Key Quotes for 2011

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




A Christian couple were left “extremely distressed” yesterday after the High Court ruled Derby City council was entitled to exclude them from becoming foster carers because of their faith-based opposition to homosexuality. The court ruled “a conflict” could arise over the council’s duty to “safeguard and promote the welfare” of children and the couple’s beliefs. Eunice ad Owen Johns, ages 62 and 65, from Derby called for an independent inquiry.
Religious Persecution	The Sentinel - 1st March 2011



Taxes on married couples on the average wage where one parent stays at home to look after the children are proportionally higher in Britain than in other Western countries, according to shock new research. At present such families in the UK are bearing a tax burden that is 39 per cent higher than that of comparable families across the 34 countries making up the OECD. Their tax burden will soar to 50 per cent greater than that faced by the same families elsewhere in the advanced industrial world by 2012/13.
Money	Care - 7th March 2011



This week saw a first for British TV; for the first time a manufacturer was able to pay to have their product included in a British television programme. Although we are used to seeing products used as props in programmes, until now it has not been possible for manufacturers to pay for inclusion. All this changed on Monday when Nescafe paid over £100,000 for the privilege of having its Dolce Gusto machine placed in the kitchen area of the This Morning set.
Media	Mediawatch-UK - 4th March 2011



The Humanist Campaign telling people what to tick on the 2011 Census Form is misconceived and unnecessary, claims Theos, the public theology think tank. The campaign, launched today, tells people to tick ‘no religion’ on the Census form later this month. It is based on atheists’ frustration that so many people (37 million in England and Wales) said they were Christian in the last census in 2001.
Religion/Spirituality	Theos Think Tank - March 2011



Over a third (36%) of Britons would consider taking direct action to influence rules, laws or policies, new research from the public theology think tank Theos reveals. Young people are the key drivers of this trend. One in eight 18-24s said they would consider posting confidential or sensitive material to a website (compared with under 5% of anyone aged over 35). Overall, nearly half (46%) of 18-24s would consider taking some form of direct action.
Social Issues	Theos Think Tank - March 2011



Human Rights Watch in January called on the US to return Vietnam to its list of ‘countries of particular concern’ (CPCs), a designation for countries that consistently deny religious freedom and commit human rights violations. The report said that religious repression in Vietnam is ‘systematic, severe, and getting worse by the day’. Christians in the country have been subject to police harassment, forced closure of churches, and arbitrary arrests. Vietnam was removed from the list of CPCs in 2006.
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



The US Muslim population is expected to double over the next 20 years, fuelled by immigration and higher-than-average fertility rates, according to a report released on January 27. The report, The Future of the Global Muslim Population, from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, estimates that the number of US Muslims will rise to 6.2 million, or 1.7% of the overall population, in 2030.
World Issues	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



On January 31, Sudan’s government said that it would accept the secession of the southern half of the country without challenge. The announcement gave further acceptance to the January referendum in which 99% of those voting in south Sudan voted for independence. ‘We announce our agreement and our acceptance of the result of the referendum’, Vice President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha said. The referendum was the last step in a 2005 peace agreement between the North and South. The agreement ended a civil war spanning a quarter of a century.
World Issues	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



Christians within the European Union in January accused the EU Commission of deliberately excluding Christian holidays from diaries for school children. Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter are missing, while Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Muslim festivals are scattered throughout. Three million copies of the diaries were printed for 2011, with 350,000 copies being sent to schools in the UK.
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



Burmese soldiers are systematically using forced labour, torture and rape to persecute majority-Christian residents of Chin state in western Burma, according to a report released on January 20. The report documented ‘extraordinary levels of state violence’ against the Chin ethnic population. The Chin are estimated to be 90% Christian and the study indicates that it is, therefore, difficult to separate religious attacks from ethnic and other human rights abuses.
Religious Persecution	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



An Australian-born convert to Islam in January was urging Muslims to speak out against democracy and push for shari’a law in Australia. Ibrahim Siddiq-Conlon formed Sharia4Australia in 2010 with objectives that include advising elected governments that they have no authority to rule and educating non-Muslims about the benefits of shari’a. ‘One day Australia will live under shari’a; it’s inevitable’, he claims.
World Issues	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



School children could be taught about homosexual issues in maths, science and geography lessons under controversial new plans funded by a taxpayer-backed quango during LGBT History Month in March. The lesson plans, which are optional, include considering why homosexuals move from the countryside to cities and using same-sex characters in maths problems. Younger children could be reading books such as And Tango Makes Three, a book about a pair of male penguins who were treated as sexual mates in a New York Zoo.
Education	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



Regarding Baroness Warsi’s comments on prejudice towards Muslims in the UK, the former Bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, in January stated that diversity in the UK needs to be based on traditional Christian values. He said, ‘I know from personal experience that extremism as a mindset is spreading throughout the Muslim world. We do not want it to spread here through the teaching of hate and the radicalisation of the young. That is why we must distinguish between those Muslims who want to live peacefully with their non-Muslim neighbours and those who wish to introduce shari’a into this country, restrict freedom of speech and confine women to their homes, not to speak of introducing draconian punishments such as death for blasphemy recently awarded to a poor Christian woman in Pakistan. ‘If relations are to improve between Muslims and other people in the world, these are the kind of issues that must be tackled.’
Religion/Spirituality	Evangelicals Now, March 2011



Actor Sir Patrick Stewart, author Ian McEwan and former England cricketer Chris Broad have pledged their support to a campaign calling for a change in the law on assisted dying in the UK. Dignity in Dying aims to legalise the choice of assisted dying for terminally ill, mentally competent adults. Broad, whose wife Michelle had motor neurone disease, said it was awful that the law would not allow loved ones to be with her when she ended her life after her suffering became unbearable
The Law	The Sentinel, February 21, 2011



Almost all public services could be opened up to private companies under plans being put forward by Prime Minister David Cameron today. The PM said that “complete change” was needed in the public sector to improve standards for users. The changes, to be set out in a White Paper within the next fortnight, could allow non-public providers to run schools, hospitals and council services such as maintaining parks, adult care, special schools and roads maintenance.
Politics	The Sentinel, February 21, 2011

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