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Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
What do State Department cuts mean for religious freedom?
This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night. Cuts are coming to the U.S. State Department. The Trump administration confirmed last week that it will downsize and reorganize the federal agency in hopes of reducing what it describes as inefficiency and bloat. The announcement sparked concern among some religious freedom experts, who feared the State Department's Office of International Religious Freedom was on the chopping block. The office, which is led by the U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, tracks faith-related violence around the world and recommends sanctions on countries that discourage religious diversity or otherwise harm people of faith. The office has helped the U.S. establish a reputation as the world's foremost religious freedom champion, but that doesn't mean it enjoys universal support. When I profiled then-U.S. ambassador-at-large Sam Brownback in 2019, several sources said they were frustrated with how the office functioned and how little its research seemed to matter in the grand scheme of the State Department. 'People who work as our foreign service officers around the world are as intelligent a group of people as you'll find in any U.S. government agency,' one former ambassador told me. 'But it is surprising how often there is a comparative lack of understanding of the important role that religion and religious practices play in the lives of people around the world.' In a statement on upcoming changes, a spokesperson for the State Department said the reorganization will help the Office of International Religious Freedom have a bigger voice in the government's human rights work. The office is expected to be part of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor moving forward. 'This will help ensure that the promotion of religious freedom and the effort to counter antisemitism remain at the center of our human rights diplomacy, not separate,' a State Department spokesperson told the National Catholic Register. Key moments from Pope Francis' funeral Deion and Shedeur Sanders praised God amid NFL draft stress Doctor describes Pope Francis' final moments — and the prayer that followed his death What the Supreme Court said Tuesday about LGBTQ rights, public schools and a children's book on same-sex marriage Dyngus Day is a Polish holiday that marks the end of Lent, the somber religious season that stretches from Ash Wednesday to Easter. It developed out of pagan cleansing rituals that marked the start of spring, as well as Catholic traditions tied to Easter, according to The Washington Post. On Dyngus Day in Poland, revelers go to Easter Monday Mass — and then start chasing one another with water and tree branches. 'They came to my house once, and my dad opened the door, and they literally flooded the house,' said Agnieszka Zagórska, who grew up in Poland, to The Washington Post. 'When I grew up, it was a nightmare. Going to church, it was crazy.' Polish-Americans in Buffalo, New York, have embraced Dyngus Day in recent years. The city hosts a Dyngus Day parade, which features water gun fights and people dressed as pierogis and other famous Polish treats. 'Dyngus Day is something to laugh about — its participants don't take themselves too seriously while swatting pussy willows or shooting Super Soakers — but it is steeped in Polish traditions," per The Washington Post. Although I followed Pope Francis' papacy pretty closely, I know next to nothing about the cardinals in line to be the next pope. I enjoyed digging into Religion News Service's guide to the 'likely contenders,' which separates notable candidates into conservative, moderate and progressive camps. Americans are going through something of a friendship crisis right now, but it likely has more to do with the quality of their friendships than the quantity, according to The Atlantic. Writer Faith Hill argues that the crisis will be solved when people put more time into the relationships they already have, rather than going to an endless series of new events. 'Instead of seeking more and more people, hoping for a spark, maybe you're better off working on the friendships that you already have—you know, the ones you're neglecting while playing badminton with strangers," she says. Did my Q&A with one of this season's teams convince anyone to start watching 'The Amazing Race'? Last week's episode put religion in the spotlight again with a cross-finding mission and Bible translation challenge in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Rudaw Net
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Rudaw Net
Iftar meal brings together Muslims, non-Muslims in Washington DC
Also in World US condemns 'radical Islamist terrorists' for 'massacres' against Syria's minorities Kurdish beauty influencers build success in Germany Large wage gap for immigrants in Germany, says researcher US congressman wants to see independent Kurdistan in Syria A+ A- WASHINGTON DC - Muslims and non-Muslims came together for a special Iftar meal earlier this week, celebrating unity and understanding. This is the second consecutive year this event has brought people of different faiths together to break their fast during Ramadan. "Tonight, we are joined by people from many faith communities, all of whom work in the area of preserving [and] defending religious freedom for all vulnerable people in the world," Ibrahim Anli, Executive Director of Rumi Forum, told Rudaw. The US Ambassador for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback believes that peace cannot be achieved anywhere without religious tolerance. He said peace is not possible unless there is mutual respect and understanding. "But with that you can really work with, I think, people of faith to build peace, to build societies that are sustainable, and they relate to each other. American Muslims, who number more than four million, own many mosques and religious centers. During the holy month of Ramadan, American Muslims continue to champion the values of tolerance, understanding, and peace.
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Changes to SNAP and Cash Assistance Programs That Could Come in 2025
In 2015, Kansas passed the HOPE (Hope, Opportunity and Prosperity for Everyone) Act, which made it harder for the state's neediest residents to access federal food and cash assistance funding. Find Out: Try This: 5 Subtly Genius Moves All Wealthy People Make With Their Money The law, which detractors call cruel and ineffective but supporters say encourages work and lowers poverty rates, remains one of the most restrictive in the nation. However, the current governor seeks to overhaul the legislation and expand access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. It's not just Kansas; other states are also looking to expand access to food assistance programs. The federal government funds SNAP and TANF, but the states have wide latitude in administering them. According to the Kansas Reflector, legislators touted the HOPE Act as a blueprint for reducing generational dependency on public assistance, deterring welfare fraud and reducing unemployment. However, the publication reported that the neediest Kansans are 'falling through the cracks' as application denials pile up and mounting poverty strains the state's foster system thanks to the country's most severe and austere public assistance program. Read Next: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is a Democrat who opposed the HOPE Act while serving as a state senator during the administration of Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who signed the bill into law. Kelly is pushing to revamp the HOPE Act and restore SNAP and TANF in Kansas, which now serve fewer children than anywhere except Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands and North Dakota, which have comparatively tiny populations. With Republicans in control of both houses of the state legislature, the attorney general's office and the secretary of state, reform will be easier said than done. Even so, the Reflector reported that Kelley has eyed six factors that she says have reduced access without reducing need. The federal government allows up to 60 months of TANF cash assistance in a lifetime, but Kansas capped it at 48 months even before the HOPE Act. The 2015 legislation reduced it to 36 months, then 24 months — just two years out of the five the federal government allows. In 2022, Kansas distributed less than 7% of the $161 million in TANF funds it had available for basic needs assistance. The act restricted ATM transactions. It also made repeat drug offenders ineligible. The legislation required applicants to work 30 hours a week or enroll in job training. Kansas has slashed its cash assistance programs by 40% but increased its foster care prevention spending by $25 million over the past 14 years. Unlike Kansas, the federal government is not divided. The GOP controls the White House and both houses of Congress and enjoys a supermajority of Republican appointees on the Supreme Court, which advocates say could put the entire country on the Kansas model. A Brookings analysis found that all four of President Donald Trump's first-term budget proposals called for massive reductions to both programs — $20 billion in cuts to TANF and $200 billion, 30%, in cuts to SNAP. Trump has also proposed requiring states to pay 25% of the benefits, a radical departure from 50 years of fully federally funded disbursements. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, federal funds account for roughly one-third of state spending, which makes them highly vulnerable to federal cuts. The Urban Institute reported that the Republican Study Committee, House Budget Committee and Project 2025 all recommend steep cuts to SNAP, TANF and other low-income assistance programs. However, several lawmakers have proposed legislation that would expand access to SNAP and TANF. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) proposed the Closing the Meal Gap Act, which would use the USDA's more realistic Low-Cost Food Plan as the basis for SNAP allotments instead of the restrictive Thrifty Food Plan it currently uses. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) proposed the Enhance Access to SNAP (EATS) Act, which would give low-income college students the same priority as non-student SNAP recipients. It would also loosen restrictions and requirements regarding course load and work-study participation. Rep. Grace Meng's (D-NY) Hot Foods Act would allow SNAP recipients to use benefits to purchase hot prepared foods from retailers, which is currently prohibited. Editor's note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on More From GOBankingRates 4 Low-Risk Ways To Build Your Savings in 2025 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000 This article originally appeared on Changes to SNAP and Cash Assistance Programs That Could Come in 2025
