The Religion and Ethics Report - Separate stories podcast

When New Yorkers gave Zohran Mamdani close to half the votes in the Democratic primary for mayor, they turned a local race into contest with global impact. Mamdani is of Indian Muslim background. As a state assemblyman, he’s been an outspoken critic of Israel. About nine percent of New Yorkers are Muslim but 12 per cent are Jewish. So has this election reflected these differences?  The small Pales...

The small Palestinian town of Taybeh is one of the few villages in the West Bank where almost all the residents are Christian.  In recent weeks, radical Israeli settlers have stepped up attacks on residents and properties, as part of their plan to occupy the entire West Bank territory.  GUEST: SANAD SAHELIA is a local journalist who reports for Catholic media.

When New Yorkers gave Zohran Mamdani close to half the votes in the Democratic primary for mayor, they turned a local race into contest with global impact. Mamdani is of Indian Muslim background. As a state assemblyman, he’s been an outspoken critic of Israel.  About nine percent of New Yorkers are Muslim but 12 per cent are Jewish.  So how has this election reflected these differences?  GUEST: ET...

If Pope Leo XIV decides to take on some of the world’s most powerful leaders, he can rely on the nerves of steel he developed while leading the Catholic Church in his adopted homeland of Peru.  When he was archbishop, he found himself in the middle of a conflict between the leftist guerilla movement, known as the Shining Path, and the right-wing Catholic group Opus Dei, which supported the authori...

In 2013, His Holiness the Dalai Lama was invited by the Sydney Peace Foundation to participate in discussions of Ethics for a Whole World at the New South Wales Parliament House attended by more than 170 students and others.  A preamble to the event paid tribute to the Cadigal people and their possession of the local land, which corresponds to Tibetans’ possession of the land of Tibet. Initiating...

In the Middle East, a familiar pattern unfolds – air strikes, bombings of military and civilian targets, vows of retribution, then a shaky ceasefire. Right now, that’s the situation between Iran and Israel.  But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Donald Trump are also toying publicly with supporting regime change in Iran. We’ve been here before, as well, with the ousting of...

In the Middle East, a familiar pattern unfolds – airstrikes, bombings of military and civilian targets, vows of retribution, then a shaky ceasefire.  Right now, that’s the situation between Iran and Israel.  But Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US president Donald Trump are also toying publicly with supporting regime change in Iran.  We’ve been here before, as well, with the ousting o...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’s aiming to topple the regime in Iran, as part of his continued strikes against the country’s nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure, such as oil refineries.  But what forces could he unleash by overthrowing Iran’s Islamic theocracy?  There’s a serious prospect that a Shi’ite backlash could erupt across the region  GUEST: Dr Ali Mamouri of...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he’s aiming to topple the regime in Iran, as part of his continued strikes against the country’s nuclear facilities and civilian infrastructure, such as oil refineries.  But what forces could he unleash by overthrowing Iran’s Islamic theocracy? There’s a serious prospect that a Shi’ite backlash could erupt across the region  GUEST: Dr Ali Mamouri is a...

Australia has imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, citing a history of violent and racist statements.   The two men are crucial to propping up the Netanyahu government in parliament.  Even so, the government could fall later this year over compulsory military service for ultra-Orthodox men.  GUESTS: Dina Kraft, journalist with The Chri...

This year’s Hajj celebrations wrapped up last Sunday in Mecca.  Thankfully deaths and injuries from overcrowding and overheating were well down on last year. The Hajj is required of every able Muslim, but overall numbers were also down.  The reason is intriguing.  Associate Professor MILAD HAGHANI from Melbourne University studies urban risk and resilience.

It’s boom time for Islam. According to the most comprehensive study of global religious affiliation in a decade, there are now two billion Muslims in the world. The study, conducted by Pew Research, also finds there’s an interesting twist in the data about the growth of those with no religion. CONRAD HACKETT was the senior researcher on the project. Despite the growth of Islam, there were markedly...

It’s boom time for Islam.  According to the most comprehensive study of global religious affiliation in a decade, there are now two billion Muslims in the world.  The study, conducted by Pew Research, also finds there’s an interesting twist in the data about the growth of those with no religion.  CONRAD HACKETT was the senior researcher on the project.

Christianity may be thriving in much of the global south but, for the Anglicans of Melbourne, times are tougher.  They’re now just 5.5 % of the population, according to the census.  Will their new Archbishop be able to turn around the fortunes of a shrinking church base?  RIC THORPE is currently the Anglican bishop of Islington in London, where he’s been a successful church builder. What’s his pla...

Christian nationalism is a phenomenon we usually associate with the United States. But it’s also a driving force behind Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine. MARLENE LARUELLE specialises in the fusion of religion and global politics at George Washington University. She writes about Russian Christian nationalism in the Journal of Illiberalism Studies.  Why is taking so long to choose a new leader...

Christian nationalism is a phenomenon we usually associate with the United States.  But it’s also a driving force behind Vladimir Putin and his war on Ukraine.  MARLENE LARUELLE specialises in the fusion of religion and global politics at George Washington University. She writes about Russian Christian nationalism in the Journal of Illiberalism Studies.  GUEST: Marlene Laruelle is Research Profess...

Why is it taking so long to choose a new leader of the world’s 80 million Anglicans?  It took the Catholic Church about three weeks from the death of Pope Francis to elect his successor, Pope Leo.  But it’s almost seven months since Justin Welby resigned, in controversial circumstances, as Archbishop of Canterbury. MADELEINE DAVIES of The Church Times in Britain has some answers – and a tip about...

How did a young man go from being a racist teenage thug,  who did gaol time, to one of the world’s leading Catholic writers.  You can thank that lovable character from the G.K. Chesterton novels, Father Brown.  JOSEPH PEARCE became captivated by the gentle, crime-solving priest, turned his life around and became a biographer of Chesterton and J.R.R. Tolkien.  He brought his extraordinary story to...

The Anglicans of Melbourne have gone all the way to London to find their new archbishop. Last weekend they elected Richard Thorpe, currently the Bishop of Islington. It could be quite a shake up for Melbourne, where Anglicanism has balanced traditional-style worship with a more low-key evangelicalism. Bishop Thorpe's background suggests he prefers a more charismatic style. GUEST: Madeleine Davies...

From an Australian perspective the commemoration of war has long been wrapped up with our national identity. Both 20th C world wars have loomed large for many Australians, and we continue to commemorate our war dead - note the Federal Government has just dropped over half a billion taxpayer dollars on a refurb of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Everyone deserves a proper and decent burial...

The election of Pope Leo XIV is having an immediate and concrete effect in Australia – but in a way you might not have imagined.  In the Fair Work Commission, the country’s Catholic bishops are pushing for a major pay increase for the lowest paid workers. And they’re using a famous statement from one of Pope Leo’s predecessors – Leo XIII – way back in 1891.  Professor Tom Barnes is an economist wi...

The election of Pope Leo XIV is having an immediate and concrete effect in Australia – but in a way you might not have imagined. In the Fair Work Commission, the country’s Catholic bishops are pushing for a major pay increase for the lowest paid workers. And they’re using a famous statement from one of Pope Leo’s predecessors – Leo XIII – way back in 1891. Professor Tom Barnes is an economist with...

Humanitarian aid is trickling back into Gaza, after the Israeli government allowed a small number of trucks to enter the enclave.  The prospect of starvation looms over the enclave. A permanent ceasefire in Gaza – not yet on the table – is only the first step to ending the crisis.  Does the two-state solution have any future? Veteran peace negotiators Israeli GERSHON BASKIN and Palestinian SAMER S...

The California technology region of Silicon Valley once styled itself as the epitome of Obama-era cool, with CEOs in untucked tee-shirts spouting progressive politics.  Now it sees itself as a new Jerusalem.  But is there crafty politics behind the religious trend?  Vanity Fair writer ZOE BERNARD explains how Christianity went from stigma to status symbol in the Silicon Valley of the Trump era.  G...

Humanitarian aid is trickling back into Gaza, after the Israeli government allowed a small number of trucks to enter the enclave.  The prospect of starvation looms over the enclave. A permanent ceasefire in Gaza – not yet on the table – is only the first step to ending the crisis.  Does the two-state solution have any future? Veteran peace negotiators Israeli GERSHON BASKIN and Palestinian SAMER S...