Religious News From Around the Web December 21, 2020
- By WRN Editorial Staff --
- 21 Dec 2020 --
Feds Side with Religious Schools in Suit Over COVID Restrictions, Supreme Court Continues to Block Religious Restrictions, Right to Believe Protests DC Court Ruling, Another Jehovah’s Witness Sentenced to Prison for Faith, Photos: Remote Religion? Climb 9,000 Steps, Saving Notre Dame
Feds Side with Religious Schools in Suit Over COVID Restrictions
The U.S. Department of Justice sided with Michigan religious schools that challenged a ban on in-person high school instruction during the Coronavirus pandemic, saying the ban was unlawful and violated the students’ constitutional right to free exercise of religion.
Supreme Court Continues to Block Religious Restrictions
In four cases, the High Court indicated that states may not impose stricter standards on churches, synagogues and mosques than they do on most commercial establishments.
Right to Believe Protests DC Court Ruling
The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification is protesting a DC Superior Court decision that interfered and took sides in a schism within the Unification Movement following the death of its founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, contrary to First Amendment protections of religion from government interference. “This faulty decision, if allowed to stand, would present an alarming legal precedent that would be a threat to all religious and non-profit organizations in the nation,” said Howard Self, president of Right To Believe.
Another Jehovah’s Witness Sentenced to Prison for Faith
A Russian court sentenced A 66-year-old Jehovah’s Witness in Russia to a six-year sentence for practicing his faith in a country where rape is punishable with a three- to six-year prison term and kidnapping with a five-year prison term. Yuriy Savelyev had already spent two years in pre-trial detention. Russia declared the Witnesses an “extremist group” in 2017.
Photos: Remote Religion? Climb 9,000 Steps
Chinese Buddhists consider Mt Fanjing a sacred mountain because it’s believed to be the Maitreya Buddha’s bodhimaṇḍa, or “place of enlightenment.” Buddhist tradition says Maitreya will return to earth in the future to help others reach enlightenment. The mountain is an otherworldly place – two small temples connected by an arched bridge 7,500 feet high overlooking a stunning natural paradise.”
Video: Saving Notre Dame
When Notre Dame Cathedral burned in 2019, France and the world nearly lost an architectural treasure some 800 years old. Look inside at the restoration by engineers, architects and specialists in ancient crafting of wood, glass and stone.