In Depth:  Religion Today

The widow of a missionary who was killed in the Autumn said she forgives the man who shot her husband.

Stephanie was riding in a car with her husband Charles Truman Wesco when he was shot in the head during a firefight between separatists and soldiers in Cameroon.

The U.S. Supreme Court handed religious liberty advocates a major victory in June when the 7-2 ruling sided with a Christian baker who refused to design a wedding cake celebrating a same-sex marriage.

The Civil Rights group that brought the case to court was told it demonstrated hostility towards religion when it ordered Jack Phillips to design wedding cakes for same-sex couples.

It was reported in March that the whole of Alabama state is considering stopping issuing marriage licences due to opposition to same-sex marriage which many district judges feel they cannot endorse by the provision of licences.

When the Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage in 2015, Christians in the business of officiating at marriages faced a challenge. To avoid going against biblical teachings on marriage, some judges in Alabama skirted the conflict by simply closing down their marriage licence divisions. To these judges, no marriages at all meant no same-sex marriages. This, in turn, meant preserving the belief in marriage as the sacred union of one man and one woman. Alabama judge Wes Allen explained that ‘I couldn’t put my signature on a marriage licence that I knew not to be marriage’.

Only four out of 100 teenagers have a true biblical worldview, according to a new survey from the Barna Group, even though 59% of Generation Z teens say they are Christian or Catholic.

85% of churchgoing teens believe that Christ was a ‘real person crucified and raised from the dead’.

Former US Olympic gymnast and Christian, Rachael Denhollander gave a biblical, moving and powerful speech in court to the former sports doctor who had sexually abused her.

In her 30-minute testimony, Denhollander described in detail the abuse she suffered and the anguish she felt knowing that others had experienced it too. Addressing the Judge, she said: ‘The sentence you hand down can communicate to all these little girls and to every predator to every little girl or young woman who is watching, how much a little girl is worth.’ Judge Rosemarie Aquilina sentenced Nassar to 175 years in prison.

An archaeologist in Israel shared an exciting new discovery in July that seems to validate the Bible’s account of a man named Naboth and his ownership of a vineyard.

The Christian Post reported that Dr Norma Franklin, one of the leaders of the Jezreel Expedition, confirmed that the Jezreel Valley was a wine-producing region, as the Bible says it is. The Jezreel Expedition team used laser technology to analyse the region and found several wine and olive presses, as well as over 100 bottle-shaped pits carved into the stone of the region. Franklin believes these hewn-out imprints were used to store wine in ancient times.

The daughter of an elderly man whose murder was recorded in a Facebook live video has forgiven her father’s murderer and says that through her testimony of forgiveness, people are coming to faith, it was reported in April.

Debbie Godwin, the daughter of 74-year-old Robert Godwin who was murdered in Cleveland, Ohio, while his assailant streamed the crime on Facebook live, made news when she did an interview and expressed her forgiveness for her father’s killer.

The ancient palace of the Assyrian King Sennacherib, who is mentioned in the Bible, has been uncovered after Islamic State (IS) militants destroyed the tomb of the prophet Jonah, which was on top of the palace.

As IS is pushed out of areas in Iraq and Syria that they have controlled since 2014, archaeologists are being given the chance to study new discoveries. It is thought that IS has ransacked various ancient tombs and landmarks to collect valuables to sell on the black market to fund their operation.

In early March, nine judges who serve on the Washington State Supreme Court ruled against florist Barronelle Stutzman of Richland, Washington, a 72-year-old grandmother, who now faces fines of hundreds of thousands of dollars for desiring to run her local flower shop according to orthodox Christian beliefs.

Prior to the court battle, Stutzman had known the plaintiff Rob Ingersoll and served his needs for more than nine years, using her artistic talents to make birthdays, funerals and other occasions meaningful.

A group of Christians and Muslims worked together to get the Pakistani government to drop blasphemy charges brought against a nine-year-old Christian Pakistani boy, it was reported in late October.

Izhan, along with his mother, Shakil, were accused of burning pages of the Qur’an.The police were summoned, and Izhan and Shakil were imprisoned.

An autumn survey has revealed that nearly one in four millennials are religiously unaf-filiated, and many of them say they left the church due to teachings on homosexuality.

25% of Americans are religiously unaffili-ated and religious affiliation has been declining noticeably since the 1990s. The numbers of people who have left the church are greater the younger the demographic.

A pastor in Turkey made headlines when he chose to forgive a group of Muslims who damaged his church in August.

He did not press charges against the Muslim men who broke windows and damaged a security camera at the rented building. The extremists were reportedly angered that the church was leading Muslims away to Christianity.

In the wake of the Orlando nightclub shooting that took the lives of 49 people and injured over 50 others, businesses are offering help to Orlando residents.

One such business is Christian fast-food chain, Chick-fil-A. The restaurant opened on Sunday, when it is normally closed, to provide food for Orlando residents who were at the One Blood donation centre, giving blood for victims of the shooting.

It was reported in early June that one of the world’s most respected scientists has said that there is scientific proof that points to the existence of God.

According to the Geophilosophical Association of Anthropological and Cultural Studies, scientist Michio Kaku, who is known as one of the developers of the revolutionary String Theory, stated: ‘I have concluded that we are in a world made by rules created by an intelligence.’

A Muslim man who converted to Christianity has now been sharing his faith with others, baptising them and planting churches.

It was reported that Shahid (not his real name, for security purposes) grew up in Libya as a devout Muslim.

In early March the Tennessee House of Representatives passed a measure that pushes back against the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision.

It was reported that the measure says that the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which redefines marriage, wrongly usurped power from the states in making a federal law which some states were not in favour of.

Faculty and administrators at Garissa University College returned to work on 4 January, nine months after a bloody massacre of mainly Christian students by Somalia’s al-Shabaab militants forced its closure.

Only about 60 students were expected to attend on the day when classes resumed. Before the attack, the university had about 800 students.

Egypt’s Coptic Christians celebrated Christmas on 7 January with heightened security put into place by the Government who feared an Islamic attack.

ABCNews.com reported that Egyptian police searched more than 300 churches in Egypt’s capital, Cairo, looking for explosive devices. Police also set up roadblocks in front of churches and temporarily banned vehicles from idling near churches.

A pastor in October shared how he went from marching in gay pride parades and being hostile toward Christians to becoming a follower of Christ and leading a church.

Caleb Kaltenbach grew up with parents who both came out as gay and got a divorce when he was only two years old. They were very active in the gay community. ‘They took me to gay clubs, parties, and camp outs’, Kaltenbach remembers. ‘I marched in gay pride parades and went to political events. That was just my life.’

A gallery formerly owned by a Christian couple has been converted into a church after the couple refused to host a same sex wedding at their business, it was reported in early November.

Richard and Betty Odgaard were the previous owners of Görtz Haus Gallery, a gift shop and bistro in Iowa. When a same sex couple approached them to book a wedding at the venue, the Odgaards refused, prompting a lawsuit.

An Islamic State militant has reportedly converted to Christianity after dreaming of a ‘man in white’, who he believed was Jesus, it was reported in early June.

The ISIS fighter had killed many Christians before the dream, and had confessed that he ‘actually enjoyed’ killing the Christians.

Saeed Abedini, an Iranian American Christian pastor, has been detained in Iran since the summer of 2012.

Initially incarcerated in Evin Prison in September 2012, he was sentenced to eight years in prison on 27 January 2013, on charges of undermining national security through private religious gatherings in Christian homes in Iran in the early 2000s. In November 2013, the Iranian regime moved him to Rajai Shahr prison, outside Karaj.

Megachurch pastor Mark Driscoll announced to his Seattle-based congregation, via a pre-recorded message in late August, that he is taking a six-week leave of absence from his position as lead pastor of Mars Hill Church while various charges against him were formally investigated. Driscoll said he would take the time to seek council about the next season of his life.

Driscoll, along with Mike Gunn and Leif Moi, planted the church in 1996. Mars Hill grew to more than 13,000 people and stretched across 15 locations in five states: Washington, Oregon, California, New Mexico and Arizona. Attendance has slumped over recent weeks to between 8-9000, and the church has announced the closure of at least three of its locations, and staff cuts of 30-40%. This leave of absence has come after a series of events which found Driscoll being confronted with significant questions about his character and leadership.

After a Florida elementary school boy was told to put his Bible away during independent reading time the school has agreed, in early May, that the Bible is an acceptable book for free reading time.

Jeremiah Dys, an attorney who represented the child’s family, said: ‘We are pleased they are now complying with the law and will allow students to read their Bible during free reading time and within the Accelerated Reader programme’.

The Harvest Church of St Petersburg, Russia, was closed by the Russian government without warning, it was reported on March 19.

Government officials reported that the church was conducting unregistered educational activities, namely holding Sunday school classes during the week without explicit permission.

The Romeike family, who left Germany in 2008 seeking asylum to home school their children, were granted indefinite deferred status to remain in the US (as long as they remain law-abiding), it was reported in March.

The Supreme Court had declined to hear their case. A spokesman for the home school network in the USA said: ‘This is an incredible victory that can only be credited to our Almighty God. We also want to thank those of who spoke up on this issue including that long ago White House petition.’

Two decades have passed since the Rwandan genocide, but it was reported in mid-March that organisations are working to help individuals and families as the country continues the recovery process in the wake of the genocide which left 800,000 people dead.

A Samaritan’s Purse programme called ‘Raising Families’ is working with 83 local churches and 1,660 families throughout Rwanda to improve access to education and healthcare as the country continues to rebuild after the tragedy.

While residents in the Philippines struggle to get back to normality in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), church congregations in the area are continuing to have regular worship.

Typhoon Yolanda roared through the Central Philippines in November, killing almost 4,000 people. That number is expected to rise as recovery efforts continue.

It was reported in November that one of the most oppressed Christian groups prays for Christians in the ‘free’ world due to their enslavement and lack of reliance on God.

One of the first things Eric Foley, the co-founder of Seoul USA, learned about the North Korean underground church is that it is not a group to be pitied. About ten years ago Foley asked a member of the underground church how he could pray for them. He recalls the North Korean’s response: ‘You, pray for us? We pray for you… because South Korean and American churches believe challenges in the Christian faith are solved by money, freedom, and politics. It’s only when all you have is God do you realise God is all you need.’

Heavily armed militants, suspected members of Boko Haram, attacked Damaturu, the capital of Yobe state, in late October.

It appears that hundreds of members of the Muslim terrorist sect took part in the surprise offensive in an area that hosts government institutions but is also dominated by Christians. The militants also attacked a hospital, stole drugs and drove off in ambulances. The death toll of the gun battle between the militants and the army, which lasted several hours, has not been confirmed.

A pastor in Mombasa, who was shot to death while praying at his church in late October, was still holding his Bible in his hand when church members found him.

Charles Matole had received threats after many converted to Christianity during revival services in a coastal area of the country. Members of his church, Vikwantani Redeemed Gospel Church, found him slumped in one of the church’s chairs. ‘His skull was badly damaged’, a church member said. The next day, another pastor, Ebrahim Kidata of East African Pentecostal Church, was strangled and left in some bushes 30 miles north of Mombasa.

The disappearance of some 20,000 prisoners of conscience from North Korea’s concentration Camp 22 is suspected, as satellite photographs published over the summer indicate that the camp was razed last year.

The camp was geographically larger than Los Angeles and thought to have once held between 30,000 to 50,000 prisoners.

Since the Muslim Brotherhood took power in Egypt, Christians have been the targets of violence but this appears not to have crushed the growth of the church in Egypt, it was reported in October.

Reports say that every Friday there is a big group of the Muslim Brotherhood who try to regain power, and they fight with the army and police. They appear to want to destroy the country and attack many churches. More than 80 churches have been burned, with many Christians killed.

While an amazing 88% of American homes own a Bible, more and more are switching to the internet, Smartphones and iPads to read God’s word, according to a sweeping new survey of Bible use, it was reported in September.

In their latest survey of Bible use, the American Bible Society finds that 41% of Americans used the internet to read the Bible on a computer. Some 29% said they searched Bible verses on a Smartphone, and 17% said they read an electronic version of the Bible on a Kindle or iPad.

Bangladeshi believer Nur Hossain was held up by his own brothers on August 13 for choosing to follow Jesus.

A day before, they had asked 30-year-old Hossain to return to their hometown and retrieve his personal belongings. Hossain obliged, oblivious that it was a trap. ‘His brothers beat him and locked him up in a room’, said a local source. ‘They waited to see who would come to his rescue, so they could find out the person who brought Hossain to Christianity.’

On August 29, in what has been called a ‘brutal and vicious act’, a team of 20 social workers, police officers and special agents stormed a homeschooling family’s residence near Darmstadt, forcibly removing all four of the family’s children, ages 7 to 14.

The sole grounds for removal were that the parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, continued to homeschool their children in defiance of a German ban on home education. A Darmstadt family court judge signed the order authorising the immediate seizure of the Wunderlichs’ children on August 28. Citing the parents’ failure to co-operate ‘with the authorities to send the children to school’, the judge also authorised the use of force ‘against the children’ if necessary, reasoning that such force might be required because the children had ‘adopted the parents’ opinions’ regarding homeschooling and that ‘no co-operation could be expected’ from either the parents or the children.