A wide range of religious organizations in the UK was subject to an inquiry investigation regarding child abuse. The inquiry revealed “shocking failures” and “blatant hypocrisies” in how these religions handle abuse allegations. Children are subjected to abuse of power and victim-blaming by religious leaders and, as a result, are often not reported.
Authorities arrested six family members in Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix, Arizona, for allegedly trying to kidnap a 20-year-old female relative because she has a non-Muslim boyfriend — and she is approximately 5-months pregnant. The victim later told police how she feared dying at the hands of her relatives because they believe she brought dishonor to them.
On Aug. 1, A 9-year old girl that belongs to the Dalit community, India’s lowest caste, was murdered after being gang-raped. Her body was forcibly cremated by the same men who committed the gruesome crime. The crime occurred in a Delhi Cantonment in southwest Delhi.
On July 26th, the U.S. Court of Appeals held the lower court’s decision to deny a web designer’s petition to discriminate against the LGBTQ+ community in Colorado. There have been many other court rulings in the United States deciding if a business that denies service to LGBTQ+ people is considered prejudice or exercising their right to religious freedom.
From the 19th to 20th centuries, Canadian churches operated at least 150 boarding schools for children of aboriginal tribes. Officials have exposed hundreds of unmarked graves on the surrounding properties. Approximately 150,000 native children attended these schools for more than a century. Sadly, the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada determined 3,201 native children died due to unsatisfactory conditions, malnourishment, and abuse.
In a heart-wrenching video taken in Deoria City in the Uttar Pradesh State, India, police are seen trying to retrieve the body of Neha Paswan as onlookers stand by. The 17-year old was beaten by her extended relatives, including her grandfather and her uncles, on Monday, July 19th. The severe beating rendered her unconscious. This prompted Neha’s assailants to say that they were bringing her to the hospital.
Kurt Westergaard,a Danish cartoonist for Jyllands-Posten conservative newspaper since the 1980s, dies at age 86. According to the Danish Berlingske newspaper’s interview with the family, he died in his sleep after suffering from deteriorating health.
NBC News interviewed a handful of former students (or ex-interns) regarding a Christian leadership training program at Bethany Church in Baton Rouge, LA. These ex-interns attested that the program was abnormally brutal. They described their disturbing experiences.
On April 28th, 2020, Mubarak Bala (age 37), an Ex-Muslim atheist and President of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was apprehended at his home and then taken to the northern state of Kano. There he faced blasphemy accusations from religious figures. Blasphemy is punishable by death in the region where sharia law is enforced on Muslims despite Nigeria’s own Constitution.
On April 23rd, at least 45 people were killed, and approximately 150 others were treated for injuries after a stampede crushed them at a religious festival in Israel. Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered in celebration at one of the most significant events in the country.
