meetings and training for parents and young people. Specialist training has improved social work and health practitioners' knowledge and understanding of harmful cultural practices, which is critical to improved identification of abuse linked to spirit possession and witchcraft. Pray: for the complete eradication of child abuse linked to these ‘cultural practices’. (Dt.18:10) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2010/jul/27/religion-witches-africa-london-exorcism