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Fearing ostracism or worse, many nonbelievers hide their views in the Middle East and North Africa

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

There’s the Tunisian woman who fasts during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, though not for God. The Iraqi woman who, until recently, wore a hijab. And a man whose Egyptian identity card still identifies him as “Muslim.”Such are the ways that some of the religiously unaffiliated, or “nones” — people who are agnostics, atheists or nothing in particular — negotiate their existence in the Middle East and North Africa, or MENA, where religion is often ingrained in life’s very fabric.Aware that rejecting religion can have repercussions, many conceal that part of themselves. Declaring disbelief may spur social stigma, ostracism by loved ones or even unleash the wrath of authorities, especially if going public is coupled with real or perceived attacks on religion or God.“I have a double life all the time,” said the 27-year-old Tunisian woman. “It’s better than having conflict every day.”Many nonbelievers seek community, ideas or pockets of digital defiance on the internet even though onl...

In the pope’s homeland, more Argentines are seeking spiritual answers beyond the church

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

CAPILLA DEL MONTE, Argentina (AP) — In the pope’s homeland, there’s a woman who believes in angels and calls them aliens. Another who proudly identifies as a witch.And a spiritual guru so turned off by the Vatican’s opulence that he left the church to help others connect spiritually outside organized religion.All three are former Catholics who have joined many other Argentines in the growing ranks of the religiously unaffiliated. Known as the “nones,” they identify as atheists, agnostics, spiritual but not religious, or simply, nothing in particular.Pablo Robles says a better label for him would be “all,” since he has a rich spiritual life outside religion.Robles grew up Catholic but became disenchanted while visiting the Vatican in 2000. At a papal Mass, he listened to a sermon on humility — and found himself questioning how the church’s vast wealth conflicted with that message.“I was next to a gold column larger than my apartment,” Robles said. “It just unsettled me so much that I...

Nearly 80% of Italians say they are Catholic. But few regularly go to church

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

ISOLA DEL GRAN SASSO, Italy (AP) — Two children scribbled petitions to St. Gabriele dell’Addolorata in the sanctuary where the young saint is venerated in this central Italian mountain village. Andrea, 6, asked for blessings for his family and pets, while Sofia, 9, offered thanksgiving for winning a dance competition.Their parents bring them here often, and consider themselves better Catholics than many — but they rarely if ever go to Mass and don’t receive Communion because they are not married, thus shunning two sacraments the Catholic Church considers foundational.“I practice where I want,” said the mother, Carmela Forino. “One has to believe in something, right? You do what you feel in your heart. You can’t require me to go to Mass on Sundays.” That’s the paradox in this country long considered the cradle of the Catholic faith. Elsewhere in deeply secular Western Europe, the “nones” — those rejecting organized religion — are growing fast.In Italy, however, most retain a nominal ...

America’s nonreligious are a growing, diverse phenomenon. They really don’t like organized religion

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

Mike Dulak grew up Catholic in Southern California, but by his teen years, he began skipping Mass and driving straight to the shore to play guitar, watch the waves and enjoy “the beauty of the morning on the beach,” he recalled. “And it felt more spiritual than any time I set foot in a church.” Nothing has changed that view in the ensuing decades. “Most religions are there to control people and get money from them,” said Dulak, now 76, of Rocheport, Missouri. He also cited sex abuse scandals, harming “innocent human beings,” in Catholic and Southern Baptist churches. “I can’t buy into that,” he said.As Dulak rejects being part of a religious flock, he has plenty of company. He is a “none” — no, not that kind of nun. The kind that checks “none” when pollsters ask “What’s your religion?”The decades-long rise of the nones — a diverse, hard-to-summarize group — is one of the most talked about phenomena in U.S. religion. The nones are reshaping America’s religious landscape as we know it...

In secular Japan, what draws so many to temples and shrines? Stamp collecting and tradition

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

TOKYO (AP) — Almost weekly Momo Nomura makes time to visit Shinto shrines. She performs the prescribed rituals — cleansing her hands, ringing a bell, bowing and clapping. But her main purpose is getting a Goshuin, a stamp with elegant calligraphy that shrines provide for a fee to certify the visit.She loves the stamps, which she began collecting during the pandemic. One with blue hydrangeas got her started.“Because of the Goshuin, shrines have become closer to me, but I don’t consider this a religious activity,” Nomura said after getting her stamp and taking selfies at Sakura Jingu, a western Tokyo shrine established in 1882 as a minority Shinto sect focused on traditional values.Nomura, who posts about her hobby on social media as Goshuin Girl, says she enjoys the stamp designs, and shrine visits allow a moment of reflection and a change of pace from her busy life as a graphic designer and entrepreneur. Differences of religious sects are not an issue, she says.“It’s a mindfulness k...

Nonreligious struggle to find their voice and place in Indian society and politics

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

CHENNAI, India (AP) — Despite India’s millennia-old history of nonreligious movements, most atheists and rationalists choose to keep quiet about their skepticism of faith — it’s easier and far less risky than going public in one of the world’s most religious countries.The space that does exist for debating religious authority and belief is shrinking, said Avinash Patil, a religious skeptic who was born Hindu and is now a leader of an anti-superstition group working in one of the country’s western states. He blames the growth of nationwide religious and communal tensions over the last decade as well as rising Hindu nationalism under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.“When you are open about it and engage in activism, it can get challenging, and even dangerous,” said Patil, chairperson of Maharashtra Andhashradha Nirmulan Samiti.In fact, Patil and his organization are still seeking justice for its founder and renowned rationalist, Narendra Dabholkar, who was gunned down ...

Israel is perennially swept up in religious conflict. Yet many of its citizens are secular

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

MEVASSERET ZION, Israel (AP) — Israel is a nation perennially swept up in religious fervor and conflict. And yet, strikingly, a large portion of its population is secular, and even its insular ultra-Orthodox community loses a steady stream of members who tire of its strict religious rules.The country is home to about 7 million Jews, almost half of the global Jewish population. But Jewish identity is a complex blend of religious and ethnonational identity; most Israeli Jews are not diligent observers of Judaism.An Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics survey published in 2021 found that among Israeli Jews over the age of 20, about 45% identified as secular or not religious, while 33% said they practiced “traditional” religious worship. Ultra-Orthodox Jews, known as Haredim in Hebrew, made up 10%.For Naor Narkis and many other secular Israelis, their Jewish identity is cultural — defined by the Hebrew tongue and historical experience — rather than governed by traditional religious wors...

Adnan Syed goes before Maryland Supreme Court facing ‘specter of reincarceration,’ his lawyers say

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Attorneys for Adnan Syed, who is now free after being imprisoned more than two decades ago for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, will once again be arguing to keep his freedom in a case known to millions by the true-crime podcast “Serial.”In a case fraught with legal twists and divided court rulings, arguments are set to begin Thursday in Maryland’s Supreme Court. Syed’s attorneys are appealing the reinstatement of his murder conviction by an appellate court, in a case that has broader ramification’s for victim’s rights as well as Syed’s future. Syed, 42, was released from prison in September 2022, when a Baltimore judge overturned his conviction. City prosecutors had dropped all charges after finding flaws in the evidence.However, in March, the Appellate Court of Maryland ordered a redo of the hearing that enabled Syed to walk out a free man. The appellate court said the victim’s family didn’t receive adequate notice to attend the ...

Nearly every Alaskan gets a $1,312 oil check this fall. The unique benefit is a blessing and a curse

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Nearly every Alaskan will receive a $1,312 check starting this week, their annual share from the earnings of the state’s nest-egg oil fund. Some use the money for extras like tropical vacations but others — particularly in high-cost rural Alaska where jobs and housing are limited – rely on it for home heating fuel or snow machines that are critical for transportation.But the unique-to-Alaska benefit has become a blessing and a curse in a state that for decades has ridden the boom-bust cycle of oil, and it now competes for funding with services like public education, health care programs and public safety as lawmakers tap into the earnings to help fund the state budget. Squabbling over the oil checks’ size has resulted in legislative paralysis, and a Senate proposal aimed at resolving the dividend debate this year fizzled with no agreement.As Alaska struggles to attract workers and stem a years-long trend of people moving away, some residents are won...

Folly at fullback costs Minnesota United in 5-1 loss to Los Angeles FC

Published Sat, 22 Feb 2025 11:57:11 GMT

Los Angeles FC had not scored a single goal across four matches coming into Wednesday’s MLS game against Minnesota United.The Loons fullbacks helped LAFC get off the skid.LAFC attacker Denis Bouanga netted a first-half hat trick — including exposing DJ Taylor and Ethan Bristow before two goals — in a 5-1 win at BMO Stadium.The defeat was the latest blow to MNUFC’s already wounded chances of making the MLS Cup Playoffs. The 12th-place Loons (9-12-11, 38 points) were not eliminated Wednesday, but the odds are much longer after dropping all three points to LAFC (13-10-9, 48 points). LAFC clinched a playoff spot with the blowout win.Trailing 3-1 at the half, Loons manager Adrian Heath hooked both fullbacks, replacing them with veteran defenders Zarek Valentin and Bakaye Dibassy.The Loons have had persistent issues at fullback this season.MNUFC terminated the contract of Kemar Lawrence in early August after the Jamaican had become a persistent detriment in the locker room and to the club...