MONTH THAT WAS

U.K moving towards true Secularism

London: Britain is undergoing a post-religion era with most of its citizens not following any religion, according to a new survey, reports PTI.

 The poll, conducted by YouGov last month with a sample of 1,500 across the British population, including recent immigrants, found almost half (46 per cent) have no religion, up from 42 per cent in February 2015 and from 37 per cent in January 2013.

  The figure rises to more than 50 per cent among white British, The Sunday Times reported. The increase in agnosticism is most pronounced among those aged under 40.

 “There has been a revolutionary generational change in our religious identity from the norm being Christian to the norm being ‘no religion’,” said Linda Woodhead, professor in the sociology of religion at Lancaster University, who will officially unveil the figures at the British Academy lecture.

In her address, “Why ‘no religion’ is the new religion,” she will argue that Britain’s Christian leaders have lost touch with congregations on issues including gay marriage and abortion.

“Most Anglicans and Catholics are not like their leaders. They are liberal about personal morality and more right-wing politically but their leaders are more conservative in personal morality and more left-wing politically,” she said.

Woodhead believes a tipping point may have been reached that will lead members of other faiths to abandon their religion.

“It’s likely that people will assimilate to the majority. Mixed-race white and black are even less likely to have a religion than whites. I think it may also happen to Muslims,” she said.

According to the YouGov poll, among the under-40s of all races, 56 per cent have no religion.

However, one in six (16.5 per cent) of those who say they have no religion believe there is definitely or probably some higher power and a quarter of those without a religion take part in some spiritual activity each month, typically prayer.

Okay to be sinner: Pope

Vatican City: It is acceptable to sin often and seek forgiveness but not be corrupt and to no longer see the need to atone for one’s sins, Pope Francis said, reports IANS.

“One can sin often, and always return to God seeking forgiveness, never doubting that it will be obtained,” Pope Francis said on Friday. “It is especially when one becomes corrupt — when one no longer sees the need to be forgiven that problems begin,” he said.

He gave the biblical example of King David, who impregnates Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, an army officer fighting at the front, whose death in battle David then arranges to conceal his adultery.

“This is a moment in David’s life that makes us see a moment through which we all can pass in our life: it is the passage from sin to corruption.”

“This is where David begins, taking the first step towards corruption. He has the power, he has the strength. And for this reason, corruption is a very easy sin for all of us

who have some power, whether it be ecclesiastical, religious, economic, political… Because the devil makes us feel certain: ‘I can do it’.”

POPEMOBILE AUCTIONED

Meanwhile in Washington, a Fiat 500L used by Pope Francis during his visit last year to the US city of Philadelphia has been sold at auction for USD 82,000, with the proceeds going to various Catholic charities.

Church officials in the northeastern US city said the auction was the highlight of a gala black-tie event kicking off this year’s Philadelphia Auto Show.               Some 19 bidders from across the United States vied for the vehicle yesterday, but no details were immediately released about the winning bidder for the Fiat, a sporty, diminutive five-door wagon. “What a magnificent spirit of generosity we witnessed this evening,” John McIntyre, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, said after the sale, reports AFP.

“To be able to auction the papal Fiat in such a spirited environment while knowing that this incredible outcome allows us to spread Pope Francis’ message of love and care in a concrete way by supporting the charitable works of the Archdiocese is most gratifying,” Bishop McIntyre said.

Opium poppies as seasoning in restaurants

Beijing: Thirty-five restaurants across China, including a popular Beijing hot pot chain, have been found illegally using opium poppies as seasoning, one of the more unusual practices bedeviling the country’s food regulators.

 Five restaurants are being prosecuted while 30 others, ranging from Shanghai dumpling joints to noodle shops in southwestern Chongqing, are under investigation, said the China Food and Drug Administration, reports AP.

  Cases of cooks sprinkling ground poppy powder, which contains low amounts of opiates like morphine and codeine, in soup and seafood are not new in China, though it is unclear whether they can effectively hook a customer or deliver a noticeable buzz.

Shaanxi provincial police busted a noodle seller in 2014 after being tipped off by a failed drug test. Seven restaurants were closed in Ningxia province in 2012 for using the additive and Guizhou province shut down 215 restaurants in 2004.

Hu Ling, the general manager of Hu Da, a popular chain with several adjacent locations on the raucous Beijing nightlife strip known as “Ghost Street,” confirmed that the company was under investigation, saying it may have unknowingly sourced seasoning containing opiates. She declined further comment.   Poppy powder, made from capsules and shells that contain higher opiate content than the seeds commonly seen on bagels, can be easily purchased in markets in western China for about USD 60 a kilogram, according to a 2014 report by the official Xinhua news agency.

The additives were commonly mixed with chili oil and powders, making detection difficult without laboratory equipment.

Despite pledges from the government to improve enforcement, Chinese consumers perennially face high-profile food scares, ranging from tainted baby milk to fake meat and fruits to seafood pumped with gelatin.

Urdu in Government Schools in Pak causes tension

Islamabad: Warning that language can serve as a “double-edged sword”, the UNESCO said the continued use of Urdu in Pakistani schools has led to political tensions in the multi-ethnic country and recommended that children be taught in a language they understand, reports PTI.

  A policy paper issued by the UNESCO coinciding with the ‘Mother Language Day’ today referred the multi-ethnic societies in Turkey, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Guatemala and recommended ensuring that “children are taught in a language they understand”.

  In Pakistan, the continued use of Urdu as the language of instruction in government schools, even though it is spoken at home by less than eight per cent of the population, has also contributed to political tensions, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) said in a report released here.  The post-independence government in Pakistan adopted Urdu as the national language and the language of instruction in schools. This became a source of alienation in a country that was home to six major linguistic groups and 58 smaller ones, it said.

  The failure to recognise Bengali, spoken by the vast majority of the population in the erstwhile East Pakistan, was one of the major sources of conflict within the new country, leading to student riots in 1952. The riots gave birth to the Bengali Language Movement, a precursor to the movement for the secession of East Pakistan and formation of Bangladesh.

  The UNESCO said that being taught in a language other than their own can negatively impact children’s learning. Language can serve as a double-edged sword, “while it strengthens an ethnic group’s social ties and sense of belonging, it can also become a basis for their marginalisation.

  Education policy must ensure that all learners, including minorities’ language speakers, access school in a language they know,” Director of UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report Aaron Benavot said.

It said that at least six years of instruction in the mother tongue was needed so that gains from teaching in the early years were sustained. Education policies should recognise the importance of mother tongue learning. Teachers need to be trained to teach in two languages and to understand the needs of second- language learners. In many countries, large number of children are taught and take tests in languages that they do not speak at home, hindering the early acquisition of critically important reading and writing skills.

Textbooks should be provided in a language children understand. Classroom-based assessment tools can help teachers identify, monitor and support learners at risk of low achievement.