A County Commission meeting typically begins with an invocation, and local faith leaders are often invited to offer it.

Hindu mantras will open the Jan. 4 meeting for the first time since the county was established in 1866, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed announced in a press release.

Zed will deliver the invocation from ancient Sanskrit scriptures remotely before Board of Lincoln County Commissioners. After Sanskrit delivery, he then will read the English interpretation of the prayers. Sanskrit is considered a sacred language in Hinduism and root language of Indo-European languages.

Zed, who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism, will recite from Rig-Veda, the oldest scripture of the world still in common use; besides lines from Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita (Song of the Lord), both ancient Hindu scriptures. He plans to start and end the prayer with Om, the mystical syllable containing the universe, which in Hinduism is used to introduce and conclude religious work, he said.

Reciting from Brahadaranyakopanishad, Rajan Zed plans to say Asato ma sad gamaya, Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya, Mrtyor mamrtam gamaya; which he will then interpret as Lead us from the unreal to the real, Lead us from darkness to light, and Lead us from death to immortality. Reciting from Bhagavad-Gita, he proposes to urge commissioners and others present to keep the welfare of others always in mind.

Hinduism, oldest and third largest religion of the world, has about 1.2 billion adherents. There are about three million Hindus in USA.

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Lincoln County Commission to open with Hindu prayers at upcoming meeting - Lincoln County Record

Thailand is the largest Buddhist country in the world, with 95% of its 69 millionpopulationfollowing the religion. Those who consider themselves of the Hindu faith constitute just 0.03% percent of Thais (22,100 people) according to the 2015 census.

Despite the very small number of Hindus here, elements of Hinduism permeate Thailands socio-cultural life. Even as the group is a minority, various Hindu elements remain deeply embedded in the traditional culture and social life of the Thai people.

Hinduism arrived in Thailand partly along the land route from India via Burma, but also traversed the Bay of Bengal to Indonesia and was instrumental in the establishment of the maritime Sri Vijaya Empire. It is from Java that Hinduism also spread to Cambodia, and what is now Vietnam and northwards to Thailand absorbing local cultural elements along the way.

Waves of invasions, and especially the Khmer rule, left the residue of Hinduism in the Thai culture. And as is often the case with external influences, the elements have been absorbed and overlaid with Buddhist rituals seamlessly, giving them Thai characteristics.

Alongside their Buddhist beliefs, many Thais worship Hindu deities. One of them is the Brahma (Phra Phrom) at the famousErawan Shrine in Bangkok. People in deep anguish are known to go to this shrine, and when a wish has been granted, devotees hire dancers to performRam Kae Bon, to thank the god.

Statues of Ganesh, Indra (Phra In), and Shiva (Phra Isuan) can be found across Thailand.Ganesh is known asPhra Phikanetin Thai and is worshipped as the remover of obstacles. He is the deity Thai Buddhists often pray to before they start an important venture just as Hindus in Nepal and India do at Ganesh temples.

Buddhist relics in western Nepal, Sewa Bhattarai

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The Hindu gods of Buddhist Thailand - Nepali times

India (MNN) India deals another blow to religious freedom as four states consider anti-conversion laws. More about that here. Police often use anti-conversion rules to persecute Christians and other religious minorities, putting these groups at risk.

[Another] state that has one in process is Maharashtra a well-known state because of Mumbai, the economic and financial capital of India, John Pudaite of Bibles For The World says.

The Indian subcontinent is the birthplace of four major world religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. (Photo credit: Dennis Jarvis/Flickr)

If state authorities pass the new legislation into law, close to two-thirds of Indias 1.3 billion people would now be under some anti-conversion law, Pudaite adds.

More India headlines here.

India is one of the worlds most challenging places to follow Christ, according to persecution watchdog groups like Voice of the Martyrs and Open Doors.

Hindu radicals regularly persecute religious minorities. Plus, Indias constitution allows for religious freedom, but authorities target Christian outreach using anti-conversion laws as a pretense.

It puts Bibles For The World partners in a precarious situation. Were in touch with [our partners], urging them to continue their outreach but be careful, be cautious, Pudaite says.

When we reach out in love and provide blankets, or clothing or food or things like that, [it] can easily be misconstrued by anti-Christians as Oh, theyre enticing [people] with these material goods, he explains. More about Bibles For The Worlds ministry here.

Its unfortunate because they dont understand what our partners are offering is a relationship with Jesus Christ.

(Graphic courtesy VOM USA)

Now that you know, ask the Lord how He wants you to respond. Prayer is the easiest place to start. For believers in states with current or potential anti-conversion laws, pray for wisdom and discernment. Ask the Lord to protect believers in Uttar Pradesh, where police use a new anti-conversion law to arrest religious minorities.

It was pushed through and signed by the governor of the state [even though] the legislature is not sitting right now; theyre on vacation, Pudaite says.

He is allowed to do that for a period of up to six months until the actual state legislature ratifies it.

Enacting the controversial love jihad law was very significant because [Uttar Pradesh] is the largest state in India. If it were an independent country, this state would be number six or seven in terms of population in the entire world, Pudaite continues.

It has the strongest pro-Hindu population, so it is a very significant battleground for religious freedoms.

Header image is a representative stock photo courtesy of Abhishek K. Singh on Unsplash.

Continued here:

India deals another blow to religious freedom - Mission Network News

After a social media drive by Hindus and Sikhs against the 'Halal' certification for products in the country, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has removed the word from its 'Red Meat Manual', reports Indian Express.

The APEDA, which comes under the Ministry of Commerce, handles agri-exports from the country.

While the earlier Red Meat Manual of APEDA prescribed animals to be "slaughtered strictly according to halal method to meet the requirement of Islamic countries, it is now amended to the animals are slaughtered according to the requirement of importing country/importer.

This change was reportedly made as the use of the word halal gave an impression that this was mandatory for all meat exports from the country.

It is a requirement by a majority of the importing countries/Importers. Halal Certification agencies are accredited directly by respective importing countries. No government agency has any role in this, the exports promotion body clarified.

The body also deleted these lines: The animals are slaughtered by halal system under strict vigilance of (a) recognised and registered Islamic body as per the tenets of Islamic Shariyat. The certificate for halal is issued by the representative of registered Islamic body under whose supervision the slaughter is conducted in order to meet the requirement of (the) importing country.

It should be noted that Hindu and Sikh organisations had opposed the use of the word 'Halal' in the old APEDA manual and alleged that the government seemed to be promoting halal meat.

The campaigners against halal certification said that this religious prescription in the manual led to job loss for non-muslims as they were kept out by slaughterhouses due to halal requirements. They have called these changes as just one step in the right direction and asserted that they would continue their campaign against halal certification.

Islamic countries allow the import of only halal-certified meat, and India exports buffalo meat to many of them including the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Malaysia.

The rest is here:

Govt's Agri-Export Promotion Body Drops 'Halal' From Its Red Meat Manual After Outrage By Hindus, Sikhs - Swarajya

A name-game has started with the onset of New Year. This time, there's a concerted and consolidated effort to rename Aurangabad in Maharashtra as Sambhaji Nagar. In fact, hardcore Shiv Sainiks have been using the name Sambhaji Nagar in lieu of Aurangabad for nearly two decades because their party founder Bal Thackeray had 'renamed' it Sambhaji Nagar (after the name of Shivaji's son) a quarter of a century ago. Now the question is: Was Aurangzeb so bad and vicious as to be condemned as the 'Worst Mughal', to quote Indian (precisely, Hindu) historians Sacchidanand Sinha and Ishwari Prasad?

In her seminal tome, 'Culture of Encounters: Sanskrit at the Mughal Court,' the Stanford Post-Doctoral researcher Audrey Truschke is of the view that Aurangzeb was the most misunderstood Mughal because his certain alleged atrocities were amplified by the later-day historians, who called him a bigot of the first order and 'a humourless drybone' (to quote the late Akhilesh Mishra, the amateur but highly popular pop-historian of The Asian Age).

But that doesn't mean that he was a man without flaws. As a human and that too as a supreme ruler of the subcontinent, he committed certain blood-curdling atrocities -- incarcerating his father, executing his elder brother Dara Shikoh, who was to become the emperor, imposing Jaziya tax on Hindus and non-Muslims and converting legions of Hindus to Islam, torturing the ninth Sikh Guru Tegh Bahadur and executing him, also executing Shivaji's son Sambhaji who refused to embrace Islam. The list of his atrocities is quite long.

But to quote the legendary British historian Sir Arnold Toynbee and ancient Roman historians Pliny the Jr. and Catullus, "A ruler's good-deeds and misdeeds must be juxtaposed to strike a perfect balance and then come to a conclusion whether he was indeed good or vile." So very true. The great Roman emperor Julius Caesar was pathologically against the Neo-Pagans and was a confirmed rapist, who did not spare even the mother of his dearest friend Brutus (yes, he raped Brutus's mother and made her his concubine; read 'Rise and Fall of Roman Empire' by Sir Edward Gibbon and 'Rome, the Dome ' by Sir Collingwood). Brutus killed his friend Caesar not because he was concerned about Rome and the Senate. He was fuming that his friend and emperor had raped his mother and made her a concubine in his seraglio. But Caesar is considered to be a great and even just (!) emperor by most historians and students of Wikipedia and WhatsApp University.

Aurangzeb wasn't an archetypical anti-Hindu. Granted, he was a strict Muslim, who offered namaz nine times (yes, there're nine namaz in Islam, five are mandatory, 4 are optional) a day, he didn't take any action when his two trusted courtiers Eram Khan and Raqsool Usman accepted Hinduism and became Dhaniram and Raichand. They remained with Aurangzeb till they breathed their last. He didn't punish or banish his favourite erstwhile Muslim courtiers.

He was against music not because music is haram or prohibited in Islam, but because he considered music to be 'Inguzeer-ul-khwam' (Arabic for a frivolous pastime or an unnecessary indulgence). He had indeed made it prohibitory or haram for his Muslim subjects but Hindus could sing bhajan and keertan. Read his Arabic treatise 'Fatwa-ul-Alamgir' (The edicts of Aurangzeb; only two copies are left, one at Al-Azhar, Cairo, and another one at the Archives of Oxford University). He clearly mentioned that ' Mausiqi bin halaal ul but-parastaan, deeham az'zeega'r haram un-Momin' (Music is acceptable to the idol-worshippers, but completely unacceptable to Momin or a true Muslim).

A polyglot emperor (Aurangzeb was extremely fond of learning new languages and already knew Persian, Arabic, Rekhta, the earliest form of today's Urdu, Khari Boli Hindi), he was a patron of Braj Kaavya written in Braj, spoken in Bharatpur, Mathura, Deeg and Vrindavan. It was Aurangzeb who promoted Rekhta as a lingua franca and could write early Hindi in Devanagari script and in old Shaurseni (read Rahul Sankrityayan's out-of-print, 'Aurangzeb: Pahloo-dar-pahloo').

Though he was against Shivaji and Marathas and was here in the Deccan for nearly 40 years to thwart the juggernaut of Shivaji's army, Maratha court historian Kanhoji Phadnis mentioned that he was all praise for Shivaji's command of Persian. If he demolished 836 temples, he also constructed 423 new ones.

If Aurangzeb executed Dara Shikoh, he also had his allied brother, Murad Baksh, held for murder, judged and then decapitated in public. Mind you, Murad had killed a Hindu courtesan.

He was a just emperor who didn't like ostentation. It was Aurangzeb who sternly stopped his indulgent father Shah Jahan to build yet another Taj Mahal in black marble stone across Yamuna. Aurangzeb's logic was, because of his father's whims, the exchequer was already empty and now the New Taj in Black Stone would invite black days for the poor people. You can see at India House, London, his hand-written letter to his father Shah Jahan, admonishing for wasting public money for his whims and vagaries.

And yes, it was Aurangzeb, who stopped his father from chopping off the hands of all the artisans involved in the building of a masterpiece called Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan indeed wanted to cut the hands of the artisans so that they could never create a replica of it anywhere in the world but was stopped in his sanguinary design by his most infamous and utterly 'heartless' son, Aurangzeb.

So, readers, you had better judge whether Aurangzeb was really as execrable a character as projected by biased and ignorant historians? Let posterity dispassionately evaluate the man who's so vilified in the collective consciousness of all Hindus and Indians on the subcontinent.

Lastly, if at all we must change the name of a place, it's Bakhtiyarpur in Patna district in Bihar, named after the Turkish invader Bakhtiyar Khilji, who incinerated the famed Nalanda University in 1200 CE and massacred the monks, teachers and students.

The writer is an advanced research scholar of Semitic languages, civilisations and cultures.

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Redefining Aurangzeb...more sinned against than sinning - Free Press Journal

The year 2020 has been difficult for everyone but with the support from our readers, OpIndia continued to publish news that are not covered by mainstream media. From stories on Grooming Jihad to unmasking civil society organizations, OpIndia published a lot of exclusive news stories.

On the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots and the investigation that followed, we have published numerous exclusive reports and also a book on the events and the conspiracy that led to the enormous bloodshed at the national capital.

Now that we are at the end of the year, we revisit some of the important news stories that we have reported this year.

OpIndia reported on the plight of Hindus at Maujpur, a Hindu dominated locality that witnessed widespread violence, in the aftermath of the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots. The Hindus in Maujpur were living in constant fear of being attacked by Islamist mobs. Vinod Kumar was shot dead in this area.

We discovered that men prepared to die and women of the house prepared to fight or die themselves if the Mohammaden mob comes for them is a story not uncommon with Hindu families living in fear since the Delhi anti-Hindu riots broke out. The media, on the other hand, was busy painting these riots as a pogrom against Muslims, incited by rabid Hindus.

A minor girl was abducted on gunpoint while she was returning from the marketwith her father. The incident took place on July 26 (Sunday) in Begusarais Bhikan Chak village that falls under Bachhwara police station. Dinesh, the father of the minor girl said that around 5 pm, seven people, including a female, approached them in a Bolero car while they were crossing the Panchayat Bhavan in Behrampur in Mansurchak Block inBegusaraidistrict and took away his daughter on gunpoint.

We brought the full story of the matter to public light.

OpIndia also reported on the Shaheen Bagh protests from the ground. We reported that contrary to the media narrative that this was a spontaneous protest, a lot of money was being spent on organizing it. The protests were extremely organized, for a protest that was touted to be spontaneous.

There was a security check as well where protesters would demand your identity proof and check your bags and even then, would continue keeping an eye on you. Media personnel are screened before they could talk with the protesters. A lot of the details was happily ignored by the mainstream media.

On the 4th of May, 2020, the life of one family in upscale Gurugram came to a screeching halt. A 17-year-old boy, Manav,jumpedfrom the 11th floor of his apartment building, landing on the road below and ultimately, losing his life. The Bois Locker Room controversy had claimed a victim. We interviewed his father to bring his side of the story and reveal how such a promising young life was cut short by the demented nature of social media.

South-Africa launched an anti-racism campaign led by President Ramaphosa. The campaign had significant opposition within South Africa as well. The launch of this campaign was to start with a virtual talk. The opening statements were to be delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa and then, a panel discussion was to ensue with several other panelists making their comments.

7 out of 8 of those panelists belonged to South Africa. However, there was one name that did not add up Anand Sharma, Congress leader. We reported the manner in which Congress could have potentially undermined Indian national interests in the process.

OpIndia accessed a conversation which is between Person A (Person in whose home a bar-o-meter is installed) and his neighbour, makes it evident that Person A was scared for his security and his familys safety after being allegedly coerced by the Mumbai Police.

The conversation accessed by OpIndia raised significant questions regarding the conduct of the Mumbai Police and the manner in which witnesses were being coerced in order to target Arnab Goswami and Republic TV.

The Prasar Bharati finally terminated its arrangement with the Press Trust of India (PTI) in October this year. Earlier, it was announced that the government of India institution will be reviewing its arrangement with the PTI following its interview with the Chinese Ambassador wherein the news agency was accused of providing a platform for the Chinese to run their propaganda.

OpIndia reported the precise reason why Prasar Bharti took that decision.

OpIndia hasaccessedscreenshots of Whatsapp chats between those who controlled the Delhi riots which further explain how the communal riots were not the handiwork of locals but it was a result of deeper conspiracy and planning.

The WhatsApp chats make it extremely clear that the riots were a deep seated conspiracy and not impromptu at all.

We, at OpIndia, have spent a lot of time discussing and reporting on the undue influence that foreign-funded NGOs exert over the institutions of our country and the narratives that drive politics in the media. We have reported extensively on the manner in which foreign-funded NGOs are using the Judiciary in order to meddle the internal affairs of India via elements like Harsh Mander.

This year, we reported how Harsh Mander is a member of an organization connected to the Italian Government and the Italian Secret Service.

While the Delhi anti-Hindu riots rage on, the country woke up to disturbing news on 26th January. An Intelligence Bureau (IB) officer, Ankit Sharma, had been brutally murdered and his tortured remains were recovered from a nearby drain. Some said that the IB officer was mercilessly thrown after the murder during the Delhi anti-Hindu riots, others alleged that the body was hidden so it would not be recovered.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media claimed that Ankit Sharma was murdered by a mob chanting Jai Shri Ram and went further to say that it was his brother who had made the claim. It was under these circumstances that OpIndia talked to the deceased IB constables brother.

The brother denied making any such claim ever and said that it was Tahir Hussain and the Islamist mob the former AAP Councilor was leading that was responsible for Ankit Sharmas murder.

Read more here:

From the Dara Hua Hindus of Maujpur to Manavs tragic death and Shaheen Bagh ground report: Top 10 exclusive OpIndia news breaks of 2020 - OpIndia

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari has demanded United Nations to probe the extrajudicial killings of 11 Pakistani Hindus by India and ensure payment of reparations to families of the deceased, said a press release. In a letter written to UN High Commissioner, she said the extrajudicial executions by Indian security forces in Manipur, have not been fully investigated, and the state of India has failed to fulfill its obligation to carry out a prompt, thorough and effective investigation which is a clear breach to the Vienna Convention.

The minister in the letter demanded the constitution of an investigation team, under the auspices of the UN and urged India to allow the team for conducting a free, fair and impartial investigation into the matter and handing over of the dead bodies of deceased to family members.

It may be recalled that in August 2020, 11 Pakistan Hindus were executed extra judicially in Jodhpur District, of Indian state of Rajasthan.

There also appears to be a breach by India with respect to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR) - the object and purpose of this Convention being inter alia respect for the principle of sovereign equality of States, the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of friendly relations among nations, the letter said.

Reportedly, the deceased include Budhu Ram (80 years), Raivya (35 years), Shamoon (25 years), Antari (75 years), Shrimati Lakshmi (39 years), Shrimati Devi (28 years) and five children, namely Mukadas (16 years), Zain (12 years), Dayaal (12 years), Danish (10 years) and Diya (5 years). Shrimati Mukhi, a surviving member of the family, registered a First Information Report (FIR) No. 219/2020 over the murder of her family members. She has alleged that the Indian intelligence agency, RAW, was behind the murder.

In light of this blatant denial of justice and breach of international norms, I request from your office the following interventions:

First, constituting an investigation team, under the auspices of the UN and urging India to allow the investigation team to conduct a free, fair and impartial investigation into the extrajudicial executions.

Second, recommending to India that it hand over the dead bodies of the deceased to family members, in line with international human rights standards.

Third, communicating to India the need to respect international law, in particular international human rights law to which it is a State Party, by ending impunity for the conduct of officials involved in gross human rights violations.

Fourth, counseling India to ensure payment of reparations to the family of the deceased.

As this incident falls within the broader pattern of human rights violations, being carried out on a State level, it is imperative that accountability be ensured, she added.

I write to you in the hope that these extrajudicial executions will not meet the same fate, i.e. denial of justice. In this vein, I am cognisant of the need to ensure the collective involvement of all human rights organisations in this quest for justice, accountability and bringing an end to the culture of impunity for extrajudicial executions perpetrated by Indian security forces' personnel. Accordingly, copies of this letter are being shared with human rights organisations and special procedures that have repeatedly raised concerns over the State of India's practice of extrajudicial executions, the letter added.

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UN urged to probe killing of Pakistani Hindus in India - The News International

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi administers the oath of office to members of the 117th House of Representatives on Jan. 3. (Erin Scott/AFP via Getty Images)

Every two years, Pew Research Center publishes a report on the religious affiliation of members of the incoming Congress. This report is the seventh in the series, which started with the 111th Congress that began in 2009.

Data on members of Congress comes from CQ Roll Call, which surveys members about their demographic characteristics, including religious affiliation. Pew Research Center researchers then code the data so that Congress can be compared with U.S. adults overall. For example, members of Congress who tell CQ Roll Call they are Southern Baptists are coded as Baptists a broader category (including Southern Baptists as well as other Baptists) used for analysis of the general public.

Data in this report covers members of Congress sworn in on Jan. 3, 2021. One contested election, in New Yorks 22nd District, was uncalled by the start of the new Congress. Congressman-elect Luke J. Letlow of Louisianas 5th District died before the swearing-in; his seat will go unfilled until a March special election. One representative, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, was sworn in provisionally on Jan. 3; she is included in this analysis. In addition, both of Georgias Senate seats were subject to runoff elections set to take place Jan. 5, 2021. Therefore, this analysis includes 531 members of Congress, rather than 535.

Data for all U.S. adults comes from aggregated Pew Research Center political surveys conducted on the telephone from January 2018 through July 2019 and summarized in the report In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace. Figures for Protestant subgroups and Unitarians come from the Centers 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, conducted June 4 to Sept. 30, 2014, among more than 35,000 Americans. For more information about how Pew Research Center measures the religious composition of the U.S., see here.

When it comes to religious affiliation, the 117th U.S. Congress looks similar to the previous Congress but quite different from Americans overall.

While about a quarter (26%) of U.S. adults are religiously unaffiliated describing themselves as atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular just one member of the new Congress (Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.) identifies as religiously unaffiliated (0.2%).

Nearly nine-in-ten members of Congress identify as Christian (88%), compared with two-thirds of the general public (65%). Congress is both more heavily Protestant (55% vs. 43%) and more heavily Catholic (30% vs. 20%) than the U.S. adult population overall.

Members of Congress also are older, on average, than U.S. adults overall. At the start of the 116th Congress, the average representative was 57.6 years old, and the average senator was 62.9 years old. Pew Research Center surveys have found that adults in that age range are more likely to be Christian than the general public (74% of Americans ages 50 to 64 are Christian, compared with 65% of all Americans ages 18 and older). Still, Congress is more heavily Christian even than U.S. adults ages 50 to 64, by a margin of 14 percentage points.

Over the last several Congresses, there has been a marked increase in the share of members who identify themselves simply as Protestants or as Christians without further specifying a denomination. There are now 96 members of Congress in this category (18%). In the 111th Congress, the first for which Pew Research Center analyzed the religious affiliation of members of Congress, 39 members described themselves this way (7%). Meanwhile, the share of all U.S. adults in this category has held relatively steady.

Over the same period, the total number of Protestants in Congress has remained relatively stable: There were 295 Protestants in the 111th Congress, and there are 294 today. The increase in Protestants who do not specify a denomination has corresponded with a decrease in members who do identify with denominational families, such as Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Methodists.

Still, members of those three Protestant subgroups remain overrepresented in Congress compared with their share in the general public, while some other groups are underrepresented including Pentecostals (0.4% of Congress vs. 5% of all U.S. adults), nondenominational Protestants (2% vs. 6%) and Baptists (12% vs. 15%).

Jewish members also make up a larger share of Congress than they do of the general public (6% vs. 2%). The shares of most other non-Christian groups analyzed in this report (Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Unitarian Universalists) more closely match their percentages in the general public.

Nearly all non-Christian members of Congress are Democrats. Just three of the 261 Republicans who were sworn in on Jan. 3 (1%) do not identify as Christian; two are Jewish, and one declined to state a religious affiliation.

These are some of the key findings of an analysis by Pew Research Center of CQ Roll Call data on the religious affiliations of members of Congress, gathered through questionnaires and follow-up phone calls to candidates and members offices.The CQ questionnaire asks members what religious group, if any, they belong to. It does not attempt to measure their religious beliefs or practices. The Pew Research Center analysis compares the religious affiliations of members of Congress with the Centers survey data on the U.S. public.

The overall composition of the new Congress is similar to that of the previous Congress in part because 464 of the 531 members of the 117th Congress (87%) are returning members.

Methodists saw the largest loss seven seats followed closely by Baptists (six seats) and Catholics (five seats). There also are four fewer Lutherans in the 117th Congress than there were in the 116th. By contrast, Protestants who do not specify a denomination are up substantially, gaining 16 seats in the 117th Congress after also gaining 16 seats two years ago, when the 116th took office. Protestants in the Restorationist family also gained three seats (all members of Congress in this category identify with the Churches of Christ).

In total, there currently are three fewer Christians in the new Congress than there were in the previous Congress, although this gap is all but certain to narrow once three of the four open seats are filled. Five of the six candidates in the uncalled or outstanding races identify as Christians; Jon Ossoff, a Democrat running for Senate in Georgia, is Jewish.

When it comes to the 63 members of Congress who are not Christian, a slim majority (33) are Jewish, a number that has held relatively steady over the past several Congresses.

The next largest non-Christian group is made up of those who declined to specify a religious affiliation. There are 18 people in this category in the 117th Congress, the same as in the 116th, which had seen an increase of eight members in this group.

The three Muslim representatives from the 116th Congress return for the 117th: Reps. Andr Carson, D-Ind.; Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.; and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Similarly, both Buddhists from the previous Congress return: Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson and Hawaii Democratic Sen. Mazie K. Hirono.

Unitarian Universalists gained one seat, as Rep. Deborah K. Ross, D-N.C., joins California Democratic Reps. Ami Bera and Judy Chu.

There are now two Hindus in Congress Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., both returning members. Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, who served in the 115th and 116th Congresses, ran for president in 2020 and withdrew her reelection bid for her House seat. She is replaced by Kai Kahele, who declined to specify a religious affiliation.

One member, California Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, describes himself as a humanist. He is listed in the other category. Fewer than three-tenths of 1% of U.S. adults specifically call themselves humanists.

Sinema is the only member of the 117th Congress who identifies as religiously unaffiliated. Both Sinema and Huffman have said they do not consider themselves atheists.

Most members of the House and Senate are Christians, with the House just slightly more Christian than the Senate (88% vs. 87%). And both chambers have a Protestant majority 55% of representatives are Protestant, as are 59% of senators.

Within Protestantism, the largest differences are in Presbyterians (3% in the House vs. 12% in the Senate) and Protestants who do not specify a denomination (20% in the House, 11% in the Senate).

Catholics make up a larger share in the House (31%) than in the Senate (24%).

The Senate, meanwhile, has a higher share of Jewish (8% vs. 6%) and Mormon (3% vs. 1%) members than the House does.

All of the Muslims, Hindus and Unitarian Universalists in Congress are in the House, while there is one Buddhist in each chamber.

The sole religiously unaffiliated member of Congress (Sinema) is in the Senate, and the only member in the other category (Huffman) is in the House.

Fully 99% of Republicans in Congress identify as Christians. There are two Jewish Republicans in the House, Reps. Lee Zeldin of New York and David Kustoff of Tennessee. New York Rep. Chris Jacobs declined to specify a religious affiliation. All other Republicans in the 117th Congress identify as Christian in some way.

Most Republican members of Congress identify as Protestants (68%). The largest Protestant groups are Baptists (15%), Methodists (6%), Presbyterians (6%), Lutherans (5%) and Episcopalians (4%). However, 26% of Republicans are Protestants who do not specify a denomination up from 20% in the previous Congress. There are 15 Republican freshmen in this category, compared with three Democratic newcomers.

Now that Democratic Sen. Tom Udall of New Mexico has retired, all nine members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (sometimes called Mormons) in Congress are Republicans.

Democrats in Congress also are heavily Christian much more than U.S. adults overall (78% vs. 65%). But the share of Democrats who identify as Christian is 21 percentage points lower than among Republicans (99%). Democrats are much less likely than Republicans to identify as Protestant (43% vs. 68%). Conversely, Catholics make up a higher share among Democrats than they do among Republicans (34% vs. 26%).

Among Democrats, 11% are Jewish, and 6% did not specify a religious affiliation. All of the Unitarian Universalists (3), Muslims (3), Buddhists (2) and Hindus (2) in Congress are Democrats, as are the single members in the other and religiously unaffiliated categories.

While the small freshman class of the 117th Congress does little to change the overall makeup of the body, there are some notable differences in religious affiliation between incumbents and freshmen.

The freshman class is slightly more Christian than its incumbent counterpart. Just six of the 67 new members are not Christian: Three are Jewish, one is a Unitarian Universalist and two declined to share an affiliation.

The largest difference between newcomers and incumbents is in the share of Protestants who do not specify a denomination 27% of freshmen are in this category, compared with 17% of incumbents. Similarly, those who specifically describe themselves as nondenominational Protestants make up 2% of incumbents and 7% of freshmen.

Among freshmen, there are two Restorationists the same number as there are among incumbents.

Other Protestant subgroups are smaller among newcomers than they are among incumbents. For example, freshmen are less likely than incumbents to be Baptists (7% vs. 13%) or Methodists (3% vs. 7%).

Catholics, who make up 30% of Congress and 30% of incumbents, make up a smaller share of freshmen (27%). Orthodox Christians, on the other hand, make up just 1% of incumbents and 4% of freshmen (three new members).

While the U.S. population continues to become less Christian, Congress has held relatively steady in recent years and has remained heavily Christian. In the 87th Congress (which began in 1961), the earliest for which aggregated religion data is available, 95% of members were Christian, which closely matched the roughly 93% of Americans who identified the same way at the time, according to historical religion data from Gallup.

Since the early 60s, there has been a substantial decline in the share of U.S. adults who identify as Christian, but just a 7-point drop in the share of members of Congress who identify that way. Today, 88% of Congress is Christian, while 65% of U.S. adults are Christian, according to Pew Research Center surveys.

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The religious composition of the 117th Congress | Pew Research Center - Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project

In a welcome move, the government of India has removed the word Halal from its Red Meat Manual issued by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

About 6 months ago, the issue of the Red Meat Manual reading as if it promotes and is imposing the Halal method of slaughter in India had surfaced. Platform UpWord had tweeted a picture with some problematic wording of the manual.

The excerpt that was tweeted by UpWord read, All animals must be slaughtered by Halal method in the presence of holy men approved by the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind as per Islamic Shariyat, for certification.

Soon, the government had issued a clarification as to why the term Halal and the process is mentioned in the APEDA Red Meat Manual.

APEDA said that there is no condition imposed by the government of India and that the govt does not mandate that only Halal Meat has to be exported. However, it is the requirement of the majority of countries importing the meat. APEDA further clarified that Halal Certification agencies are accredited directly by the respective importing counties and no govt agency has a role in it.

Essentially the government of India says that in their Red Meat Manual, the standards for Halal slaughter are mentioned not because the government mandates that meat be slaughtered only by the Halal method, but because the importing countries require that the meat be slaughtered in this specific manner. Since most meat importing countries are Islamic countries, it follows the reason that those countries would demand that their meat be slaughtered only by the Halal method.

However, it is true that the wording of the manual did give the impression that the government was mandating and promoting the Halal method, which would essentially mean mandating a religious practise, even if it was to ensure that the importing countries continue to import our product.

Taking stock of the situation, the government of India has now changed the Red Meat Manual to exclude the word Halal from the manual altogether.

For example, in the older manual, the section on Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) had an entire sub-section on Halal.

However, how that section has been removed completely.

This was one of the main sections where the confusion was created as if the government of India mandated that slaughtering the meat using the Halal method was a part of the Safety Management System according to APEDA.

An entire section that read, The animals are slaughtered by Halal System under the strict vigilance of recognised and registered Islamic body as per the tenets of Islamic Shariyat. The certificate for Halal is issued by the representatives of registered Islamic body under whose supervision, the slaughter is conducted in order to meet the requirement of importing countries has also been removed.

Several such changes have been made in the red meat document wherein the word Halal has been removed.

The only place now where the word Halal appears is in the list of APEDA Registered Integrated Abattoirs Cum Meat Processing Plants, as a name of a plant itself.

Words like Islamic, Halal, Ulema, Shariyat etc, that were there earlier have been removed and do not appear in the Red Meat Manual anymore.

Essentially, the changes in the manual are to ensure that the wording is not misconstrued to mean that the government of India mandates the Halal method in any way, which demands the hegemony of Muslims.

It is a fact that importing countries are mostly Islamic countries and mandate that the meat be cut, cleaned, packaged etc in the Halal manner and thus, it is impossible for the government to do away with the Halal method of slaughter itself for the foreseeable future.

The change in the manual, however, can be seen as a big step towards changing the discourse. While the importing countries do mandate that the meat be cut, cleaned and packaged in accordance with the practice of Halal, the government itself not endorsing or appearing to mandate the practice opens up a window of opportunity for Hindus who wish to bring about a change.

When the manual had the word Halal in it, it was entirely possible to dismiss even the possibility of selling or exporting Jhatka meat, since the manual provided a loophole to exclusively stick to the Halal method of slaughter. It also gave the impression that a secular country is open to endorsing rigid religious practices as mandated by Islamic clerics and associations. This is not to say that the change in the wording itself can break the hegemony of the Halal cartel, however, it is essential to provide a window to Hindus to make the changes they wish to.

It is important to note that Halal is not just a dietary preference but a method that imposes Islamic supremacy on those who dont follow the faith.

Halal can only be performed by a Muslim man. Thus, non-Muslims are automatically denied employment at a Halal firm. There are certain other conditions that must be fulfilled that makes it quite clear that it is intrinsically an Islamic practice. Guidelines are available at theofficial websiteof a certification authority of Halal in India which makes it clear that non-Muslim employees cannot be employed in any part of the slaughtering process.

Throughout the document that lists the guidelines to Islamic slaughtering, care is taken to mention the religion of the employees involved. It makes it abundantly clear that only Muslim employees are allowed to participate in the entire process at every stage. Even the labelling of the meat can be done by Muslims only.

Thus, its quite apparent that when a person demands that he be served only Halal meat, he isnt merely exercising a diet preference but he is also playing a part in deciding who is involved in the process of slaughtering the animal and labelling it. Furthermore, Muslims are barred by their scriptures from consuming non-halal food. Thus, when a Muslim specifically demands Halal meat, its an explicit instance of them demanding service that can only be performed by Muslims. The obvious implication is that a Muslim denies service from a non-Muslim due to his religious identity.

The Halal certification department also specifies the exact Islamic method of slaughtering. It says that the slaughtering of the animal must be done in just one stroke without lifting the knife, using a sharp knife. It says that the windpipe (throat), food-tract (oesophagus) and the two jugular veins must be cut in a single stroke. Care must be taken that the head is not severed and the spinal cord is not cut. The rules also say that meat slaughtered by a machine cant be halal, it must be slaughtered by a Muslim person.

Essentially, the entire industry thus ensures the exclusion of people of all other faiths and ensures that only Muslims are employed. Not just that, they ensure that the meat is slaughtered while chanting Islamic slogans.

The Department of Halal Certification of the European Union makes it even more clear that employment opportunities at a Halal firm will be exclusively available to Muslims. Itsays, Slaughtering must be done by a sane adult Muslim. Animals slaughtered by a Non-Muslim will not be Halal. It states further, The name of Allah must be invoked (mentioned) at the time of slaughtering by saying: Bismillah Allahu Akbar. (In the Name of Allah; Allah is the Greatest.) If at the time of slaughtering the name of anyone else other than Allah is invoked (i.e. animal sacrificed for him/her), then the meat becomes Haram unlawful.

While the change in terminology by the government is a welcome step which opens a window for Hindus, the next steps have to be taken by Hindus themselves and not the government. While the change in the wording gives Hindus an opening, the government cannot create a demand for Jhatka meat and that is something that Hindus would have to do for themselves.

It is a fact that the Halal method of slaughter will continue on the ground since the demand for Halal meat is created by Muslims. If Hindus want the Jhatka method to take predominance, the demand itself will have to be created first, just as Islamic nations and those who belong to the faith of Islam created for Halal.

Only recently, for example, it was reported that the South Delhi Municipal Corporation was planning to make it necessary for eateries and meat retailers in its jurisdiction to specify whether the meat theyre serving ishalalorjhatka.

The resolution which has been approved by the standing committee of the civic body on Thursday and would now be going to the house of the Parliament for approval, states that thousands of eating places are working in 104 wards of 4 zones falling below SDMC and meat is being served in 90% eating places however its not displayed by them whether or not(it) is halal or jhatka. An identical state of affairs prevailed at meat retail shops, it read.

According to Hinduism and Sikhism, consuming halal meat is forbidden and in opposition to the religions Therefore, the committee resolves that this route be given to eating places and meat shops that it should be displayed mandatorily as to which meat is being bought and served by themthat halal or jhatka meat is available here, furthered the resolution.

This was possible because demand was created by Hindus for Jhatka meat. After the raging debate, several Hindus asked for Jhatka meat at eateries and questioned them about why Jhatka was not being served, which could be the dietary preference of people who belonged to faiths other than Islam.

Thus, while the government has taken the first step and removed the problematic nomenclature that promoted Islamic hegemony in the meat market, the market for Jhatka, for the slaughter process to take predominance, has to come from Hindus.

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Govt of India removes the word Halal from its Red Meat Manual: Here is what it means - OpIndia

In 2019 I went through a series of events that left me depressed. I decided to part ways with a guy that I was dating as I watched as everyone around me seem to have mature and thriving relationships. I was laid off from my job and I couldnt see a glimmer of hope that Id find something better. I felt isolated. Therapy helped; Id leave on a natural high. But by the next day, I was back in a bad mental place. I needed more, so I started seeking more tools. Thats when I found a Black-owned Yoga studio in Atlanta and everything changed.

Yoga has been part of my wellness routine for the past five years, but it hasnt always felt like a safe space. There were multiple instances where I felt physically out of place. I would get lingering stares while in certain poses, my body not like the others yogis bodies. The arch in my back and the curves in my hips made me stand out. This happened over and over, but my breaking point was when I was called out by a White yoga instructor because she thought I was sticking my butt out too much to be doing the pose properly. I have a deep natural arch in my back that makes it difficult for me to tuck my bottom inbeing called out in a space that was supposed to be inclusive was so disheartening.

Yoga was built by women of colorthe practice originated over 2,500 years ago in Indiabut its been heavily whitewashed. Since coming to the United States in the 1920s, yoga has become a brand, given the glossy Instagram treatment to the point that its become synonymous with thin white women in expensive leggings posing on a beach. Im certainly not the only Black woman who can recall feeling out of place in predominantly white yoga spaces. Oftentimes I feel othered, says Kaysha Cranon, a 36-year-old woman in Atlanta. Even if there are nice white people who are going out of their way to be accommodating or welcoming, it has an othering affect when they want to touch my hair, talk about how they have an Afro after a sweaty class, or watch me intently to make sure I get it.

Being called out in a space that was supposed to be inclusive was so disheartening.

Diverse bodies and voices in the yoga space matter. Representation is important. Seeing someone who looks like you in a place you want to be is inspiring, says Ashlee Ansah, a 32-year-old Atlanta woman. In all my years of yoga, Id never felt like I was a part of a community until I began practicing in a Black-owned studioLevel3 Yoga in Atlanta. It was everything that I didnt realize I needed. The energy in the room felt different. I was able to have relatable conversations that were so much more than the awkward small talk that I had gotten accustomed to having at other yoga classes. I felt as though I found my tribe. I would leave the class feeling rejuvenated and with a level headit was the tool to conquer the mental pain I was going through that Id been looking for.

The elements of traditional yoga classes didnt feel authentic to me, says Audrey Cash, founder of Level3 Yoga. As yoga began to change my life, I needed to find more ways to make the practice my ownonce I started using hip-hop playlists and began creating twerk yoga classes, yoga became more personal for me. That is ultimately what I believe is the purpose of yoga: to create a mindfulness practice that is rooted in our authenticity so that we can become better versions of ourselves.

Level3s classes are rooted in Black culture, but the studio has a diverse group of yogis. Our race connected some of us, but the overwhelming acceptance that we all had for each other is what really bonded usand that gave me more hope than Id felt in months.

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Yoga Has a Diversity ProblemBlack-Owned Studios Are Changing That - Glamour