Faith Digest: Report names Turkey as offender

Turkey cited for religious freedom woes. Turkey stands as a new and controversial addition to an annual list of the worst offenders of religious freedom released by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Four of nine commissioners objected to adding Turkey to the list of Countries of Particular Concern—a who's who of dictatorships and closed societies—and a fifth commissioner is second-guessing his vote to include the NATO ally. But some Greek Orthodox Americans are pleased with the decision, citing longtime abuses against Orthodox Christians in the historic heartland of Eastern Orthodoxy. Congress established the independent watchdog panel in 1998 to monitor religious freedom globally. It recommends countries to the State Department for inclusion on its own annual list of worst offenders, which typically is smaller. This year, the commission's list includes 16 countries, two of which are new—Turkey and Tajikistan. The others are Burma, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Vietnam.

Coptic Orthodox church leader dies. Pope Shenouda III, the longtime leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, died March 17 at age 88. Shenouda, the 117th Patriarch of Alexandria, ruled 41 years amid great political turmoil and was an outspoken advocate for Christians in a predominantly Muslim nation. Shenouda spent more than three years in exile in the desert monastery of St. Bishoy after then-President Anwar Sadat stripped him of his powers for criticizing violence against Copts by Islamic extremists. President Hosni Mubarak freed Shenouda in 1985. More recently, Shenouda presided over a period of danger for his flock as militant Islamic groups targeted Copts following Mubarak's downfall a year ago. Coptic leaders say there is no timetable to pick Shenouda's successor.

Nonbelief on rise in England. Christianity is waning in England, and nonbelievers could outnumber Christians within 20 years, according to a new study by the British Parliament. The survey showed 41 million Christians in Britain, down nearly 8 percent since 2004. Meanwhile, the number of nonbelievers stood at 13.4 million, up 49 percent over the same period. Researchers at the House of Commons Library concluded Christianity had declined to 69 percent of the population, while those with no religion increased to 22 percent. The research was based on the government Office for National Statistics' annual labor force survey, considered authoritative because it examines a sample size of 50,000 people. The Religion in Great Britain survey also found that from 2004 to 2010, the number of Muslims in Britain grew by 37 percent to 2.6 million. England's Hindu population rose by 43 percent to 790,000, and Buddhists by 74 percent to 340,000.

Business magnate trumps Bible on financial advice. When it comes to financial advice in these tough economic times, more Americans today would rather take advice from business mogul Donald Trump than from the Bible. According to a recent survey conducted by two biblically oriented nonprofits, 50 percent of Americans would choose Donald Trump as their financial adviser, despite his history of filing for bankruptcy, and only 32 percent look to the Bible. "The Bible offers sound advice about managing money, avoiding debt and prospering in difficult times," said Lamar Vest, president of the American Bible Society, co-sponsor of the survey, but 94 percent of Americans are unable to pinpoint the verse from Proverbs about these themes. The survey also found 86 percent of Americans do not follow what the Bible says about managing money, and 24 percent of those think they would have more money if they did follow that advice. The survey was timed to coincide with the release of The Financial Stewardship Bible, an integrated study guide that highlights more than 2,000 verses that discuss money and finances.

Exodus still ongoing globally for Jews. One in four of the world's Jews has migrated from one country to another, compared to 5 percent of Christians and 4 percent of Muslims who have left their native lands, according to a comprehensive new study on religion and global migration by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which tracked the journeys of the world's 214 million migrants. No other major religious group approached the 25 percent migration rate of the Jews, said Phillip Connor, senior researcher on the study. On average, he said, only 3 percent of the world's population migrates. Of the 13.3 million Jews worldwide, 43 percent live in Israel and 39 percent live in the United States. Although Jews claim the most dramatic migration rates, their small numbers mean the vast majority of migrants belong to other religious groups. Christians make up nearly half of all international migrants—49 percent—according to the study, even though they make up a third of the world's population. Of all Christians alive today, 106 million have switched countries, and their top destination is the United States.