EVENT, 10 April 2025: 11th Annual Iowa Religious Freedom Day Celebration, "The Role of Religion in Peacemaking" (Des Moines, IA, USA) (Iowareligiousfreedomday.org)

EVENT, 6 February 2025: Religious Freedom in America (Washington, DC, USA) (National Council for Religious Freedom)

EVENT, 6 February 2025: National Prayer Breakfast (Washington, DC, USA)

EVENT, 4-5 February 2025: IRF Summit 2025 (Washington, DC, USA)

EVENT, 3 February 2025: Global Faith Forum: Together for Peace in a Time of Outrage (Washington, DC, USA) (Multi-Faith Neighbors Network)

EVENT, 3 February 2025: IRF Summit University Partnership Program 2025 (Washington, DC, USA) (IRF Summit)

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS, deadline for submission 31 January 2025: Young Scholars Fellowship at Oxford (International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), Brigham Young University)

VIRTUAL EVENT, 8 January 2025 (2PM ET): The Role of Religion and Spirituality in U.S. Security Assistance (Center for Strategic & International Studies)

ESSAY COMPETITION, deadline 6 January 2025: William Kessler Essay Prize (UK Undergraduate and Graduate students) (Woolf Institute)

CALL FOR PROPOSALS, new deadline 29 December 2024: Eighth Annual Conference: Religion and Socio-Cultural Transformation: European Perspectives and Beyond (Vienna, Austria) (The European Academy of Religion)

Malaysia’s Mufti Bill sparks debate on religious plurality and accountability (Mong Palatino, Global Voices)

Malaysian man publicly caned for Islamic crime of close proximity (Reuters)

China: Religious issues and persecution – Bimonthly Digest December 16-31 (Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Canada condemns China's steps against Canadian institutions over Uyghurs, Tibet (Kanishka Singh, Reuters)

Brazil’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue is caught in a battle between church and state (Julia Vargas Jones, CNN)

Afghanistan: Taliban’s pursuit of ‘Islamic vision’ eroding freedoms in Afghanistan: Security Council (Vibhu Mishra, United Nations)

Syria’s dwindling Jewish community can visit one of the world’s oldest synagogues again (Bassem Mroue, Associated Press)

Syria's Alawite community: Once feared, now living in fear? (Cathrin Schaer, Deutsche Welle)

Social Cohesion: National gatherings explore paths toward societal harmony (Bahá’í World News Service)

Fides study shows 13 missionaries killed in 2024 (Francesca Merlo, Vatican News)

Articles of interest - 30 December 2024 (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

The top 10 religion stories of 2024: What's old is news again (Religion News Service)

India: Catholic bishops in India reject criticism of Modi’s Christmas visit to headquarters (Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Jordan condemns incursions by Israeli settlers into Al Aqsa Mosque (Jordan Times)

Summary of Week One at the Faith Pavilion at COP29 (JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

Iran: Religious issues and persecution – Monthly Digest December (Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Made in Japan: No FoRB for the Family Federation. 2. Revamping the Debunked Notion of “Cult” (Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)

Made in Japan: No FoRB for the Family Federation. 3. Dissolving a Group Is Dissolving Freedom (Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)

Pakistan President signs law to regulate religious schools (Fidel Rahmati, Khaama)

Pakistan: Amendment ordinance issued shortly after act on Madrasa registration: The law prohibits madrassas from teaching or publishing material that promotes militancy, sectarianism, or hatred. (The Express Tribune)

Tajikistan clamps down on fortune telling, faith healing amid difficult times (Farangis Najibullah, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)

Nonnatus with a name: A step forward in dignity and religious freedom (Spanish) (Fishel Szlajen, Infobae)

Religious leaders celebrated the recognition of unborn children in the civil registry of the city of Buenos Aires (Spanish) (Fishel Szlajen, Infobae)

International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance declared undesirable in Russia (Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Statistics about the harsh repression of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia in 2024 (Willy Fautré, The European Times)

The Muslim Council of Britain calls for Jenrick to be sacked (Muslim Council of Britain)

Catholic priest in Belarus sentenced to 11 years as crackdown on dissent continues (Yuras Karmanau, Associated Press)

Using menorah from Argentina’s Milei, Volodymyr Zelensky lights Hanukkah candles with Ukrainian rabbis (Philissa Cramer, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Patriarch Daniil: "There is only one Orthodox Church" (Lyubomir Gigov, Bulgarian News Agency)

Government opposes registration of Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria (Radio Bulgaria)

As world cheers the restored Notre-Dame, other French churches decay (Dale Berning Sawa, The Art Newspaper)

USCIRF welcomes the acquittal of Rhoda Jatau (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Former President Jimmy Carter, beloved Sunday School teacher and humanitarian, dies at 100 (Erin Roach, Religion Unplugged)

Jimmy Carter’s commitment to religious liberty should guide us all (Amanda Tyler, Time)

EEOC sues Rex Healthcare, Inc. for religious discrimination (U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

New Ohio law allows Hindu students 3 religious holiday absences per year (WHIO)

All the Little Sisters want for Christmas is religious liberty (William McGurn, The Wall Street Journal)

Peyote sacred to Native Americans threatened by psychedelic renaissance and development (Deepa Bharath and Jessie Wardarski, Associated Press)

Court denies preliminary injunction against moratorium delaying building of mosque (Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Prominent atheists ditch Freedom From Religion Foundation as org doubles down on censorship, 'extreme gender activism' (Jarryd Jager, Western Standard)

A solution to charter school religious First Amendment problems (Peter Greene, Forbes)

Religious landscape of new Congress features noticeable partisan differences (Nick Eskow and Paul V. Fontelo, Roll Call)

Judd Birdsall on religious literacy and national security (James Diddams, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)