Search results

The World Council of Churches has published “Freedom of Religion or Belief: A guide to biblical insights”, as part of online training offered through the Freedom of Religion or Belief Learning Platform.

WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit is visiting Czech Republic this week, joining the Evangelical Church of the Brethren in the celebration of its 100th anniversary, then meeting with leaders from the Czechoslovak Hussite Church.

Respect for the other lies at the heart of peace education and was a key thread through a debate entitled “Education for Peace in a multi-religious world”. It was held on the 2018 World Human Rights Day at the United Nations Office in Geneva.

An independent expert panel has been appointed to review current UNAIDS policies and processes for addressing and preventing harassment. Among the members is Dr Fulata Moyo, former World Council of Churches programme executive for a Just Community of Women and Men.

The Right Livelihood Award is seen as an “alternative Nobel Prize” and its laureates are often regarded as courageous people or organizations offering exemplary solutions to the root causes of global problems. An interactive seminar, “Fostering Solidarity for Human Rights, Peace and Justice,” featuring several laureates of the award took place on 31 October at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva.

Some 3,000 people answered a call by Berlin’s Protestant church to march for “openness and tolerance” as a response to a demonstration in the German capital by extreme rightwing groups.

A German alliance of diverse faith-based and civil-society groups has encouraged humanitarian response to refugees in Europe.

A compelling portrayal of the revival of the collective church in Albania is found in the voices of individuals such as Nathan Hoppe, who recalls arriving there in 1998.

The World Council of Churches and the All Africa Conference of Churches have come together in expressing grave concern for the people of Burundi in a situation of extreme tension and escalating human rights violations.

To strengthen relationships and support churches in Latin America in their struggles for justice and peace, a pilgrimage of church leaders organized by the WCC will visit Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Colombia from 24 August to 7 September.

The recent killing of a Christian couple by an angry mob in Pakistan has prompted condemnation from the WCC. The victims had been accused by community members of desecrating the Qur’an.

The WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit has expressed profound concern over the rejection of an appeal against the death sentence for a Pakistani Christian woman, Asia Bibi, convicted under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy law. To promote tolerance, religious harmony and protection of the rights of religious minorities, Tveit said it is important that justice is ensured in cases like that of Asia Bibi.

Displaced by the armed offensive of the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and their brutal purge of Yazidis and Christians, along with Sufi, Shiite and Sunni Muslims, from northern Iraq, members of these communities have begun to speak out about their experiences, their longing for security, and their hopes for the future.

The WCC general secretary has expressed solidarity with Bangladesh, and concern over recent tragedies in the country, including the loss of over a thousand lives in a garment factory accident near Dhaka, as well as increasing attacks against religious minorities.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) is inviting individuals and congregations to join “16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence” through reflections, prayers and action towards overcoming violence against women.

In a recent visit to Pakistan, a World Council of Churches (WCC) delegation met with prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, religious leaders, civil society organizations and UN representatives urging protection of religious minorities, especially against the misuse of blasphemy law in the country.

Peace as a universal human right has been the focus of an international congress co-sponsored by the World Council of Churches (WCC). The WCC worked in collaboration with the Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law (SSIHRL), Forum 2010 and the Institute for Peace Studies (Alexandria, Egypt) to organize the International Congress on the Human Right to Peace, held on 9-10 December 2010 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Naming casteism as "sin, apostasy and rebellion against God", churches in India have committed themselves to serve as "zero tolerance zones" for caste-based discrimination. They also called for Lent 2011 to be "a time of purging caste" from Christian communities.

By Theodore A. Gill (*)Â