Word: christian
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Lina Joy chose her faith long ago. Born a Muslim in the multiethnic nation of Malaysia, she started attending church in 1990 and was baptized as a Christian eight years later. But on Wednesday, Malaysia's highest court blocked her final attempt to have her conversion legally recognized by the state. It was a blow to her heart as well as her soul. Malaysian law prohibits marriage between Muslims and non-Muslims, so Joy will not be able to wed the Christian man she loves...
...Well, there are other cases around government establishment of religion, such as the ones challenging government-funded faith-based charities. But they're not as dramatic, because they don't involve concrete objects, or in some case language, that is seen as symbolic of the country's Christian heritage, and where people feel they are being challenged at the very root of their value systems: 'You can't take down MY cross. You can't take away MY 10 Commandments.' The people who bring these cases usually feel just as strongly that they have to take a stand...
...TIME: So, you too are a partisan. Do you have any sympathy for the argument made by Christian activists that our culture and courts favor non-belief, and that Christians need redress to re-establish a level playing field...
...reached a pretty general accommodation in this country between different religious denominations and sects, such as Protestants and Catholics, between whom conflicts like the Bible Riots arose. I do see more bifurcation, a shrinking of mainstream Christian religion and a separation between conservative Christian groups and more secular groups on the left. Both use the terminology of "culture war, " which I appropriated. But thankfully, these wars are by and large rhetorical or legal, which distinguishes us from other cultures where violence seems to be the inevitable outcome of religio-political divisions...
...what has been dubbed a blow to Malaysia's religious freedom, the country's highest court on Wednesday denied an appeal by Christian convert Lina Joy to make her switch from Islam recognized by law. A multi-ethnic state composed largely of Muslim Malays, Christian and Buddhist Chinese, and Hindu and Sikh Indians, Malaysia has long prided itself on its diversity of faiths. To safeguard this religious heterogeneity, the country's constitution sets out a dual-track legal system in which Muslims are bound by Shari'a law for issues such as marriage, property and death, while members of other...