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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: secularism

secularism stories: 19 news summaries

 US Atheists 
 Step 'Out 
 of Closet' 

Growing movement seeks acceptance, not members

Apr 27, 09 10:14 AM CDT
(Newser) - Atheists across the country are turning up the volume, gathering openly and advertising their lack of faith, the New York Times reports. Their goal isn’t to win others over—“The most important thing is coming out of the closet,” said one activist—and win acceptance for their... More »

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religion • secularism • atheism • agnostic • Secular Coalition for America

Islamists Lose Ground in Turkish Election

Government suffers setback as voters turn to secular parties

Mar 30, 09 4:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey's Islamist-leaning AK Party won local elections yesterday, but fell short of the overwhelming victory leaders had hoped for, reports the Los Angeles Times. With most of the votes counted, the party of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan won 39% of the vote, but lost ground to secularists in Istanbul and... More »

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Turkey • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • AK Party • Islamism • local election

OPINION

 DC Shrugs Off 'Miracle' in Iraq 

Obama must support healthy Iraq, even if he opposed war

Feb 13, 09 8:41 AM CST
(Newser) - The US barely noticed the recent "small miracle" in the Middle East, writes Charles Krauthammer in the Washington Post: Iraq's peaceful elections. The nation "moved away from religious sectarianism toward more secular nationalism”—good news for the US, bad for Iran. Even though our policies made it... More »

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Iraq • democracy • secularism • Washington, DC • Iraq war • Iraqi elections • Obama administration • President Obama

Atheists Offer 'Reason's Greetings' in Marketing Blitz

With fewer Americans claiming organized religion, nonbelievers step up campaign

Nov 18, 08 2:25 PM CST
(Newser) - It just isn’t the holiday season in America until nonbelievers and the devout begin sparring. This year, the godless are on the offensive, launching a marketing campaign to capitalize on the loosening grip of organized religion, telling neighbors, “We’re just like you,” the Wall Street Journal... More »

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religion • secularism • Christian conservatives • lobbyists • Christmas • atheists • nonbelievers • HumanLight • Bill Maher Grid

French Muslims Find Freedom in Catholic Schools

Students get better education, and allowed to wear headscarf

Sep 30, 08 7:17 AM CDT
(Newser) - France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, but its strict separation of church and state means that Muslim girls are forbidden from wearing the headscarves in public schools. In response, many Muslims have turned to an unlikely solution: the nation's large network of Catholic schools. "There is respect for... More »

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Islam • Catholic Church • France • religion • Islamic veil • secularism • Catholicism • Muslim women • Marseille

 Turkey Dodges Political Crisis 

Top court votes not to disband Islamic ruling party
 

Jul 31, 08 3:04 AM CDT
(Newser) - A major constitutional showdown in Turkey was narrowly averted yesterday when the nation's top court voted not to ban the ruling Islamic AKP party, which attorneys had argued is illegally attempting to dismantle Turkey's secular democracy. A judge described the razor-thin 6-5 vote as "a serious warning" to the... More »

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Islam • Turkey • terrorism • bombing • secularism • AKP • Justice and Development Party • Sahin Alpay

 Turkey Indicts 86 for Coup Plot 

Secularists allegedly tried to overthrow Islamic government

Jul 14, 08 8:22 AM CDT
(AP) - Prosecutors today indicted 86 secular Turks—including high-ranking ex-military officials—on terrorism charges for their alleged involvement in plots to topple the Islamic-rooted government. The suspects, believed to include at least one former general and an opposition politician, are accused of having plotted to provoke a military coup to topple... More »

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Turkey • Middle East • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • Kemal Ataturk • coup d'etat

Americans See Many Stairways to Heaven: Poll

70% say chance for eternal life isn't unique to their religion

Jun 23, 08 3:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Reaching the afterlife is possible through more than one religion, 70% of Americans believe, according to a new poll. Surveying 36,000 people, the study confirms that while 92% of Americans believe in God, the country is growing more secular, the Dallas Morning News reports. Seven in 10 also agreed... More »

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science • religion • secularism • Afterlife

ANALYSIS

Turkey's PM Could Fall Over Headscarves

Attack by 'extreme' secular judges will hopefully fall short

Jun 20, 08 7:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey's secular judges want to oust the ruling party for its moderate, and popular, stance on religion freedoms, Mustafa Akyol writes in the American. On paper, the judiciary seeks to punish the incumbent AKP party for crimes such as nepotism and corruption. In reality, Akyol writes, the AKP's support for... More »

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Islam • Turkey • constitutional amendment • democracy • Muslim • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • Justice and Development Party

Court Could Outlaw Turkey's 'Islamist Government'

Explosive trial could bar ruling party, prez and prime minister

Apr 1, 08 3:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey's top court has agreed to hear a case that could outlaw the nation's ruling party and bar its president and prime minister from politics, Reuters reports. The AK Party is accused of trying to undermine Turkey's secular constitution and establish an Iran-style Islamic state. The case pits Turkey's popularly... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Turkey • European Union • Abdullah Gul • political party • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • Islamist

More Americans Cut Church Ties

50% have switched denomination, and
16% have no affiliation

Feb 26, 08 6:00 AM CST
(Newser) - Americans are swapping  religious affiliations at an accelerating rate, with 50% choosing  a different denomination than the one they were raised in, and 16%—double the number 20 years ago—saying the have no ties to a particular church, a new survey of religious life finds. That doesn't mean they're... More »

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immigration • Catholic Church • religion • America • secularism • faith • Latinos • churchgoers • evangelicals

Turkish Army Blasts Incoming President

Fears of a coup return as former Islamist ascends to top job

Aug 28, 07 8:50 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey is heading for a showdown over the relation of the state and Islam as Abdullah Gul, who has been the subject of bitter protests, was named president of Turkey in a parliamentary election today. The nomination of Gul, the foreign minister and a practicing Muslim whose wife wears a... More »

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Islam • Turkey • Abdullah Gul • Turkish elections • secularism

Foes Gear to Fight New Bid By Ex-Islamist
to Lead Turkey

Critics fear extreme religious shift for nation

Aug 14, 07 2:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkish secularists are bracing for another clash over the presidential candidacy of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim and one-time Islamist party member who critics fear plans to enforce extreme religious principals in public life. The last time he was nominated as the ruling party's candidate, just three months... More »

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Islam • Turkey • Abdullah Gul • Turkish elections • religion • Muslim • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish Elections
Boost PM

Islamist-rooted, pro-EU ruling party sees mandate in results

Jul 22, 07 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey’s ruling party dominated parliamentary elections today despite its perceived threat to the nation’s entrenched secularism. The elections were moved up after the secular opposition foiled PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's attempt to install an ex-Islamist ally as president. The results, seen as a mandate for the AKP, also... More »

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Islam • Turkey • European Union • Kurdistan • Turkish elections • Kurds • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • AK Party • AKP

Bombing Rocks Turkish Capital

Ankara attack may prompt move against Kurdish militants on Iraqi border

May 23, 07 7:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - An explosion shocked the Turkish capital yesterday, killing six and injuring at least 100 in a busy marketplace. The bombing comes at a delicate time for the country, the New York Times observes, as Parliament clash with the governing party over the place of Islam in the secular democracy. More »

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Turkey • terrorism • Kurdistan • Ankara • Kurdish Militants • Kurds • bombing • secularism • militant

Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea

Tension between secularism, democracy roils Turkey

May 7, 07 7:53 AM CDT
(Newser) - If the choice is between somewhat more religion in public life and democracy in Turkey, choose the latter, argues the Economist. The ruling party's choice of an Islamist candidate, Abdullah Gul, for president set off a familiar confrontation between the Turkish military and the political establishment. The Economist asks,... More »

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Islam • Turkey • democracy • Abdullah Gul • secularism • Kemal Ataturk

Turkish Candidate
Bows Out

Dispute over presidential election highlights serious rifts

May 7, 07 7:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - Turkish presidential candidate Abdullah Gul threw in the towel yesterday after secularist legislators boycotted the election for the second time in nine days in reaction to Gul's pro-Islamist record. The partisan standoff portends a bitter clash between secularists who generally populate Turkey's urban areas and the ruling AK party in... More »

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Turkey • Abdullah Gul • Turkish elections • secularism • election

Turkish PM Backs Election Overhaul

Court annuls vote with sole Islamist candidate for president

May 1, 07 7:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - Turkey's prime minister put his weight behind a new, popular presidential vote, hours after a court invalidated Friday's election by parliament. The secular opposition had boycotted that vote because of the Islamist background of the lone candidate, foreign minister Abdullah Gul. More »

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Islam • Turkey • Abdullah Gul • secularism • Recep Tayyip Erdogan • election

Million Turks Rally for Secularism

Apr 30, 07 6:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - Secular Turks staged an enormous rally yesterday amid a constitutional crisis over the election of the next president, the BBC reports. As many as a million protesters turned out in Istanbul to oppose ruling-party candidate Abdullah Gul, who they're afraid is orchestrating an Islamic coup in the country even as... More »

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Islam • Turkey • Middle East • politics • European Union • Abdullah Gul • protests • modernization • rally • radical • secularism • Istanbul • election

19 Stories


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