Russia's newest restriction on civil liberties is a surprising one. The Russian legislature has partnered up with the Orthodox Church to attempt to ban professional magicians and other "occult services" throughout Russia.

Santeria Churches are seeing an explosion in membership now that only religious groups are allowed unrestricted travel to Cuba ... You can read more about Santeria here.

Meanwhile, the controversy in the Zoroastrian community over whether or not to allow converts into the dying faith continues. Zoroastrianism is the world's oldest monotheistic religion. You can read more about the dwindling of the Zoroastrian (Parsi) faith here, or more about Zoroastrian beliefs and practices.