Law and Religion Headlines
Thursday, 23 April 2015
Complaint targets continued use of cross in L.A. County seal
(Matt Hamilton, Los Angeles Times)
Plaintiffs say LA County continues to use seal with cross in violation of agreement
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Five attacks foiled in France since Charlie Hebdo killings: PM
(Mark John, Reuters)
Armenian church canonizes victims of 1915 mass killings
(Hasmik Mkrtchyan and Margarita Antidze, Reuters)
Turkey: Popular sovereignty undermined by gov’t as opposition’s demands ignored
(Gülten Üstüntağ, Today's Zaman)
On eve of anniversary, Turkey’s ‘cultural genocide’ of Armenian history is ongoing
(Tania Karas, Religion News Service)
Niche interest groups or a solid political option? Meet the UK's two Christian political parties
(Lucinda Borkett-Jones, Christian TodaySociety)
Transgender teen wins settlement with South Carolina DMV
(Marisa Taylor, Al Jazeera America)
Finding LGBT-competent doctors may be difficult, study shows
(Al Jazeera America)
Birth certificate cannot be retrospectively changed to reflect father’s gender reassignment
(Rosalind English, UK Human Rights Blog)
“Spiritual influence” and elections updated: Lutfur Rahman found guilty of illegal electoral practices
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Tower Hamlets election fraud mayor Lutfur Rahman removed from office
(BBC News)
Secular militancy as an obstacle to peacebuilding
(Timothy Shah, Religious Freedom Project of the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs)
Australian Islamic center linked to Gallipoli centenary plot shuts down
(The Jerusalem Post)
Al-Aqsa Sheikh: Situation in the city is very dangerous
(Middle East Monitor)
Kenyan bishop says ‘stop playing around’ on anti-Christian violence
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux)
Brazilian Jews lobby in favor of controversial anti-terror bill
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Church of Moscow Patriarchate set on fire in Babi Yar again
(Interfax-Religion)
Extremist Hindus break into India Catholic schools, demand closure
(Miko Morelos, Ecumenical News)
How the happiness U-curve echoes the Buddha’s teachings (Commentary)
(Arthur E. Farnsley II, Religion News Service)
Attitudes on same-sex marriage by religious affiliation and denominational family
(Robert P. Jones, Public Religion Research Institute)
From Calvin to the Caliphate: What Europe’s wars of religion tell us about the modern Middle East
(John M. Owen IV, Foreign Affairs)
RightsInfo – a new human rights initiative
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
What human rights do for religion and belief
(Adam Wagner, Rights Info: Human Rights Information to Share)
World Bank launches interfaith push to eliminate extreme poverty
(Heather Adams, Religion News Service)
OIC: Launch of the first round of extensive consultations to boost relations between the Muslim world and China
(Mr. Iyad Ameen Madani, Organization of Islamic Cooperation)
The Academic War on Israel
(Denis MacEoin, Gatestone Institute)
Judicially mandating same-sex marriage would put the US at odds with the Western World
(Lynn D. Wardle, Elizabeth A. Clark, W. Cole Durham, Jr., The Witherspoon Institute: Public Discourse)
Calvin and the Caliphate
(Robert Joustra, Arc of the Universe: Ethics and Global Justice)
HDP and CHP also envision a ‘New Turkey’
(Özgür Korkmaz, Hürriyet Daily News)
Wednesday, 22 April 2015
Radical Islam fears emerge in Idaho
(Ryan Struyk, Associated Press, Crux: Covering all things Catholic)
Federal judge: County prayer policy constitutional
(Associated Press, Crux: Covering all things Catholic)
Christian-Muslim dialogue: Most Muslims are against killing in the name of God
(AsiaNews.it)
The Gospel Herald: Government-sanctioned persecution of Christians in China increased drastically in 2014
(Isaiah Narcisco, China Aid)
Islam, philosophy and the West: A millennium-old argument
(B.C., The Economist [Erasmus: Religion and public policy])
The Guardian view on the sentence just passed on Mohamed Morsi
(Editorial, The Guardian)
Grief mixes with anger over Christian Ethiopian deaths
(Jacey Fortin, The New York Times)
Paris church terror attacks suspect arrested after 'accidentally shooting himself in leg'
(Tom Porter, International Business Times)
The student who planned to attack Paris churches
(Ben McPartland, The Local Fr)
A call to end racial and religious profiling: A perspective from LGBTQ South Asian, Muslim, and Middle Eastern communities
(Yas Ahmed, Hyphen Magazine)
Egypt's religious book burning backfires
(Rami Galal, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Shiite militias' role in Anbar fight unclear
(Shelly Kittleson, Al-Monitor: Iraq Pulse)
Turkey: 1,300 people deported amid ISIS clampdown
(Middle East Monitor)
Survey: Jews, Buddhists are biggest U.S. supporters of gay marriage
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Small businesses split on religious freedom laws and marijuana, poll shows
(Lydia Wheeler, The Hill)
Myanmar population control law threatens minorities: rights group
(Kieran Guilbert, Reuters)
Pastors descend on Texas Capitol to support bill protecting them from performing gay marriages
(Lana Shadwick, Breitbart News Network)
Cancelled services at Navy boot camp spark outrage
(David Larter, Navy Times)
House Committee passes resolution disapproving local act threatening religious freedom in the nation’s capital
(Catholic Standard)
Government in Malaysia's Selangor state says church should put back cross
(Miko Morelos, Ecumenical News)
Michigan Senate panel OKs bills on adoption and religion
(Kathleen Gray, Detroit Free Press)
Syriac priest wrestles with Turkey's ethnic tensions
(World Watch Monitor)
Turkey faces delicate battle against Islamic State sympathisers at home
(Humeyra Pamuk and Jonny Hogg, Reuters)
Russia accuses Tajik Man of propagating Islamic extremism
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
Terror plot to attack Christian churches in Paris foiled after suspect 'accidentally shot himself'
(Lizzie Dearden, The Independent)
Do gay Americans support same-sex marriage? It depends on what you mean by “gay”
(Tobin Grant, RNS Blog: Corner of Church and State)
In Ark., a complex divide on religious freedom, gay rights
(Jessia Meyers, The Boston Globe)
Iraqi officer under Saddam masterminded rise of Islamic State: Spiegel
(writing by Noah Barkin; editing by Crispian Balmer, Reuters)
Malaysia orders probe after protest forces church to take down cross
(reporting by Praveen Menon; editing by Paul Tait, Reuters)
OSCE chief says 'good chance for peace' in Ukraine
(Agence-France Press, Business Insider)
Pope Francis to stop off in Cuba on way to United States in September
(Nick Miroff, The Washington Post)
US Bishop Finn, symbol of church's failure on sexual abuse, resigns
(Joshua J. McElwee, Brian Roewe, and Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter)
Catholic Bishop Robert Finn, convicted of not reporting sex abuse, resigns
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Gloriavale leaders close in as members talk of leaving
(John Weeks, New Zealand Herald)
Recent decision of the Court of Appeal on delay in historic child abuse claims
(Laura Rattigan and Edward Gleeson, Lexology)
Irish court dismisses abuse suit against religious order not brought for 30 years
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Lawyer: First Amendment protects teen accused of trying to join terrorists
(Jon Seidel, Chicago Sun-Times)
Free Exercise defense raised for teen charged with attempting to support ISIS
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Lakewood rabbi and 2 others convicted in kidnapping conspiracy; son acquitted
(MaryAnn Spoto, NJ Advance Media)
Jury convicts 3 in "coerced get" kidnappings
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Judge orders NY transit agency to run 'Killing Jews' ad
(Jonathan Stempel, Reuters)
Court requires NY transit authority to accept anti-Islam ads
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Defying ban, Women of the Wall read from full-sized Torah scroll at Kotel
(Daniel K. Eisenbud, The Jerusalem Post)
Israel's Women of The Wall score another first
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
'Syrian accomplice’ told Paris terror suspect to attack churches
(Tony Todd, France 24 International News)
Turkish PM sends condolences to Armenians, but stops short on 'genocide'
(Associated Press, Haaretz)
Joint Arab List turns down invite from Arab League
(Jack Khoury, Haaretz)
Religion has got nothing to do with beef ban: Maharashtra Government to Bombay HC
(Economic Times)
This professor makes a case for religious education in school
(Herb Scribner, Daily American)
EVENT, 22 April 2015: Religious Exemptions: Civil Rights and the Parameters of Liberty
(University of Arkansas School of Law)
EVENT, 22 April 2015: Women and the New Religious Politics in Southeast Asia
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs)
House committee votes to upend first D.C. law in 23 years
(Aaron C. Davis, The Washington Post)
Briefing: The roots of conflict in Yemen – no easy answers
(Charles Cameron, Lapido Media: Centre for Religious Literacy in World Affairs)
Tuesday, 21 April 2015
Coptic Bishop on the Islamist murder of 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya
(John Couretas, Acton Institute Power Blog)
Saudi war in Yemen masks widening domestic tensions
(Afshin Shahi, AsiaNews (Courtesy of The Conversation website))
Harboring Doubts: on Justice Scalia's Majority Opinion in Employment Division v. Smith
(Roberto Rivera, First Things)
Turkey must end its 100 years of genocide denial (Opinion)
(Peter Balakian, The Guardian)
India, seeking a boost, plans to put Its ‘idle gold’ to work
(Ellen Barry, The New York Times)
This [reproductive health care] could be the next victim of 'religious liberty'
(Tara Culp-Ressler, Think Progress)
Citing popular demand, Roman course seeks to boost exorcists
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Covering all things Catholic)
Seven reasons why people are Zion-phobic
(Jeffrey Salkin, RNS Blog: Martini Judaism)
Charles Stanley declines award after Jews question his views on gays
(Lauren Markoe, Religion News Service)
How ‘Star Wars’ answers our biggest religious questions
(Joel Hodge, The Washington Post)
Status of LGBT student groups may face court fight
(John Riley, Metro Weekly)
In Sisi’s Egypt, blasphemy is still a crime
(Hazel Haddon, Foreign Policy)
Pankisi teen reportedly threatened after refusing to join IS in Syria
(Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty)
World Values Survey 2010 - Now available at the ARDA
(Association of Religion Data Archives)
Faith Matters Survey, 2011 - Now available at the ARDA
(Principal Investigators: Robert D. Putnam, Thomas Sander, David E. Campbell, Association of Religion Data Archives)
Millennial Values Survey, 2012 - Now available at the ARDA
(Principal Investigators: Robert P. Jones, Daniel Cox, Association of Religion Data Archives)
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