The Great Dialogue

..."the conflict between religious liberty and nondiscrimination principles is profound," Kirsanow said the tension "appears most acute when religious liberty and sexual liberty conflict." Are those rights of equal importance? Kirsanow says no: "In our constitutional order, the first reason that religious liberty takes precedence over sexual liberty is that this is enshrined in our Constitution." He argues that the commission elevates "nondiscrimination laws, which with the exception of the Fourteenth Amendment are mere statutes, not constitutional provisions, over the provisions of the Constitution. In practice, he added, this is "hostile to religion."   SEE:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/09/09/commission-says-religious-liberty-should-not-top-civil-rights/

"By blood, I am an Albanian. By citizenship, I am Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus." ~ Mother Teresa 

See:  http://bigstory.ap.org/article/671961298f7d4f899898d0c063319ffa/myanmar-names-kofi-annan-head-panel-rohingya-muslims

SEE:  http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/08/22/490915833/u-s-judge-grants-nationwide-injunction-blocking-white-house-transgender-policy?sc=tw

SEE:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/03/christian-church-leader-hu-shigen-jailed-chinese-human-rights-crackdown

SEE:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/world/europe/pope-francis-poland-world-youth-day.html?_r=1

See:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/tim-lahaye-evangelical-author-of-left-behind-book-series-dies-at-90/2016/07/25/1f20d3a4-5286-11e6-b7de-dfe509430c39_story.html

See:  https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jul/19/evidence-religious-dialogue-europeans-native-americans-caribbean-cave-mona

Larung Gar: China 'destroys buildings' at Tibetan Buddhist academy - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-36863888

SEE:  http://religionnews.com/2016/07/19/first-openly-lgbt-united-methodist-bishop-this-is-the-time/

SEE:  https://barna.org/research/culture-media/research-release/americans-views-of-police-brutality?utm_source=Barna+Update+List&utm_campaign=270c8f4bf5-Police+Brutality_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8560a0e52e-270c8f4bf5-172086125&mc_cid=270c8f4bf5&mc_eid=75e096d2c2#.V4jUO_krLX7

See:   https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/inside-isis-quietly-preparing-for-the-loss-of-the-caliphate/2016/07/12/9a1a8a02-454b-11e6-8856-f26de2537a9d_story.html

See:   http://www.bigstory.ap.org/article/07d4d932db81456f80553a9e14175d70/south-africas-tutu-celebrates-40-years-service-bishop

SEE:  http://www.reuters.com/article/us-myanmar-muslims-idUSKCN0ZA12J

" In the land of science, it turns out, there nearly as many believers and churchgoers as there are to be found in the nation at large and many in each camp say science and faith have a lot to offer each other." SEE:  http://religionnews.com/2014/02/16/science-religion-aaas-hamonnye-evangelical/

SEE:  http://bigstory.ap.org/article/cca45c44b50147caa788eac82c538dd3/experts-begin-first-renovations-jesus-tomb-200-years

SEE:  http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/05/31/479591225/diary-of-a-saudi-girl-karate-lover-science-nerd-bride

SEE:  https://barna.org/research/culture-media/research-release/americas-new-moral-code?utm_source=Barna+Update+List&utm_campaign=c2ba84b47f-NewMoralCode_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8560a0e52e-c2ba84b47f-172086125&mc_cid=c2ba84b47f&mc_eid=75e096d2c2#.V0xDUvkrLX5

From USA Today 11 states sue U.S. government over Obama's transgender directive http://usat.ly/1ViyfQY AUSTIN – The transgender bathroom battle is about to take another dramatic turn.Texas and 10 other states are suing the Obama administration over a new directive instructing public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms that correspond to their gender, rather than birth, identity.The lawsuit, announced Wednesday in Austin by Texas Attorney General Kenneth Paxton, also includes Oklahoma, Alabama, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Tennessee, Maine, Arizona, Louisiana, Utah and Georgia. It accuses President Obama's administration of "running roughshod over commonsense policies" that protect children, and asks a judge to declare the directive unlawful.    

SEE:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/chinas-ancient-buddhist-grottoes-face-a-new-threat--tourists/2016/05/16/4f31b68e-184e-11e6-8329-f3767b06317f_story.html