RELIGION HEADLINES TUE 8-12-25

Audio By Carbonatix

(SRN NEWS)-

(  )  There is an ongoing push to make chaplains available in public schools across the United States.  Indiana is currently considering a bill that would allow chaplains in public schools to provide support services.  Florida passed a law in 2024 to allow school districts to bring in volunteer chaplains.  Texas began to allow public school chaplains in 2023 — the first state to do so.  A poll conducted by the AP-NORC Center asked Americans in June if they supported the idea of chaplains in schools and nearly 60 percent said yes.  Lawmakers in other states are considering chaplain bills that could come to a vote this year.

(  )  Hundreds of representatives of Syria’s Christians and other minority religious groups are calling for the formation of a decentralized state and the drafting of a new constitution that guarantees religious freedom.  The declaration comes out of a recent gathering of minorities who are seeking to assert the rights of their communities in the country’s evolving political framework, following the fall of President Assad.  The transition is to include elections scheduled for September and the eventual drafting of a constitution — a process that could take years.  The post-Assad transition has been marred by violence against Christians.

(  )  The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association says it will pay the legal costs for Christians in Europe who have to go to court to secure their right to religious freedom.  BGEA spokesman Justin Arnot (ARE-noh) tells Christian Daily International “I think that where the concern lies in the U.K. and in continental Europe is that these freedoms are being curtailed.  There are efforts to implement hate speech laws that can be interpreted, in unhelpful ways.”  The legal fund will be made available to anyone in Europe who files suit against any authority over issues having to do with the free expression of religious faith.

(  )  Religious Freedom advocates are pointing out that four of the five most populous countries on earth persecute Christians.  According to International Christian Concern, believers are under seige in China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia.  The U.S. is the only one of the top five countries where Christians are safe.  ICC says “Believers in these nations may face harassment, intimidation, and imprisonment for following Christ. The most basic human right, the liberty to follow one’s own conscience, is often out of reach for believers in these countries.”  About 41 percent of the world’s population resides in China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia.