Religion news from around the world

There has been a large number of class-relevant religion news items. I will not include all of them; here are just a few of them. I will restrain myself from making extensive comments and let you peruse the stories that interest you.

• "Kazakhstan Passes Restrictive Religion Measure" - The new law restricts certain missionary activities, increases fines for unregistered religious groups, restricts the right to publish certain religious materials, and requires parents to give consent for their children to attend religious services.
  
• "Religion May Help Extend Your Life" - According to a published study, the benefits of church attendance may go beyond the experiential and may extend to your health. There is what economists call an endogeneity problem here (does religion improve your health or are healthy people more likely to be religious), but you can read the story and judge for yourself.
• "Hindus Find New Faiths in Marriage" - This article discusses the increase in number of Hindus entering interfaith marriages.
• "Malaysia Leader: Yoga for Muslims OK without Chant" - We see here a religious population confronting the importation of a practice common frequently associated with a rival religious group.
  
• On license plates, atheist billboards, and a split in the Presbyterian Church - See the AP's Religion news in brief.
• "Religion - What is it Good for?" - This article summarizes some explanations for how religious inclinations may result from evolutionary pressures. These explanations are used by some to challenge a belief in the supernatural.