The UN cannot strengthen, promote and protect human rights if it does not prioritise religious freedom, a report published by the Washington-based human rights alliance, ADF International has argued.

The 73-page report, titled “Anti-Conversion Laws and the International Response”, claims that “some UN entities, especially special rapporteurs, have highlighted the problems with anti-conversion laws, but other (UN) entities have failed to condemn them”. That particular failure, the report says, is “emblematic of the UN’s overall failure to protect religious freedom”.

ADF, an international alliance of human-rights groups with a focus on religious freedom, also accused the UN of turning a blind eye to laws that “usually give licence” to extremists to persecute minority religious groups.

‘Licence to persecute’

In South and Southeast Asia, an increase in nationalism was one of the main contributors to the growing popularity of anti-conversation laws, according to ADF. Nationalist forces regard conversion from the predominant religion — Islam in Pakistan, and Hindu in India, for example — as a threat to national unity and security.

“To stem this perceived threat, countries … have passed laws banning conversion from one religion to another in vague circumstances such as under ‘inducement’ and in ‘fraudulent…

A new survey has revealed that, among those who recognize the importance of the Bible, 61 percent say it is more necessary to their morning routine than coffee, sweets, or social media.

. reports that this finding comes from the State of the Bible research commissioned by the American Bible Society and conducted by Barna Group. Among all Americans in general, the survey found 37 percent say coffee is most essential to their morning routine, 28 percent said sweets, 19 percent said social media, and 16 percent said the Bible.

American Bible Society President Roy Peterson observed that, for those who did say the Bible is most essential to kick-starting their day, the Bible serves as a source of energy and vision for the day ahead:

“What many Americans rightly recognize is, that while coffee provides a nice temporary jolt of energy, only the life-changing message of the Bible gives lasting hope and peace,” said Peterson. “The Bible provides the wisdom of the ages for today’s fears, challenges and struggles.”

The survey also found that the Bible–more than anything else on the list–provides peace and instills a greater hope for the future.

“American Bible Society took a higher-resolution look into the lives of Americans around the Bible,” said Peterson. “We are now able to give better context into how Americans are or are not interacting with the Bible…

Iraqis go the polls on Saturday (12 May) for the first time since the military defeat of Islamic State, whose campaign of terror against non-Muslims pushed thousands of the country’s last Christians to flee their homeland.

Only about 200,000 to 300,000 Christians are thought to remain in Iraq now, mostly in the Nineveh Plains and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the country’s north. Around 700,000 emigrated in the violent years that have followed the 2003 US-led invasion and the 2014 appearance of IS, and tens of thousands more have fled to Kurdistan. Politically weak, Christians will be hoping the election process helps rather than hinders the country’s slow progress towards peace.

The vote is going ahead despite a plea from Sunni and Kurdish MPs to delay it to allow more time for people to return home. It has already been postponed from last September, when the military action against IS was ongoing. More than 2.3 million Iraqis, mainly Sunni Muslims but also tens of thousands of Christians, remain displaced. Many of the displaced Sunnis are in camps around the former IS strongholds of Mosul and the western Anbar region, and in Anbar the army is still sporadically attacked by IS jihadists.

However, a spokesman for the Iraqi Embassy in London told World Watch Monitor that displaced Iraqis would be able to vote as long as they had the required form of identification….

It looks a lot like an apparition of Jesus but experts say a photo that captured fire flickering at an Easter vigil held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fargo, North Dakota, is likely not an apparition.

“You have to be careful because an apparition has to be thoroughly researched and approved by the [Catholic] Church. I mean, it’s a beautiful symbol of the evening and it was so appropriate for that Easter vigil service. It really cannot be called an apparition,” Paulette Osborne, the amateur photographer who took the photo at Holy Spirit Church on March 31 told local radio station KFGO.

Excitement over the picture has been building since New Earth, a publication of the Diocese of Fargo, highlighted it pointing to the likeness the flame had to the Savior.

“This year, the church lit the fire in the entryway since it was too cold and windy outside. After lighting the fire, blessing the Easter candle, and lighting everybody’s candles, the faithful proceeded into the church. It wasn’t until Paulette looked through her photos several days later that she saw some[thing] particularly special about the flame in this photo. He is Risen indeed!”…

The Rev. Loren Benjamin Mead, founder of the Alban Institute and author who stressed the need for local church focus, has died. He was 88 years old.

Mead passed away at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads in Falls Church, Virginia, last Saturday, with his funeral scheduled for May 21 at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

Paul Mundey, who formerly served on the national staff of the Church of the Brethren and worked alongside Mead, offered his condolences on Facebook, calling Mead “a confidant and a friend.”

“While I served on the national staff of the Church of the Brethren, Loren helped me to design Passing on the Promise, a three year renewal process for congregations — that expanded for use not just with the Church of the Brethren but the Brethren Church and the Mennonite Church, as well,” wrote Mundey.

“So hard to sense his passing, but so thankful for his legacy and all Loren did for the local church. All glory to God!”

Born in Florence, South Carolina, in 1930, Mead was ordained in 1955 and served multiple churches during the 1950s and 1960s, before founding the Alban Institute in 1974 and serving as its first president. The institute…