Denomination

Around 100 people held a rally last week at the Eritrean Embassy in London to mark the 10th anniversary of the government's crackdown on Christians and religious people in the small African country often compared to North Korea for its repressive regime.

The government of Eritrea grants religious freedom to only a handful of faith groups – the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church (which is not recognized by the Orthodox papacy), the Evangelical Lutheran Church and Sunni Islam. All other faith groups are illegal, and as many as 2,000–3,000 Protestant Christians in the country have reportedly been jailed for their beliefs.

Every church in Eritrea not belonging to these specific faiths has been closed down, despite activists and concerned citizens calling on the international community to put pressure on the government and call for the release of all prisoners of conscience. more >>

In honor of the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Bible, every state primary and secondary school in England is set to receive a copy of the holy text distributed by the Department for Education.

Close to 24,000 Bibles are being distributed all across England, with Education Secretary Michael Gove insisting that every child should have the chance to read "the most important book written in the English language." According to The Daily Mail, the initiative was being backed by religious leaders across different religions, as well as academics, historians and cultural figures.

British Prime Minister David Cameron has reportedly shared with Grove that he supports the idea, but wanted to make sure that the project is not being funded by taxpayers' money, in order to avoid conflicts with non-religious groups opposed to the plan. Grove has expressed that it was with the help of charity money that the project got funded. more >>

The Episcopal Church is considering changing a canon law that will allow non-baptized people to receive Holy Communion, and the resolution will be discussed at the 78th General Convention in Indianapolis when it meets July 4-12.

Resolution C040, proposed by the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon, seeks to remove Canon 1.17.7, which states that "no unbaptized person shall be eligible to receive Holy Communion in this Church." This will pave the way for Episcopal churches to freely offer Holy Communion to all who seek it, regardless of age, denomination, or whether or not they have been baptized.

One incident that inspired this proposed resolution involves a young woman who visited the diocese's St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Hood River, Ore., and told the Rev. Anna Carmichael, "I really need some support right now and I feel like it starts there." She shared with the pastor, however, that she had never been baptized, but the Rev. Carmichael said that she could not turn her away in her time of need. more >>

A decennial census of U.S. religions in America was released Tuesday by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies (ASARB). The results show a dramatic increase in the number of Latter-day Saints, or Mormons, and Muslims, a modest increase in the number of evangelical Protestants, and a drop in the number of Catholics and mainline Protestants.

Muslims saw the greatest growth rate among the five main religious groups studied. Their numbers increased by 66.7 percent in the 2010 census from a decade earlier. Latter-day Saints saw the next highest growth at 45.5 percent, followed by evangelical Protestants at only 1.7 percent. The number of Catholics decreased by five percent and the number of mainline Protestants decreased by 12.8 percent.

Notably, when combined, nondenominational and independent churches are now the largest faith group, with over 12 million adherents, according to the report. more >>

In his new book, Bad Religion: How We Became a Nation of Heretics, New York Times columnist Ross Douthat argues that orthodox American Christianity has weakened since the 1950s to be replaced by a number of heresies, both conservative and liberal. This "bad religion" has resulted in adverse consequences for American society, politics and culture.

In a Thursday interview with The Christian Post, Douthat talked more about his thesis, responded to some criticisms, and discussed how his diverse Christian upbringing (charismatic, evangelical and Catholic) helped inform the book.

The following is an edited transcript of that conversation: more >>

The United Methodist Church's (UMC) General Conference is currently taking place in Tampa, Fla., and will feature its continuing debate on gay clergy and same-sex marriage. Some have suggested that, in order to keep its membership from dwindling, the Methodist church must come to a compromise on its long-held doctrines on such issues.

Nearly 1,000 delegates, 40 percent of whom live outside the United States, are present at the General Conference, which happens once every four years. At each assembly for more than 40 years now, the UMC has debated its position on homosexuality. The conference, which takes place between April 24 and May 4, announced that this year there are more than 70 petitions on homosexuality, many of which seek to rewrite articles 161F and 161B in the 2008 United Methodist Book of Discipline that address homosexual clergy and same-sex marriage.

The UMC supports the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman, and requires clergy members to adhere to "the highest standards of holy living." According to the church, "The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church." more >>