Religion and Ethics Report - ABC RN

Tensions emerged during this weeks' national Plenary Council as bishops overruled the people's votes. At one point the bishops rejected women-in-leadership motions, including ordination to diaconate. Women's leadership was only one contentious issue. A special program recorded at the second assembly of the Plenary Council.

What does the rise of 'no religion' mean for Australia's legal system and society? Plus, a look at the Christian right's sway on the US Supreme Court. And, Archbishop Mark Coleridge discusses the long-awaited second Catholic Plenary.

Why is the man who assassinated Gandhi — Nathuram Godse — becoming a celebrated figure amongst some in India today? Plus, religion, identity and extremism in South Asia today.

Sheryl Sandberg has resigned as Chief Operating Officer of Meta, the company that brought us Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. She, along with Mark Zuckerberg have connected us in ways previously unimagined. But it's also opened a Pandora's box of issues including privacy, political meddling and fake news. What does this all mean for us? With professor of history and philosophy Justin E.H. Smith.

Once again, a church is being rocked by allegations of sexual abuse — this time, it's the powerful American Southern Baptists. Hundreds of cases of abuse that have now lasted for decades, and a shocking cover up at the highest echelons of the church organisation. Veteran religion writer Bob Smietana has been closely following the controversy.

Today, a special edition of the program marking Reconciliation Week. Stan Grant moderated a discussion organised by UnitingCare in Queensland, bringing together different people to discuss faith, and how that can bring about reconciliation in Australia.

In the federal election, Australians deserted Liberal and Labor in droves. Labor won, but the big winners here were the others, especially the Independents. Dai Le is one of them, winning the seat of Fowler in Sydney's religiously and culturally diverse west.

The tension in the Anglican church goes deeper than the same-sex marriage divide; former PM Kevin Rudd speaks to us about religious discrimination, his personal faith and the challenge faith presents in China; and there's an old saying that "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" — but is that true?

Should the sins of the past be visited upon us? The Abrahamic faiths talk about guilt, atonement and redemption. Indigenous Australians have long called for truth-telling, a reckoning with our past as a way to justice and healing. But collective guilt today is a hot button topic — is the idea a helpful or harmful one? Peter Kurti from the Centre for Independent Studies explores this in his recent paper.

Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the man likely to become the next president of the Philippines when the nation goes to the polls on May 9. His father Ferdinand Marcos was a dictator and kleptocrat who held a grip on power for two decades between 1965 and 1986. How has fake news and disinformation been influencing this election and the likely return of power for the Marcos family? With Nobel Peace Prize recipient Maria Ressa.

This week Australians have commemorated Anzac Day, again remembering the sacrifice of those in war. But is it more than that? What began in Gallipoli in World War One has now become sacred, as Dr Michael Gladwin explains.

With the 2022 election campaign now under way, we check in with one of Australia's top experts, Professor Andrew Singleton, on religious voting trends.

Across the Middle East, millions of Christians have fled their ancient homelands, especially since the U.S. and its allies invaded Iraq in 2003. Most have not returned — and probably never will. Renowned journalist Janine di Giovanni documents their plight.

Vladimir Putin is not just involved in a violent land grab. He believes he's fighting his own holy war to restore the ancient territory of the 'Holy Rus,' with the Ukrainian capital Kyiv as the 'Third Rome.'

An astonishing 85 per cent of Australian companies are not complying with national laws against modern slavery according to a recent report, and more.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan is fighting to retain power after a vote of no confidence in the parliament. He's blamed a foreign conspiracy – the United States in particular – for trying to thwart his independent foreign policy. Professor Samina Yasmeen has been watching this alleged conspiracy unfold.

Why are Muslims from the Russian republic of Chechnya fighting on both sides in Ukraine? Plus, the founder of the Hillsong megachurch empire Brian Houston has had a dramatic fall — just how significant is this for the Pentecostal faith?

Would the simplest way to end a war that Putin started be to assassinate him? It's a shocking proposition but the concept of tyrannicide goes back to ancient philosophy. Also, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman styles himself as a modernizer — but modernisation doesn't necessarily mean democracy and human rights.

Anglicare calls for major changes to support low income Australians; Ukraine's controversial surrogacy business has been disrupted by Russia's invasion; and during extreme weather variations, Argentina's former environment minister calls for an economy that works in harmony with nature.

In a sign of growing dissent inside the Russian Orthodox Church, almost 300 priests have signed a statement condemning Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. And Pope Francis has not only condemned the bloodshed but offered the Vatican as an intermediary. Also, President Putin's idea of the Russian Orthodox faith as a global political force has a lot in common with the Islamic concept of the Ummah.

What happens when foreigners join a fight and a region is flooded with arms that cannot be traced?; What does the Russia-Ukraine war reveal about the breakdown of human rights law over the past 20 years?; and why Putin believes he's fighting a holy war.

The West is divided along political lines, but are Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping poised to take advantage of these fractures?; India's most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, is in the middle of local elections. Who's the fiery Hindu priest that's caught the attention of the Indian — and international — press?; plus, what's the distinction between character and personality?

Much of the world is on edge this week over the prospect of an actual war in Europe, if Russia moves against its neighbour Ukraine. But for almost two decades, Russia under Vladimir Putin has been engaged in a culture war with what he sees as an 'increasingly decadent west.' Professor Marlene Laruelle explains.

Myanmar's junta is presenting itself as the defender of Buddhist culture; why a paradox lies at the heart of the religious discrimination bill; and Queen Elizabeth's 70 years as a monarch

A special episode looking at who's really responsible for war crimes — the soldiers on the battlefield or the commanders and politicians who sent them?

Russian president Vladimir Putin has been amassing troops along the border with Ukraine, escalating fears of an invasion, but how could Orthodox Christian leaders help ease tensions?; The Pope delivered a major speech, warning against what he called "ideological colonisation"; and we find out more about Tammy Faye Bakker, the televangelist who became an unlikely heroine for gay Christians.

Think back to when the pandemic began. Governments around the world spent trillions of dollars – sometimes reluctantly – to businesses that had to shut down. There was lots of talk about a new communitarian age. But is that how it turned out? With Professor Adrian Pabst of the University of Kent.

In an in-depth interview, ABC's International Affairs analyst, Stan Grant explores what is driving the world to crisis and how it might be averted.

Around 80 per cent of white American evangelicals voted for Donald Trump between 2016 and 2020. For African-American historian Anthea Butler, this says a lot about Christianity in America today.

How did Catholics become a small minority in Ireland?

Is it time to declare Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, a saint?

Why Facebook is facing a US$150 billion lawsuit from Rohingya refugees; and a discussion on how Catholic social teaching could actually improve politics.

The Pope's dramatic visit to the Greek island of Lesbos; why police in Israel have reopened two "cold case" murders from over three decades ago; and a new book delves deeply into Menzies' Christian faith.

A recent law in France imposes heavy conditions on places of worship, religious funding, and even food. And the federal government's proposed religious discrimination law has ignited a huge debate over how much freedom faith-based institutions should have to promote their beliefs and doctrine.

MP Rebekha Sharkie has introduced a bill to ban the importation of goods made overseas by forced labour; why Muslim leaders are joining the push for the religious discrimination bill; and China's new law makes it a crime to criticise the country's communist heroes.

At the 700-year-old Dongguan mosque in Xining, China, the dome and minarets have come down. But could this remodelling be part of a broader campaign to suppress minority cultures? Plus, a new book by Adrian Pabst looks at whether the COVID-19 pandemic has killed liberalism.

Across the Middle East, millions of Christians have fled their ancient homelands — and will probably never return. Renowned journalist Janine di Giovanni documents their plight in a new book. And almost 6,000 people fleeing violence in Indonesia's West Papua region have taken shelter in local churches. Now, Catholic priests in the region are calling for an urgent ceasefire.

For the past two decades, from Beirut to Kabul and onto Hong Kong, the people have built vibrant, liberal societies. But they've also lived with the threat of powerful forces overwhelming them. And later, we find out about a new app designed to allow for the speedy reporting of slavery and forced labour in Africa.

Images posted on Facebook are alleged to have incited a rampage in Bangladesh targeting the Hindu minority; why the definition of anti-Semitism has divided even the Jewish community; and moving beyond climate change as a culture war issue.

There are fears that the war in Ethiopia could wreak damage on the ancient holy city of Lalibela, a new report looks at countries where governments restrict religious practice, plus a bill to legalise euthanasia or voluntary assisted dying is due this week in NSW parliament and religious leaders are divided over the issue.

Australian Catholics are meeting this week for a historic summit — the first of its kind in over 80 years — designed to overcome decades of crises. Plus, a moving story about the almost forgotten victim of the 9/11 tragedy.