Law and Religion Headlines

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Friday, 19 August 2022

Climate protesters target the Vatican’s Laocoon statue
(Associated Press)

South Korea: Unification Church followers decry ‘biased’ Japanese media
(Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press)

Maine's COVID vaccine mandate, without religious exemption, is upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Commission recommends changes in Australian state's anti-discrimination laws
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Australia: Law Reform Commission tramples on religious freedom
(Christian Schools Australia)

Christian high school asks appeals court to take up their loudspeaker prayer case in light of Kennedy, and other federal cases of note
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)

Texas school district removes Bible and Anne Frank adaptation in back-to-school sweep
(Amanda Holpuch, The New York Times)

Why this Christian lawmaker has to unblock his atheist constituents on Twitter
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

An interfaith discussion on the role of religion in mental health
(Emily Costello and Thalia Plata, The Conversation)

Uvalde shooting survivors receive scholarships to attend local Catholic school
(Riley Farrell, Religion News Service)

When will their churches condemn the Christian nationalism of MAGA politicians?
(David Dark, Religion News Service)

Second attack on Gandhi statue will be investigated as a hate crime, NYPD says
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)

Peru’s bishops call for ‘urgent and creative solution’ to nation’s crisis
(Barbara Fraser, Catholic News Service)

Kenyan bishops urge calm as presidential election dispute emerges
(Fredrick Nzwili, Catholic News Service)

Ukraine cannot guarantee the safety of Hasidic pilgrims, - ambassador Korniychuk
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Kazakhstan: "This is not a state campaign against the Church"?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

Religious schools haven't yet sought public funding in Maine after Supreme Court decision
(Robbie Feinberg, Maine Public)

ProPublica punts when digging into why the Family Research Council calls itself a church
(Julia Duin, GetReligion)

The universal application of laws is never equal: Antisemitism in U.S. law
(Mia Brett, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

India: Bilkis Bano condemns release of her convicted rapists in India
(Al Jazeera)

India: Religious liberty under threat as India celebrates 75th anniversary
(Raymond J. de Souza, National Post)

Russian Orthodox priest’s defamation suit can proceed, federal court rules
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)

China: State-backed Chinese Catholic gathering begins
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Ex-Swedish FM says Quran burning a crime, should be stopped
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))

Salman Rushdie and the transnational repression of religious freedom
(Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission)

Explainer: USDA allows religious schools to receive lunch funding without violating their beliefs
(Hannah Daniel, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission)

WCC expresses dismay at attack on St Andrew’s Anglican Church in Ramallah
(World Council of Churches)

Liberia: President Weah leads nation in mourning Archbishop Zeigler
(Arnold Neliba, Catholic Information Service for Africa)

Germany: Iranian Christian convert’s case reveals flaws in Germany’s asylum process
(Article 18)

Pakistan – Germany: Two Ahmadis at risk of being deported from Germany
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

A school year with more religious liberty than ever before
(Ethan Tong and Jorge Gomez, First Liberty)

Religious hospitals forced to violate their conscience?
(Jorge Gomez, First Liberty)

U.S. Senate considering two bills that could harm religious liberty
(Ethan Tong, First Liberty)

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) to publish final report on October 20
(The Church of England)

UK: Removal of bells from a closed church
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

Iran’s brazen propaganda ploy to incriminate Baha’is through fake videos and hate speech
(Bahá’í International Community)

The compendium of world condemnations of antisemitic UN investigator Miloon Kothari
(UN Watch)

Is this Russian rabbi fair game for sanctions, or being held to a double standard?
(Louis Keene, Forward)

El putinismo parte a la Iglesia ortodoxa
(El Mundo)

Finnish ex-minister: Christian ethics is getting criminalised
(Christian Network Europe)

Fire chaplain sues city of Austin for firing him for sharing religious view on personal blog
(Alliance Defending Freedom)

Suit alleges Catholic schools discriminate against disabled
(Associated Press)

Book review: The Fate of Abraham: Why the West is wrong about Islam by Peter Oborne
(Philip Lewis, Church Times)

Thursday, 18 August 2022

WEBINAR, 18 August 2022 (2PM ET): The Fear of "The Great Replacement" and Impact on Society
(Religions for Peace USA)

Wednesday, 17 August 2022

Somalia: Catholic bishop hopes meeting with Somalia authorities will yield to religious freedom
(Agnes Aineah, ACI Africa)

Afghanistan: Bombing at Kabul mosque kills 10, including prominent cleric
(Rahim Faiez, Associated Press)

Afghanistan: Taliban add more compulsory religion classes to Afghan universities
(Agence France-Presse, Jordan News)

Afghanistan: We've abandoned Afghanistan's religious minorities
(Sean Nelson, Newsweek)

Iran’s long list of hated enemies—including Salman Rushdie and Christian believers
(Lela Gilbert, Hudson Institute)

Lebanon: Attack on Rushdie shows divisions among Lebanese Shiites
(Bassem Mroue, Associated Press)

Bangladesh PM tells UN that Myanmar must take Rohingya back
(Julhas Alam, Associated Press)

Iraqi PM calls meeting of senior politicians to end crisis
(Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press)

Nepal's holy Bagmati River choked with black sewage, trash
(Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press)

River chief imprisoned for fishing fights for sacred rights
(Deepa Bharath, Associated Press)

California appeals court rejects COVID-19 fines for church
(Associated Press)

Atheists win settlement after suing Christian nationalist lawmaker
(American Atheists)

Think the Supreme Court solved school prayer conflict? Think again
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

Report: Nonreligious LGBTQ people face heightened stigma, conceal their beliefs
(Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service)

Interfaith summit dreams of America as a potluck, not a battlefield
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

Thailand’s restive south hit by wave of arson and bombings
(Sumeth Panpetch, Associated Press)

Nigerian Court of Appeals upholds sharia law in high profile blasphemy case
(International Christian Concern)

Nigeria's sharia blasphemy law not unconstitutional, court rules
(Reuters)

Nigeria: New cardinal says he is worried about ‘survival of Christianity’ in Nigeria
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Why politics may not be the magic bullet in terms of refilling the pews
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Nicaragua: Bianca Jagger says Nicaraguan regime has ‘declared war’ on Catholic Church
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Germany: Scholz reaction to Abbas' Holocaust remarks draws criticism
(Deutsche Welle)

Turkey, Israel to restore full diplomatic relations
(Al Jazeera)

Abortion and liberal Protestant decline
(Mark Tooley, World)

Salman Rushdie has been a seer, presaging our age of violent religious extremism
(Paul Elie, Vanity Fair)

Is America's religion cup half-empty or half-full? Two new takes on the omnipresent 'nones'
(Richard Ostling, GetReligion)

Spanish Catholic church to investigate antisemitic rituals
(Stephen Burgen, The Guardian)

Carson v. Makin and the blossoming of religious freedom in education
(Charles J. Russo, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

South African Catholic bishops take a stand against inequality
(La Croix International)

Cairo blaze highlights problem of unsafe makeshift churches
(Bahira Amin, Al-Monitor)

Egypt’s deadly church fire sparks global outpouring of sorrow and sympathy
(Arab News)

WCC mourns loss of lives in Egypt church fire
(World Council of Churches)

Egypt: Ethiopian Catholic Church mourns with Coptic Orthodox after blaze kills 41 people including 15 children
(Paschal Norbert, Catholic Information Service for Africa)

Condolences offered after Coptic Church fire in Egypt
(Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)

Statement of condolences following fire at Abu Sefein Church
(Twitter, Muslim World League)

Egypt: The suffering of the saints
(Samuel Tadros, Hudson Institute)

Egypt: A boom, a fire and a stampede: Dozens die at a Coptic Church in Egypt
(Nada Rashwan, Euan Ward, Liam Stack and Yonette Joseph, The New York Times)

Reclaiming a positive vision of liberty
(George McKenna, First Things)

Statement by the Big Four and their prayer: Zaporizhzhia
(Parliament of the World's Religions)

Haiti: Religious coalition seeks UN help for Haiti
(Catholic News Service)

China: Special bimonthly FORB newsletter (1-15.08.2022)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

China: Police in China's Chengdu raid Sunday meeting of banned church members, detain one
(Gu Ting, Radio Free Asia)

Uyghur rights groups file criminal case in Argentina against China
(Alim Seytoff and Jewlan, Radio Free Asia)

India: Eleven convicted of gang-rape of pregnant Muslim woman released from jail
(ne, The New Arab)

Indian state imposes 10 years in jail for ‘forced conversions’
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

India denies it will provide homes to Rohingya in capital
(Al Jazeera)

An Indian politician ended up in the hospital after drinking water from a polluted holy river to show it was safe
(Mia Jankowicz, Business Insider)

WCC climate work looks to unite a global voice on climate change, justice, food, and health
(World Council of Churches)

New theological reflections available in preparation for World Week of Peace in Palestine and Israel
(World Council of Churches)

Russia: Protestant churches targeted by repression
(SOVA Center for News and Analysis, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Russia: Ata Zholy: Crackdown on a Kazakh Islamic religious movement in Russia
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)

Russia: Special bimonthly FORB newsletter (01-15.08.2022)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Ukraine war: Thousands of Jews quit Russia amid fears of persecution
(Aleem Maqbool, BBC News)

Religious speech on or with government property
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)

No immediate appeal of denial of church autonomy defense in intra-church libel case
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Religious schools needn't follow new Title IX gender guidance to stay in school lunch program
(Elizabeth Nolan Brown, Reason)

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