Albanie

Depuis l’arrestation de huit Albanais impliqués dans le recrutement de jeunes combattants envoyés faire le djihad en Syrie, la tolérance religieuse dont s’enorgueillit l’Albanie suscite débats et interrogations. Le point de vue de l’éditorialiste Alfred Lela — Albanie : quelle liberté religieuse à l’heure de la guerre en Syrie ? (Alfred Lela, Le Courrier des Balkans)

Spain

Historians Claim Holy Grail Sits In Spanish Museum. Two historians claim they've identified the holy grail that Jesus drank from at the last supper, according to AFP. León University medieval history lecturer Margarita Torres and art historian José Manuel Ortega del Rio make the claim in their book "Kings of the Grail," published last week (Huffington Post)

France

Le nouveau premier ministre a été ministre des cultes. Quel est son rapport à la religion ? Quelle est sa conception de la laïcité ? Décryptage avec le journaliste et écrivain Samuel Pruvot — Manuel Valls, Dieu, la République, les religions (Eugénie Bastié, Le Figaro)

"Abomination". Le mot pour qualifier l'homosexualité est de Christine Boutin... et de la Bible. Elisabeth Saint-Guily, co-présidente de l'association chrétienne homosexuelle "David et Jonathan", réagit. Interview — Boutin, la Bible et l'homosexualité : "Ça nous fait mal" (Timothée Vilars - Le Nouvel Observateur)

USA

Anti-Semitic Incidents In U.S. Declined By 19 Percent This Year. Continuing a decade-long drop, anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. declined by 19 percent, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s most recent annual audit. In 2013, the ADL counted 751 anti-Semitic incidents, a decline from the 927 incidents in 2012. Compiled since 1979, the ADL annual report includes assaults, vandalism and harassment targeting Jews. Anti-Israel incidents are only counted when they cross the line into anti-Semitism (Lauren Markoe, Religion News Service/Huffington Post)

Newsweek’s New Owners Draw Scrutiny For Religious Ties, Anti-LGTB Comments. Co-owners Johnathan Davis and Etienne Uzac are the founders of International Business Times Media, which acquired Newsweek last August. Their connection to Olivet University, an evangelical school in San Francisco, has made waves again after the Guardian and other news outlets dug deeper into the pair's history. Christianity Today previously reported on the owners' strong ties to David Jang, a Korean pastor and founder of Olivet University -- and, more damningly, implied that Jang may have had some say in IBT Media's business plan. But now, the Guardian has confirmed that IBT Media in fact provided funding to Olivet University as well as employment opportunities for its students (Catherine Taibi, Huffington Post)

Sex Abuse Cost The U.S. Catholic Church Nearly $3 Billion According To Report By Bishops Conference. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops released their eleventh annual report on the progress of implementing the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People as part of the effort to increase transparency with regards to sexual abuse. The Huffington Post gives a brief overview (Yasmine Hafiz, Huffington Post)

Récit

Son beau premier roman raconte l’histoire d’une famille noire dans l’Amérique du XXe siècle. La romancière Ayana Mathis revient, pour Next, sur ses jeunes années, et comment elles furent façonnées par la religion pentecôtiste — Ayana Mathis : il était une foi en Amérique (Libération)