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Stories about Alberta's classroom opt-out law:

Alberta's classroom opt-out law faces new criticism
As a proposal to allow parents to pull their children from classes on religion and sexuality inches closer to becoming law in Alberta, an influential Toronto-based civil liberties organization has become the latest group to oppose it.
Globe and Mail, May 25

Alta pushes ahead with law to allow parents to pull kids from lessons on gays
Alberta is pushing ahead with Canada's first legislation to give parents the power under its human rights code to pull their children from lessons on sex, religion or sexual orientation. In response to widespread criticism from school boards and human rights groups, Premier Ed Stelmach's government has made only minor wording changes to the bill.
Canadian Press, May 27

Alberta moves to enshrine parents' rights in classroom
As Alberta is set to become the first province to give parents the right to take their children out of classes that deal with religion and sexuality, some parents are confused why the government ever waded into this human-rights minefield in the first place.
Globe and Mail, May 28

Alberta opts for hillbilly human rights
When it comes to promoting itself to the world, Alberta has been having messaging problems of late. . . . the Culture Minister's plans to reform his Ministry's human rights code -- so, he once said, Alberta would increasingly be "seen to be inclusive and tolerant" to tourists, immigrants and investors -- has critics complaining now that his proposal achieves precisely the opposite effect.
Kevin Libin, Full Comment, National Post, May 28

Earlier: Stories about Alberta's human rights legislation

Stories about the polygamy court case:

Accused BC polygamists tell court they want a jury trial
Lawyers for two B.C. men charged with having multiple wives are planning for a jury trial - if they can't have the case tossed out before then. The lawyers for accused polygamists Winston Blackmore and James Oler have two applications before the courts to stay the proceedings before the precedent-setting case even goes to trial.
Canadian Press, May 22
Also: Globe and Mail

B.C. men plead not guilty to polygamy
Winston Blackmore and James Oler have pleaded not guilty to a single charge each of practising polygamy. Mr. Blackmore, pictured, and Mr. Oler, of Bountiful, B. C., were not present yesterday in Vancouver provincial court, but their lawyers entered their pleas. The two also elected trial by judge and jury.
Canwest News Service, May 23

Battle over legal costs could derail B.C. polygamy case
Winston Blackmore wants funding without making financial disclosures
Daphne Bramham, Vancouver Sun, May 23

Accused in polygamy case ask for trial by jury
Lawyers for two B.C. men accused of having multiple wives say their clients want a jury trial. But the lawyers for Winston Blackmore and James Oler also indicated in court yesterday that they'll be working hard to have the polygamy case thrown out.
Canadian Press, May 25

Earlier: Stories about the polygamy court case

Stories about Islam and the West:

Playing the politics of fear
In her May 6 piece ("I expect better from Maclean's") regarding a recent Maclean's magazine poll on Canadian views of various religious faiths, Barbara Kay rehashes, in textbook McCarthy style, the same old "you-don't-condemn-terrorism" accusations against the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CAN). In doing so, she conveniently avoids engaging in any substantive debate on the subject.
National Post, May 22

A surprising exercise in dialogue
Sponsored by Saudi King Abdullah Ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud, a dialogue between Muslims and Christians was taking place, a rare event in that very conservative country. Organized by the InterAction Council of former world leaders (co-chaired by Canada's Jean Chretien), the event included leading Christian theologians, such as Catholic priest and professor of theology Hans Kueng. They debated, probed and sought common ground with Islamic scholars, such as Mustafa Ceric, the Grand Mufti of Bosnia, and Dr. Abdulwahabe Abu Sulaiman, a leading Islamic scholar from Saudi Arabia.
Thomas S. Axworthy, National Post, May 26

S&P starts Canadian stock index defined by Islamic law
Standard & Poor's is launching an index of large Canadian stocks with criteria defined by Islamic law -- no companies with businesses in financial services, entertainment, alcohol, pork-related products or tobacco.
Canadian Press, May 27

Shariah comes to Canada
Turns out, the Canadian stock market is a good place for Islamic investors.
David Berman, Globe and Mail, May 27

Shariah index helps Muslims invest without compromising beliefs
Following strict Islamic law means pork products, tobacco, alcohol among forbidden investments
Financial Post, May 28

Earlier: Stories about Islam and the West

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Other stories from the past week:

Angels & Demons: The good, the bad and the ugly of religious history
Of course, thanks to the phenomenal commercial appeal of Dan Brown's novels, much of Church history is now shrouded in historical mythology. Our culture is awash in historical cliches and so-called "black legends" of Church institutions and personalities -- so much so that fiction is taken as fact, and then used to undermine the credibility of contemporary Catholicism.
Robert Ventresca, Holy Post, National Post, May 21
Earlier: Stories about Angels & Demons

The pro-life delusion
Is America becoming more pro-life? A new poll by Gallup says so. The poll, released on the Friday before President Obama addressed Notre Dame University, thrilled the anti-abortion movement -- and offered Republicans their first glimmer of hope in months. But the poll is wrong. Worse, it's misleading -- and threatens to send Republicans careening in precisely the worst possible direction in pursuit of votes they will not find.
David Frum, Full Comment, National Post, May 22

Congressman seeks Year of Bible
A Republican congressman in the United States has come under fire and ridicule for introducing a resolution to make 2010 "the Year of the Bible."
National Post, May 23

How to make a Kosher Baby
On the clinic's boardroom table, amid Kosher cookies and rugellah, sat a shoebox-sized metal container with dime-like holes spaced throughout. A red plastic tie fastened it shut. This, one of the women explained, is a specially designed box used to help assure Jewish couples that their child will be created in accordance with Torah law.
National Post, May 23

There's one habit this nun won't break
Reporters assigned to interview Daniela Vlaskalic, beware: You're just as likely to find yourself being interviewed by her. The up-and-coming actress and playwright doesn't seem particularly interested in talking about herself over lunch and grocery shopping at the St. Lawrence Market, down the street from where she is performing in CanStage's production of Doubt.
National Post, May 23
Earlier: Stories about Doubt

Can the 'liberal' brand rebound with appeal to emotions, values?
Few politicians are willing to identify themselves as small-l liberals
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 23

Hope dies last
A 37-year-old father of two faces the dilemma of a rare cancerous disease
Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun, May 23

Family outraged after student's hair cut
A seven-year-old's involuntary haircut at his elementary school in Thunder Bay has outraged his family and provoked accusations of intolerance toward the family's native heritage. The boy's family has hired a Toronto human-rights lawyer who says the boy was assaulted, and Phil Fontaine, national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, says the incident recalls the dehumanizing treatment of native children in residential schools.
Globe and Mail, May 25

Faithful supporters carry B.C.'s first Filipino MLA into legislature
There was an altar, rosary beads and the usual iconic figures you'd find in a Catholic shrine -- some saints and the Virgin Mary. But in late 2008, a new and somewhat incongruous item was added to the small sacred place set up by a devout elderly immigrant woman from the Philippines in her east Vancouver apartment. It was a political brochure with the photograph of a left-wing, lesbian, bus-driving, antiwar union activist.
Vancouver Sun, May 25

Religious symbols don't belong in public schools
On the one-year anniversary of the Bouchard-Taylor Commission report -- it was released on May 22, 2008 -- which recommended more openness and tolerance on the part of heritage Quebecers for the cultural habits and religious expression of newcomers to Quebec, it appears the report has had no effect whatsoever. Or at least not the effect the commission wanted. Quebecers are not only resisting the commission's recommendations, their attitudes have hardened.
Barbara Kay, Holy Post, National Post, May 25
Earlier: Stories about religious and multicultural issues in Quebec

Q&A: Canada's National Gallery on The Art of Papal Rome
This year, the Pope got a YouTube channel, as well as Facebook and iPhone applications. And though this digital shift may have shocked some traditionalists, a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Canada is demonstrating that even ancient popes created dramatically shifting image campaigns. Here, curator David Franklin tells Leah Sandals more about the surprises in From Raphael to Carracci: The Art of Papal Rome.
Holy Post, National Post, May 27

We bow our heads and play
It's a cliche that Canadians worship hockey. Now two academics have produced a scholarly paper that concludes Canada's national sport is, in fact, a religion, complete with symbols and sacraments, a pantheon of gods and a sense of reverence.
Globe and Mail, May 27

Greyhound killer's fate will not be divulged
The public may never learn whether a man who decapitated a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus en route to Winnipeg last summer is hospitalized or released. . . . Li said the voice of God told him to stab, behead and cannibalize Mr. McLean's body because the victim was an evil, supernatural demon who would kill him.
National Post, May 27
Earlier: Behind the Greyhound story

Buddhism draws mixed reviews in B.C.: Poll
British Columbians have a double-edged response to Buddhism, as do other Canadians. I would have thought the percentage of British Columbians who approve of Buddhism would be higher in this Pacific Rim province, given that so many residents practice meditation, admire the Dalai Lama and have arrived in the country from Asia.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 27

Did Bethany have a choice?
The father of a Jehovah's Witness who lost her life after refusing a blood transfusion is fighting back
Juliet Guichon and Ian Mitchell, National Post, May 28
Earlier: Stories about Jehovah's Witnesses and blood transfusions

Predators upon the flock
Priestly abuse of minors, sexual or otherwise, inflicts a grievous wound on the Church, the entire body of the baptized. It grievously wounds the victims. The damage to the body may heal; souls are another thing, and often the damage there is permanent. Victims of abuse often find their faith in God shattered, unable to believe in the love and mercy of God after having experienced exploitation and cruelty from His ministers. There have rightly been many apologies, but not all wounds can heal, not all faith can be restored.
Father Raymond J. de Souza, National Post, May 28

Cash for native abuse victims slow to come
Native people who suffered the worst abuses of the residential school system are being forced to wait up to eight months to be compensated, even after their awards are approved by federal adjudicators. The delay in issuing cheques to victims of sexual or physical abuse contrasts sharply with the spirit of contrition and reconciliation with which Ottawa announced its historic, $4-billion out-of-court settlement with former residential school students in 2006.
Richard Foot, Canwest News Service, May 29

Why do Canadians resist intermarriage?
Canadians like to think they.re tolerant and open. But ask them how they would feel about one of their daughters or sons marrying a person of a different religion and suddenly a wall goes up. Something is going on beneath the superficially "nice" cultural surface of Canada that is not what we project to the world or ourselves.
Douglas Todd, The Search, Vancouver Sun, May 29

May 28/2009