Thousands speaking up
As the consultation on the redefinition of marriage and the introduction of same-sex marriage in England and Wales begins, pressure is mounting on the government to scrap their proposals.
By March 16, over 218,000 people had signed the national petition launched by the Coalition for Marriage (C4M) on February 20, and church leaders, politicians and even celebrities have spoken out in support of maintaining the current system of marriage and civil partnerships.
UN: two steps forward...
The United Nations General Assembly on December 19 adopted a new resolution condemning religious intolerance that could still lead to an increase in the persecution of Christians.
The resolution — following on from a similar one at the UN’s Human Rights Council in March 2011 — marks a shift from those passed annually by the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) which urged all members of the UN to outlaw ‘defamation of religions’.