http://www.alliancealert.org news from the frontlines of the culture war Thu, 24 May 2012 23:12:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/24/first-mosque-for-shia-muslims-opens-in-finland/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/24/first-mosque-for-shia-muslims-opens-in-finland/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 22:46:04 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=134678 Europe News: The first mosque and cultural center for Finland’s Shi’ites was inaugurated in the capital Helsinki earlier this week. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2012/05/24/first-mosque-for-shia-muslims-opens-in-finland/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/18/europe%e2%80%99s-anti-islamic-parties-on-the-move/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/18/europe%e2%80%99s-anti-islamic-parties-on-the-move/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 22:13:18 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=101387 National Review: Elections in Finland today saw the True Finns Party (PS) win 39 out of 200 seats in parliament, a huge increase over its one parliamentary seat in 1999, three in 2003, and five in 2007. In percentage terms, they went from 1, 2, and 4 percent of the vote to 19 percent. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/04/18/europe%e2%80%99s-anti-islamic-parties-on-the-move/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/06/abortion-drug-used-in-up-to-80-percent-of-finnish-early-term-abortions/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/06/abortion-drug-used-in-up-to-80-percent-of-finnish-early-term-abortions/#comments Thu, 06 Jan 2011 20:03:24 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=90281 LifeSiteNews: "RU-486 abortions are allowing more and more women in Finland to abort their children at home, a practice that has become a nationwide trend, Finnish authorities said this week." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2011/01/06/abortion-drug-used-in-up-to-80-percent-of-finnish-early-term-abortions/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/12/finland-lutheran-synod-votes-for-compromise-on-same-sex-couples/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/12/finland-lutheran-synod-votes-for-compromise-on-same-sex-couples/#comments Fri, 12 Nov 2010 23:29:27 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=81908 Helsingin Sanomat: "The Synod of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church voted on Friday morning to authorise the holding of prayer services for the union of same-sex couples." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/12/finland-lutheran-synod-votes-for-compromise-on-same-sex-couples/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/10/finlands-evangelical-lutheran-church-blessings-not-in-cards-for-same-sex-couples/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/10/finlands-evangelical-lutheran-church-blessings-not-in-cards-for-same-sex-couples/#comments Wed, 10 Nov 2010 20:46:27 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=81557 YLE: "A committee of Finland's Evangelical Lutheran Church says pastors could pray on behalf of same-sex couples–but not offer them blessings comparable to traditional weddings. The committee presented its proposal at the church's General Synod in Turku on Wednesday." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/11/10/finlands-evangelical-lutheran-church-blessings-not-in-cards-for-same-sex-couples/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/26/finland-decides-not-to-regulate-male-circumcision/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/26/finland-decides-not-to-regulate-male-circumcision/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 18:38:26 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=78571 YLE: "Finland has decided not to regulate male circumcision. A bill legalising the practice has been in the works for seven years, but Minister of Health and Social Services Paula Risikko has decided not to bring it before Parliament. In Finland circumcisions are carried out for religious purposes by members of the Jewish, Muslim and Tartar communities. Estimates are that currently about 200 operations are performed annually." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/26/finland-decides-not-to-regulate-male-circumcision/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/22/finland-supreme-court-fines-male-pastor-fined-for-refusing-to-work-with-female-pastor/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/22/finland-supreme-court-fines-male-pastor-fined-for-refusing-to-work-with-female-pastor/#comments Fri, 22 Oct 2010 23:04:01 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=78103 Helsingen Sanomat: "The Finnish Supreme Court found on Friday that a conservative clergyman of the Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland, who was a guest pastor at a Sunday service of the Hyvinkää congregation of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church, had been guilty of gender discrimination when he refused to work alongside a woman pastor, Petra Pohjanraitio, in 2007." More from YLE. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/22/finland-supreme-court-fines-male-pastor-fined-for-refusing-to-work-with-female-pastor/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/18/bishops-finnish-evangelical-lutheran-church-must-take-clear-position-on-homosexuality/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/18/bishops-finnish-evangelical-lutheran-church-must-take-clear-position-on-homosexuality/#comments Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:28:31 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=76984 YLE: "According to Björn Vikström, the Bishop of Porvoo, there is so much confusion among members of the church, that the religious leadership would do well to take a clear and public position on the matter, preferably before its general synod in November. Vikström says the matter has been discussed." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/18/bishops-finnish-evangelical-lutheran-church-must-take-clear-position-on-homosexuality/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/12/top-10-countries-for-women-global-gender-gap-index-2010/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/12/top-10-countries-for-women-global-gender-gap-index-2010/#comments Tue, 12 Oct 2010 18:32:51 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=76284 Christian Science Monitor: "The World Economic Forum released its 2010 Global Gender Gap Report on Tuesday. The report, which indexed 134 countries this year, evaluates how much of the gender gap each country has eliminated through economic opportunity, health access, education, and political empowerment. Below are the 10 countries that have been most successful." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/10/12/top-10-countries-for-women-global-gender-gap-index-2010/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/08/26/finland-lutheran-church-open-to-discussing-same-sex-unions/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/08/26/finland-lutheran-church-open-to-discussing-same-sex-unions/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:12:22 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=70402 writing at Helsingin Sanomat: "Gender-neutral marriage laws have been passed in several European countries. There have been calls for similar legislation in Finland as well. In the debate that has taken place views have been put forward that a gender-neutral marriage law would be something negative from the point of view of the Church . . . in the Protestant Church the view that is constantly gaining strength is one that interprets marriage in the frame of reference of modern natural law, according to which the structures of natural law are not unchanging, and that they can be reinterpreted in changing cultural contexts . . . " ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/08/26/finland-lutheran-church-open-to-discussing-same-sex-unions/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/finland-late-abortion-ups-later-pregnancy-termination-risk/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/finland-late-abortion-ups-later-pregnancy-termination-risk/#comments Wed, 02 Jun 2010 23:53:28 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/finland-late-abortion-ups-later-pregnancy-termination-risk/ Yahoo (Reuters): "Women who have an abortion in the second trimester of pregnancy are more likely than women who terminate their pregnancies earlier to have repeat abortions, new research shows." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/06/02/finland-late-abortion-ups-later-pregnancy-termination-risk/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/24/finland-raseborg-school-forced-to-back-down-on-muslim-scarf-ban/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/24/finland-raseborg-school-forced-to-back-down-on-muslim-scarf-ban/#comments Mon, 24 May 2010 22:38:21 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=61458 Helsingin Sanomat: "A ban imposed on the wearing of Muslim headscarves in class has had to be rescinded at a school in Raseborg [Raasepori in Finnish*], west of the capital Helsinki." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/24/finland-raseborg-school-forced-to-back-down-on-muslim-scarf-ban/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/18/finland-dismisses-mothers-appeal-of-decision-to-prohibit-her-son-from-speaking-russian-praying-and-wearing-a-cross/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/18/finland-dismisses-mothers-appeal-of-decision-to-prohibit-her-son-from-speaking-russian-praying-and-wearing-a-cross/#comments Tue, 18 May 2010 17:05:40 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=61013 Interfax: "Finnish social workers warned Rimma Salonen at her last meeting with her son that she was not entitled to pray together with Anton, cross herself or talk to him about religion . . . In 2008, after divorcing Finn Paavo Salonen, Russian subject Rimma Salonen took their 5-year old son Anton to the Nizhny Novgorod Region. Several people, including the boy's father, kidnapped the child from Rimma on April 12, 2009." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/05/18/finland-dismisses-mothers-appeal-of-decision-to-prohibit-her-son-from-speaking-russian-praying-and-wearing-a-cross/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/26/finland-considering-marriage-redefinition/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/26/finland-considering-marriage-redefinition/#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:00:16 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/26/finland-considering-marriage-redefinition/ 365Gay.com reports that Finland's parliament may redefine marriage as early as next year. ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/26/finland-considering-marriage-redefinition/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/22/global-strategies-for-sex-education/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/22/global-strategies-for-sex-education/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 18:04:17 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=58738 fact sheet for "sex education" in Poland, the U.S., Finland, Spain, Netherlands, and Sweden: "Sex ed is a culturally sensitive issue in classrooms around the world, with a complete abstinence from discussion in some, and others going all the way." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/22/global-strategies-for-sex-education/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/12/finland-complaints-of-gay-discrimination-in-lutheran-church/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/12/finland-complaints-of-gay-discrimination-in-lutheran-church/#comments Mon, 12 Apr 2010 18:20:10 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=57767 Helsingin Sanomat: "Openly homosexual members the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church are complaining of widespread discrimination at the congregation level." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/04/12/finland-complaints-of-gay-discrimination-in-lutheran-church/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/finnish-court-imposes-damages-on-parents-for-sons-circumcision-without-anesthetic/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/finnish-court-imposes-damages-on-parents-for-sons-circumcision-without-anesthetic/#comments Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:49:27 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/wordpress/?p=53545 Religion Clause Blog: "A district court in Helsinki, Finland has imposed damages of 1500 Euros on an Orthodox Jewish couple who had their son ritually circumcised by a British Chabad rabbi who is a recognized mohelin Britain." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2010/02/26/finnish-court-imposes-damages-on-parents-for-sons-circumcision-without-anesthetic/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/finland-convicts-city-council-member-for-anti-islam-blog-posting/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/finland-convicts-city-council-member-for-anti-islam-blog-posting/#comments Thu, 10 Sep 2009 15:54:22 +0000 ADF Alliance Alert http://www.alliancealert.org/?p=35646 Religion Clause Blog: "A trial court in Helsinki, Finland has convicted Jussi Halla-aho, a member of Helsinki's City Council, of violating the sanctity of religion through an anti-Islamic posting on his blog last June. Today's Helsingin Sanomat reports that the court fined Halla-aho 330 Euros." ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2009/09/10/finland-convicts-city-council-member-for-anti-islam-blog-posting/feed/ 0 http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/14/finlands-social-democrats-want-homosexual-adoptions/ http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/14/finlands-social-democrats-want-homosexual-adoptions/#comments Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:29:59 +0000 Admin http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/14/finlands-social-democrats-want-homosexual-adoptions/ ]]> http://www.alliancealert.org/2008/03/14/finlands-social-democrats-want-homosexual-adoptions/feed/ 0