In a session on religious freedom on Wednesday, Muslim scholars from around the world debated how apostates should be treated according to Islamic law. ... Some participants did not support of the beheading of apostates, but several were adamant in refusing a lighter approach toward apostates in the name of freedom of religion. ... [More]

Berliners voted on Sunday in a referendum on religious education in schools that goes to the heart of how Germany's sizeable Muslim minority is integrated into modern society. ... [More]

The U.S. imprisons more people than any other developed nation. The majority of Americans support the death penalty. We’re willing to put minors on trial as adults and execute mentally ill offenders. So why, given our eye-for-an-eye system of punishment, wouldn’t Congress pass legislation that would give law enforcement officials another tool to get the bad guys off the streets and into prisons? ... [More]

Muslim organizations are slowly and steadily stripping Arab Christians of their rights to speak on behalf of “Arab” issues. The conflicts are no longer secular. They are religious. Many Muslims, in fact, who are secular, are also being intimidated into obsequious silence by the religious extremists who dominate many of the discussions. ... [More]

Some here in the West have reacted with shock in response to the new Afghanistan law that gives Shiite men permission to rape their wives, even though President Hamid Karzai claims that we're simply misinterpreting this law. In other words, we've lost something in the translation. I won't pretend to know if that is the case or not, but I don't think it's too big of a stretch to believe that women's rights are once again being compromised. ... [More]

The U.N. Human Rights Council adopted a “defamation of religions” resolution on Thursday, ignoring a mass petition signed by over 180 non-government organizations from more than 50 different countries. ... [More]

Some 200 secular, religious and media groups from around the world on Wednesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to reject a call from Islamic countries for a global fight against "defamation of religion." ... [More]

Pope Benedict XVI called for prayers today as part of his public opposition to the father of 17-year coma victim Eluana Englaro, who seeks the legal right to allow stopping artificial life support for his daughter. ... [More]

"Inalienable dignity of the human being" must be the guiding principle of science, says the pope -- while praising French opposition to "death with dignity" legislation. ... [More]

The Church warns that Britain's Human Rights Act is often used to defend secularism. ... [More]