The accusations against BAPS collapsed, exposing how minority religions are too often miscast as criminal. When devotion is mistaken for coercion, freedom of religion is put at risk.
From the World
Pakistan Bans Tehreek-e-Labbaik: Just a Symbolic Blow to Anti-Minority Extremism?
The violent, extremist organization has repeatedly demonstrated that it can overcome bans and reorganize with new shapes and names, as long as the broader problems remain unaddressed.
In Their Shoes: A Soleful Resistance at Kaunas’ Ninth Fort
A unique exhibition tells the story of Lithuanian anti-Soviet partisans through their boots and shoes.
Free Mother Han! A Night of Prayer and Conviction Outside the Prison Walls
Hundreds of believers and friends gather every night in front of the jail in Seoul where the Family Federation leader is imprisoned. We went to meet them.
H. Rider Haggard, John Dube, and Simon Magus: The Imperial Occult
The forgotten meeting between the Victorian novelist and the South African religious and political activist—and Simon Magus’ excellent book on Haggard.
The Acquittal of Pastor Tagliabué and the Argentinian Crusade Against “Cults”
Accusations of human trafficking are weaponized against religious minorities. It is a disturbing trend some courts are resisting.
Pakistan’s Own Commission Confirms Discrimination Against Religious Minority Children
Pakistani authorities often dismiss claims of mistreatment of minorities as foreign propaganda. An official Pakistani body now confirms them.
Peter Harrison’s “Some New World”: Faith, Reason, and the Afterlife of Belief
The Australian scholar has produced what may well be the most important book on religion in recent years.
Abe Assassination: The Assassin’s Mother Will Testify—But There Is a Detail All Media Forgot
In 2009, all members of the Yamagami family, including the future killer, signed a settlement with the Unification Church and got 50 million yen back.
O Tell Me the Truth About Leah Hirsig: A Woman Occultist Rescued from Oblivion
Henrik Bogdan and Manon Hedenborg White’s edition of Hirsig’s diaries demonstrates that Leah was not just a footnote in Crowley’s life but a significant force in her own right.