Several Items of Interest

Majority of Americans Think Religious Freedom is Fast Declining in U.S.
Slightly more than half of American adults, particularly Protestants and evangelicals, feel religious freedoms have grown worse in the last decade in the United States and forsee further restrictions in the years to come, according to a new study by the Bama Group and the Clapham Group, the Christian Post reports.  Twenty-nine percent say they are very concerned and 22 percent say they are somewhat concerned that religious freedom in the U.S will become more restricted in the next five years.  The survey found that 71 percent of evangelicals, 46 percent of practicing Protestants and 30 percent of practicing Catholics are "very concerned" about this prospect.  Concerns are not only the future of religious freedom, but also about the current level of restraints: 48 percent of practicing Protestants say they perceive religious freedom to have grown worse in recent years, while 60 percent of evangelicals perceive religious freedom to have grown worse.

Hundreds of Thousands in Paris Protest Gay Marriage
About 340,000 people converged on the Eiffel Tower in Paris on Sunday (Jan. 12) to protest a proposed gay marriage law, CBN News reports.  President Francois Hollande is planning to legalize same-sex marriage, but many of the country's Catholic bishops and other religious leaders are fighting the initiative.  Public opinion appears to be moving in their favor  -  a recent poll shows about 50 percent of French citizens support gay marriage, down from 65 percent  in August.  France has already legalized civil unions for same-sex couples, but the new law would give gay couples the right to adopt.  Those in support of traditional values insist children should be raised by a mother and a father.

New Jersey Substitute Teacher Fired for Giving Student a Bible
New Jersey's Phillipsburg School District Board has suspended a longtime middle school substitute teacher, Walter Tutka, for breaking two district policies  -  handing out religious literature on campus and not being neutral when talking about religious material  -  when he gave a student a Bible,WORLD News Service reports.  According to CitizenLink, the incident started last September when a student came to school late and Tutka, who was standing by the door of the building, said, "The first shall be last, but the last shall be first." When the student asked about the quote, Tutka said it came from the Bible.  Later, the student asked more questions about the quote, and Tutka had his Bible with him, so he showed the student the verse.  Then, after the student said he did not have a Bible,Tutka gave him his.  The board made its decision on Monday (Jan. 14), but Tutka and the Christian law firm Liberty Institute are consideraing an appeal or other action so he can keep his job.

Two North Korean Christians Killed for Their Faith
Open Doors USA has confirmed the death of two Christians in North Korea.  According to the ministry that serves persecuted Christians worldwide, one Christian was recently shot while he was on his way back to Bible training in China.  The other died in one of North Korea's notorious labor camps.  The first Christian "was very excited about his new faith and wanted to share the gospel with his family," said an Open Doors worker.  "He wanted to come back to China to study the Bible more so he could explain the Christian faith better to his family.  It is hearbreaking that he was killed.  I cannot stop thinking: 'If only he had arrived a little later at the border river, the guard would not have seen and shot him. He could still be alive today.'"  The second Christian, who also studied the Bible in China, recently died in a labor camp.  He had also studied the Bible in China, but after authorities found out about his secret faith after his return to North Korea, he was sent to prison.  "We just received an update that he was dead," said the Open Doors worker. "He was terribly tortured because of his faith.  He was also forced to do heavy labor while hardly receiving any food.  Before his return to North Korea, he was baptized and willing to deal with all the hardships he had to face . . . We are devastated to hear about these murders.  We know Christians die for their faith almost every day in North Korea, but it is still hard to deal with."

Muslims Demolish Church-Owned Building in Egypt
Hundreds of Muslims came out of mosques last week armed with hammers, and destroyed a social services building belonging to the Coptic Church while chanting Islamic slogans, ASSIST News Service reports.  Security forces arrived after the building was completely destroyed.  According to the Assyrian International News Agency, the 100-square-meter building in the village of Fanous  -  which had a reception hall on the first floor and a kindergarten on the second  -  had all the necessary government permits, but Muslims insisted the Christians were "building a church" and broadcast a message on loudspeakers to Muslims in surrounding villages to assist in destroying it.  A number of local Copts filed a police report, but no Muslim has been arrested.
  (Religion Today Daily Headlines, Jan 15 - 22, www.religiontoday@crosswalkmail.com)