Law and Religion Headlines

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Wednesday, 27 April 2022

Afghanistan: Kunduz mosque attacked during Friday prayers
(BBC News)

Egypt: Enlightened religious discourse vital in facing destructive extremist thought: Egypt’s President
(Egypt Today)

Egypt frees 9 Copts who called for the rebuilding of their church
(Middle East Monitor)

India: Modi weighs replacing India’s religion-based laws before polls
(Bibhudatta Pradhan, Bloomberg)

India: 11 die when truck hits power line at Hindu festival in India
(Ashok Sharma, Associated Press)

India: Is politics fueling attacks on Muslims?
(Al Jazeera)

India: ‘Kashmir Files’ – A film used to fuel religious intolerance in India
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Report identifies worst violators of religious freedom
(ADF International)

Weekly Highlight #203: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Taking stock of COVID-19 impact: Returning to “normal”?
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)

Vatican trial places pope, top aide at center of London deal
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)

Researchers: COVID-19, Israel-Gaza war fueled antisemitism
(Laurie Kellman, Associated Press)

Activist’s self-immolation stirs questions on faith, protest
(Deepa Bharath and Colleen Slevin, Associated Press)

Marine with religious objections to COVID vaccine is denied preliminary injunction
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

AZ Gov. Ducey signs bills protecting religious liberty of care facility residents, churches
(Greg Chafuen, Alliance Defending Freedom)

California court says "get" denial can be basis for denying husband child custody
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Idaho law students file suit after university punishes them for their religious beliefs
(Michael Ross and Tyson Langhofer, Alliance Defending Freedom)

Still Suspect: The Impact of Structural Islamophobia (pdf)
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)

French Muslims vote for ‘whoever spits in their face least’
(Tom Heneghan, Religion News Service)

Poland and the Jews. It’s complicated.
(Jeffrey Salkin, RNS Column: Martini Judaism)

Buddhist views on suicide examined after climate activist self-immolated on Earth Day
(Ira Rifkin, Religion News Service)

UK: Same-sex marriage and the Church of Scotland
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)

UK: COVID-19 information for churches in Wales
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

South Africa: Churches provide relief after lethal flooding in South African province
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)

UK: Five Hertsmere Tory councillors rebuked over antisemitic abuse at Jewish candidate
(Lee Harpin, Jewish News)

The one and only pro-life argument
(Michael Stokes Paulsen, Public Discourse: The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute)

Jordanian king expresses steadfast support for protecting worship places in Jerusalem
(La Croix International)

Kazakhstan: Asian Church pins hopes on papal visit to Kazakhstan
(Ben Joseph, Union of Catholic Asian News)

Philippines: Jailed Filipino senator gets clerical poll bid backing
(Joseph Peter Calleja, Union of Catholic Asian News)

Indonesia to deport Canadian for disrespecting sacred mountain
(Katharina R. Lestari, Union of Catholic Asian News)

Sweden Quran burning rooted in West’s normalization of Islamophobia
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))

Netherlands: Antisemitic incidents reach 10-year high in the Netherlands
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Netherlands: Twitter admits temporarily suspending Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders
(Euronews)

What is church autonomy?
(Lael Weinberger, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Courts struggle to articulate the limits of church autonomy
(Lael Weinberger, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Church autonomy and church accountability as complimentary principles
(Lael Weinberger, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Jerusalem: Orthodox institutions urge freedom of worship in Jerusalem, reject restrictions on Holy Fire Saturday
(World Council of Churches)

Sudan: Ecumenical solidarity visit encourages cooperation between churches and people of Sudan
(World Council of Churches)

WCC to observe World Immunization Week with theme ‘‘Long Life For All”
(World Council of Churches)

Guatemala: Message about religious freedom roundtable
(Twitter, Sam Brownback)

Taiwan: Covenantal pluralism in Confucian societies: The Taiwan example and its lessons for the world
(André Laliberté, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)

Turkey: Christian group decries Turkey’s life sentence for human rights advocate
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)

SC Gov. McMaster signs bill protecting churches from forced closure during pandemics
(Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post)

Ethiopia: Over 20 killed in anti-Muslim attack in Ethiopia: Islamic group
(Aymeric Vincenot, Al-Monitor)

Mexico: Vatican’s chief diplomat visits Mexico during time of Church-State tensions
(Ines San Martin, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Hispanic Catholic leaders meeting with Senators on immigration reform
(John Lavenburg, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Latter-day Saint leaders and LGBTQ advocates deepen their relationship on Washington D.C. Temple tour
(Tad Walch, Deseret News)

Kenya: How a Christian education shaped the life of the late Kenyan president Mwai Kibaki
(Tom Osanjo, Religion Unplugged)

Kenya: A bishop cannot avoid encountering politicians but only do so as a pastor of people, says Archbishop Muhatia
(Catholic Information Service for Africa)

LDS leaders talk a lot about religious liberty, but is it really at risk? (podcast)
(David Noyce and Tamarra Kemsley, The Salt Lake Tribune)

Video: How can we defeat Islamophobia?
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)

Great and Holy Pascha in Ukraine: Details matter when war crashes into holiest day of the year
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)

In Kherson, almost 60 children are hiding in the basement of a church
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Russia: Patrushev pointed out the special role of Russia in shaping the geopolitical and moral climate in the world
(Interfax-Religion)

The Russian Security Council paid tribute to Christian leaders who disagree with the Russophobia of the "collective West"
(Interfax-Religion)

Patriarch gives patriotic sermon in Kremlin cathedral
(Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Mission Eurasia ministry center blown up in Ukraine, hundreds of Bibles destroyed: 'God will provide'
(Ryan Foley, The Christian Post)

Crimea: Seven Jehovah’s Witnesses put on trial in Russian-occupied Crimea for studying the Bible
(Halya Coynash, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group)

The rhetoric of ‘denazification’ of Ukraine from the perspective of the law of occupation
(Marco Longobardo, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Sanctions on Russian oligarch donors hit Israel institutions
(Josef Federman, Associated Press)

Ex-president/premier puts religious twist on Russian invasion
(Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Serbian patriarch assures Patriarch Kirill of support of Russian Orthodox Church amid Ukraine crisis
(Interfax-Religion)

Head of Ukrainian church urges national religious unity
(RISU, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Interfaith dialogue in line with the high-level meeting on the New Urban Agenda
(Religions for Peace)

Canada: Support grows for religious freedom and conscience rights
(Cardus)

Global Conferences: The arts promote peace, inspire service to society
(Bahá’í World News Service)

What role will religion play in the midterm primaries?
(Michael Sean Winters, National Catholic Reporter)

Monday, 25 April 2022

Oral argument - audio: Kennedy v. Bremerton Sch. Dist.
(Supreme Court of the United States)

Are school prayer rules about to change?
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

Prayer shouldn’t be a firing offense
(Joe Kennedy, The Wall Street Journal)

BJC: Students have the right to be free from government-sponsored prayer in public schools
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)

Explainer: What you should know about religious liberty and the Coach Kennedy case
(Chelsea Patterson Sobolik, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission)

The religious right had a great day in the Supreme Court
(Ian Millhiser, Vox)

Supreme Court tackles case about praying football coach
(Jessica Gresko, Associated Press)

In the case of the praying football coach, both sides invoke religious freedom
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)

Supreme Court debates if football coach's on-field prayer is religious exercise or 'coercion'
(Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post)

SCOTUS's conservative wing is set to make a mockery of the separation of church and state
(Jessica Levinson, MSNBC)

The Supreme Court ponders the right to pray on the 50-yard line
(Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio)

Egypt’s government frees 41 prisoners ahead of Eid holiday
(Associated Press)

Egyptian Christians alarmed by murder of Alexandria priest
(Al-Monitor)

Egypt: Securing peace for Egypt’s Christians at Coptic Eastertide
(Miles P.J. Windsor, Religion Unplugged)

UK: FoRB video from Parliament
(Twitter, All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief)

UK: Law and religion round-up – 24th April
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)

UK: London court acquits preacher of hate speech charges over sermon on biblical marriage
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)

VIRTUAL EVENT, 25 April 2022 (2PM ET): 2022 Annual Report: Key Findings and Recommendations
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

EVENT, 25 April 2022 (6PM Ontario): Anti-Islamophobia student voice town hall and iftar
(National Council of Canadian Muslims)

To the antisemites who sit next to me at school
(Tal Fortgang, Common Sense)

Temple Mount closes to Jews after weeks of Jewish visits and police clashes
(Gabe Friedman, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The wisdom of millenniums gave us the Status Quo Agreement in Jerusalem
(Daoud Kuttab, Religion News Service)

Are relations between young US and Israeli Jews fraying? A new poll suggests no.
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)

Youth movement to send first Arab-Israeli group on March of the Living
(Michael Starr, The Jerusalem Post)

USCIRF releases 2022 Annual Report with recommendations for U.S. policy
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Canada: Muslim community calls on Ontario leaders to commit to Our London Family Act after election
(Sawyer Bogdan, Global News)

Afghanistan: US commission: Cite Afghanistan for religious persecution
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)

List Afghanistan as religious liberty violator, report urges State Department
(Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)

Afghanistan: At least 16 dead as Islamic State-claimed blasts rock Afghan cities
(AFP, Union of Catholic Asian News)

Afghanistan: US watchdog says Afghanistan belongs on religious freedom blacklist
(Elizabeth Hagedorn, Al-Monitor)

Lantos Foundation to honor three remarkable Afghan women with the 2021 Lantos Human Rights Prize
(Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice)

Finland: Prosecutor says quoting Bible is “hate speech,” wants pro-life MP in prison for six years
(Steven Ertelt, Life News)

In India a new pattern emerges: Bulldozing Muslim properties
(Hanan Zaffar and Danish Pandit, Religion Unplugged)

India: Religious freedom in India ‘significantly worsened’: US panel
(Al Jazeera)

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