World in Brief

According to a new report, Spain is becoming less and less religious.

Secularism in Figures 2023, published by the Ferrer Guàrdia Foundation, reveals that 40% of the Spanish population identifies as atheist, agnostic or indifferent to religion. The figure rises to 58% among young adults aged 25 to 34, and to 60% among those aged 18 to 24. ‘Religious practice has declined considerably, especially after the pandemic’, the Foundation says. Only 19% of respondents consider themselves to be practising believers.

The Baptist church in Karshi, Uzbekistan, was raided on Easter Sunday morning by the police, who damaged the door, behaved crudely, and arrested church members.

Officials arrived during the service, saying only that they were acting in accordance with regulations stating that events involving foreigners (such as the musicians from Germany who were playing there) were prohibited. They then called the police, who broke down the door, while the musicians continued to sing in front of worshippers.

The United Bible Societies has announced that 57 translations of the Bible, or parts of it, were completed in 2022. This is a record number of new translations in a single year.

Fourteen were of the complete Bible, as in Nigerian or Ethiopian languages; five were of the New Testament, and 38 of smaller parts of the Bible. That work means that 100million more people may now read some parts of Scripture in their own language. The total number of people in the world able to do so now stands at 7.2 billion.

Local officials have sealed shut a church building in West Java Province, Indonesia, two weeks after Muslims entered a worship service and demanded its closure, church leaders said.

The congregation of the Simalungun Christian Protestant Church, about 60 miles southeast of Jakarta, had refused to accede to demands to stop worship. The building was sealed by Regent Anne Ratna Mustika and the local leader of the Indonesia Ulema Council, the heads of the local police and the military and the local religion department chief.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is blocking the passage of a proposal by a powerful ally in his governing coalition to punish Christian evangelism in Israel with jail time.

The plan had caused uproar with evangelical Christians – who are among Israel’s strongest and most influential supporters in the United States. The Bill was introduced in January by a pair of ultra-Orthodox Jewish lawmakers, including Moshe Gafni, who heads the Parliament’s Finance Committee. It says soliciting someone to convert their faith should be punishable by one year in prison and solicitation to convert a minor would be punishable with a two-year sentence.

Fulani herdsmen on Saturday have killed at least seven Christians in Benue state, Nigeria, with more than 60 villagers slain in the past month.

One Christian died in an attack on a worship meeting in Logo County after at least six Christians in Apa County were killed earlier that day, said local resident Sunday Ojo in a text message. ‘Ikobi village, a Christian community, is currently under attack by Fulani herdsmen,’ Ojo said. ‘Several houses have been razed, while more than six Christians have been killed by the attackers.’

Yasin Ahmed Haroun, a soldier in Sudan’s army, is due to face trial for burning down a church belonging to the Sudan Church of Christ. He is accused of ‘Defiling and Disturbing Places of Worship and Criminal Mischief’.

Shortly after the attack, church leaders filed a criminal case naming Haroun, who was seen fleeing the attack. The military officials first denied having anyone by that name in their ranks, but were eventually obliged to turn him in after the story went viral on social media.

Victims of the mass shooting at First Baptist Church, Sutherland Springs, Texas have agreed to settle their case against the US government for $144.5 million.

In 2017, a gunman killed 26 people (including eight children). The police recovered a rifle and two handguns at the scene, all bought by the gunman. In 2021, a district court ruled that the US government was partly responsible for the massacre after the assailant’s criminal history was not submitted into the national database; that would have prevented him from buying a gun.

The Church of England’s decision to bless same-sex relationships is harming the witness of the Church, says Californian megachurch pastor Rick Warren. The author of The Purpose-Driven Life says he would separate from a denomination over this issue.

‘I happen to believe that gay relationships are not God’s best. I think I can make a pretty strong case for that. If we were all gay, none of us would be here … what is the purpose of homosexuality? It can’t [pro] create.’ he said.

Former US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has announced that he will not run for President in 2024 election in order to focus on being a Sunday School teacher.

He said, ‘The time is not right for me and my family. At each stage of my public service – as a soldier, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as Secretary of State – I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to advance America in a way that fits the moment.’

Archaeologists have uncovered a series of ‘unique’ Christian wall paintings at a dig in Sudan. The excavation explored a complex of small rooms at Old Dongola, the one-time capital of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria.

The team, led by Dr Artur Obłuski from the University of Warsaw, was exploring several 16th- and 19th-century houses, when they found a hidden chamber. Its interior walls featured paintings of the virgin Mary, Christ and the Archangel Michael. Obluski said they were ‘unique for Christian art’.

Canadian pastor Derek Reimer, of Mission 7 Ministries, spent Easter weekend in jail after publicly protesting drag shows for children at public libraries in Calgary, Alberta. It was his third arrest in five weeks.

Reimer has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of drag queen story hours, events usually hosted by public libraries where men dressed as women read to children.

Catholic Archbishop of Bangalore Peter Machado has spoken out against India’s anti-conversion laws as the Supreme Court prepares to make decisions at two key hearings.

The archbishop is seeking a ruling from the Supreme Court to compel the disclosure of records of religious violations in states that currently have anti-conversion laws. He warned that such laws expose Christians to spurious claims of forced conversion. ‘Suppose someone has a holy picture in a book in their family home. A visitor could say, “This is a source of conversion to us,” and bring a claim of forced conversion.’