Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 13 January 2023
Seeds of Islamic radicalism in Pakistan sown in state school textbooks: Study
(P. K. Balachandran, Eurasia Review)
Biden-Harris Administration proposes restoring protections for beneficiaries of federally funded social services
(U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)
Biden administration proposed rule advances religious freedom
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
Supreme Court to decide whether postal service can punish sabbath-observing letter carrier
(Dan McLaughlin, National Review)
S. Ct. will decide: When must employers accommodate religious employees' objections to work rules?
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Court gets to the heart of the matter in same sex wedding website case
(Kevin Goldberg, Freedom Forum)
National Religious Freedom Day: No better time to restore faith in America
(First Liberty)
Celebrating Religious Freedom Day by taking back the revolutionary meaning of ‘religious freedom’
(Frederick Clarkson, Religion Dispatches)
HRW former head denied Harvard fellowship over ‘anti-Israel bias’
(Al Jazeera)
Nigeria’s bishops push Buhari on terrorism, corruption; Buhari reportedly pushes back
(John Dyikuk, The Pillar)
Dozens still in captivity after Christmas Day attack in Nigeria, Catholic priest says
(Jude Atemanke, Catholic News Agency)
Advancing religious freedom despite persecutions on the rise
(Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
Charting a nationalist and secular Iraqi state: The road ahead (podcast)
(Geneive Abdo, The Middle East File: Religious Freedom Institute)
Sri Lanka Catholic Church hails Supreme Court order for ex-president over bombings
(Uditha Jayasinghe, Reuters)
Sri Lanka church seeks criminal justice for Easter bombings
(Associated Press)
Antisemitic attitudes in America: Topline findings
(Anti-Defamation League)
CAIR announces official position on Hamline University controversy, Islamophobia debate
(Ismail Allison, Council on American-Islamic Relations)
Why focus on religious roles in the global forced migration crisis?
(Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
The clergy and laity of the UOC-MP demand answers to 10 questions regarding the status of their Church and withdrawal from the ROC
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Assessing Kyiv’s new focus on “spiritual independence”
(Denys Brylov, Tetiana Kalenychenko, Peter Mandaville, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Integrating religion in the governance of the refugee crisis
(Jocelyne Cesari, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
ECJ rules against Polish workplace LGBTQ discrimination
(Deutsche Welle)
Norwegian Storting holds onto law that King must be Christian
(Christian Network Europe)
Learning from the vast COVID-19 restrictions on religion
(Eric Patterson, World)
In the news: Breaking religious freedom stories across the country - 13 January 2023
(First Liberty)
Nine killed in mosque attack in Burkina Faso
(AFP, Barron's)
Minnesota poised to ban Christians, Muslims, and Jews from teaching in public schools
(Joy Pullmann, The Federalist)
Kazakhstan: Religious censorship at border
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Parental rights and “relationships and sexuality education” in Wales: R (Isherwood)
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Church of England & IICSA Final Report
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Can they really make prayer illegal?
(Erin Hawley, World)
Jihadists threaten Catholics in central Mali, demand conversion
(Guy Aimé Eblotié, La Croix International)
Catholic charity asks Wisconsin court to declare it ‘religious’ after labor board says no
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Court finds LGBTQ+ students harmed by government but provides no legal remedy
(Religious Exemption Accountability Project)
Parliament joins civil society in responding to United Nations new agenda for peace
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Afghanistan: Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul attack that killed 5 people
(Associated Press, NPR)
Court reverses order that father "shall not discuss religion with" child
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Myanmar: Junta bombs church in Kayin State killing 5 civilians
(Radio Free Asia)
French court orders town to remove Virgin Mary statue
(AFP, Barron's)
Idaho faith healing exemption still unchanged. Canyon County counts 8 more deaths
(Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman)
Christian missionaries target the birthplace of Buddha in Nepal
(Kevin Kim and Rebecca Henschke, BBC News)
Turkiye President criticises Taliban ban on women education
(Middle East Monitor)
MECC and OHCHR organize seminar entitled "Dignity, Freedom and Justice" marking 75th anniversary of adoption of Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(Lebanon National News Agency)
Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Why religious freedom matters to me
(Chris Seiple, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Understanding religion’s roles in peacebuilding
(James Christie, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Lebanese Hezbollah condemns Charlie Hebdo cartoons in France
(Associated Press)
Maronite Patriarch meets with UK political leaders and Lebanese delegations
(Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales)
Justices decline to hear religious burden claim against Montgomery County, Maryland
(Steve Lash, Maryland Daily Record)
Faith after the pandemic: How COVID-19 changed American religion. Findings from the 2022 American Religious Benchmark Survey
(Lindsay Witt-Swanson, Jennifer Benz, and Daniel A. Cox, Survey Center on American Life)
Preferential non-representation? Case of Bakirdzi and E.C. v Hungary
(Péter Kállai, Strasbourg Observers)
Tackling racial profiling: reflections on recent case law of the European Court of Human Rights
(Bea Streicher, Strasbourg Observers)
G.M. and Others v Moldova: Beyond paternalism for women with intellectual disabilities and their reproductive rights
(Eva Sevrin and Emma Várnagy, Strasbourg Observers)
Iran: An Unbelievable Injustice: Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi sentenced to a second decade in prison in Iran
(Bahá’í International Community)
The persecution of Christians keeps surging around the world
(Richard Ostling, Religion Unplugged)
Russia: 47 Jehovah’s Witnesses sentenced to prison terms in 2022
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Religious repression in Putin’s Russia
(Antonio Graceffo, Providence Mag)
Religion in the war in Ukraine (audio recording)
(Peter Mandaville and Knox Thames, WorldNews Reddit Talk)
Announcement of 3 year contract with the International Rescue Committee to help resettle refugees
(Twitter, Islamic Relief USA)
New report shows Dems are far more religiously diverse than GOP — though one (a)religious group remains woefully underrepresented
(Chrissy Stroop, Religion Dispatches)
The number of Christians and churches in Nepal released by the NCCS
(Kumar Singh Bist, The China Christian Daily)
Why interfaith marriage in India is getting dangerous
(Murali Krishnan, Deutsche Welle)
New book: Buddhism and Comparative Constitutional Law
(Edited by Tom Ginsburg and Benjamin Schonthal, Cambridge University Press)
Michigan city passes new rules for religious animal sacrifices
(Justine Lofton, M Live)
Detroit-area city OKs animal sacrifice for religious reasons
(Associated Press)
Italy’s Meloni makes first state visit to meet with Francis
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
Catholic hospital's denial of gender dysphoria procedure is illegal sex discrimination
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Israel’s new hard-line government has made headlines – the bigger demographic changes that caused it, not so much
(Michael Brenner, The Conversation)
Why Israel’s Orthodox Jewish parties want to narrow the country’s ‘Law of Return’
(Avi Shafran, Religion News Service)
CAIR MN backs student who says she was hurt by instructor showing image of Muhammad
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
Norms in religious traditions for response to the displaced
(David Hollenbach, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
State lawmakers challenge Yeshiva University’s claims to public funds
(Andrew Silow-Carroll, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Can the Biden Administration define anti-Semitism?
(Alvin Rosenfeld and Leslie Lenkowsky, The Wall Street Journal)
Quebec's Bill 21 on secularism finds support in Ontario
(Tarek Fatah, Toronto Sun)
Hijab and niqab in North America: Politics, identity, and media representation
(Katherine Bullock, Muslim Matters)
Relist-palooza: Religious exercise, the False Claims Act, takings clause, RICO, bank secrecy, and more
(John Elwood, SCOTUSblog)
Scientology and exemption from rates: Church of Scientology v Ricketts (VO)
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Church Commissioners report on transatlantic chattel slavery
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Open letter to the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
(Religions for Peace)
CAIR, community partners hold emergency preparedness summit for interfaith leaders in Maryland
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
‘Thou Shalt Not Kill’ posters to go up in nation’s capital
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Austria drops bogus ‘terrorism’ charges against Muslim academic
(Al Jazeera)
COMECE, FAFCE and DBI publish their contribution on the European Year of Skills 2023
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Holy Mass to remember late EP President David Sassoli to be held on Wednesday 11 January in Brussels
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Religious Freedom in Tajikistan, Turkmenistan & Uzbekistan
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
The Journal of CESNUR: Jehovah’s Witnesses in Central Asia (pdf)
(The Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR))
Norway investigates legality of school devotions
(Christian Network Europe)
First new church in Turkey in more than 100 years
(Christian Network Europe)
Iraq: Weaponising religion for war
(Farouk Yousef, Arab Weekly)
Benin: In the small West African nation of Benin the government is calling on voodoo to attract tourism
(ABC News Australia)
Constitutional freedom
(Michael W. McConnell, First Things)
Bill would protect Washington state churches from government closure
(The Daily News)
Church in Peru condemns murder of police officer burned alive: ‘No more deaths!’
(Catholic News Agency)
Oregon interfaith group pushes for full enactment of Measure 114 gun laws
(Kristian Foden-Vencil, Oregon Public Broadcasting)
Chile: Comment following Chamber's vote condemning antisemitism (Spanish)
(Twitter, Miguel Angel Calisto)
Brazil registers three complaints of religious intolerance a day and Jutay defends more severe punishment for those who practice the act (Portuguese)
(Daniel Alexandre, Repórter PB)
Brazil: Now it's law: Religious Diversity Week joins the official calendar of the city of São Paulo (Portuguese)
(Carol Flores, Câmara Municipal de São Paulo)
Meeting of interreligious council and local government (Albanian)
(Twitter, Interreligious Council of Albania)
Monday, 9 January 2023
Indonesian Catholics seek resolution of community grievance
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Fear over growing use of blasphemy law in Indonesia
(Asia Sentinel)
United Arab Emirates says it will teach Holocaust in schools
(Jon Gambrell, Associated Press)
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