Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 1 July 2024
Articles of interest - 1 July 2024
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
State Supreme Court sides with judge facing religious discrimination over marriage
(First Liberty)
Israel: Ultra-Orthodox protest against order to enlist in Israeli military turns violent in Jerusalem
(Ohad Zwigenberg, Associated Press)
Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church elects a new patriarch with pro-Russian views
(Associated Press)
South Sudan bishops blast government over lack of election preparation
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Kentucky judge dismisses Jewish mothers’ lawsuit challenging state abortion ban
(Jackie Hajdenberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Why did Putin visit a tiny Orthodox church in North Korea?
(Katherine Kelaidis, Religion News Service)
Ukraine: We must act together to fully implement the peace formula – Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the participants and guests of the prayer breakfast
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Occupied Ukraine: One arrest, one reported jail term, two releases
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Far-right party with antisemitic roots projected to lead after first round of French vote
(Ben Sales, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Bangladesh: Islamist mob attack on Bangladeshi mystic singer sparks uproar
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Tajikistan: Muslim scholars urges Tajikistan to respect Islamic identity and religious freedom
(İlke Haber Ajansı)
Russia: Dagestani Jews look to rebuild after extremist attacks in the restive region of southern Russia
(Deepa Bharath, Associated Press)
India: Rahul Gandhi's 'Hindu' remark creates uproar in Lok Sabha, invites sharp reactions from BJP leaders: Who said what?
(The Economic Times)
Oceanian unity: Dignity & freedom
(John Andrew Quizana, Ke Alaka'i)
Guatemala: 2023 report on international religious freedom
(U.S. Embassy Guatemala)
United Kingdom: Starmer is right, the Equality Act already protects single-sex spaces – but he and Sunak are both missing an important point
(Rachel Saunders, The Conversation)
Idaho abortion ban opponents: Lawmakers are still disrespecting many faiths.
(George Prentice, Boise State Public Radio)
Saturday, 29 June 2024
Israel: Torah, war, politics, and the Supreme Court: The 2024 military service of Ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students bill
(Moshe Jaffe, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Friday, 28 June 2024
Ultra-Orthodox Jews block highway to protest Israel’s new mandatory military service ruling
(Ami Bentov, Associated Press)
Secretary Antony J. Blinken 2023 International Religious Freedom Report rollout
(U.S. Department of State)
India says it rejects "deeply biased" US religious freedom report
(Reuters)
China: Report: Sinicization drive pervades China’s religious repression in Tibet
(Tibetan Review)
Harvard looks to combat antisemitism, anti-Muslim bias after protests over war in Gaza
(Steve Leblanc, Associated Press)
China: Pastor Sun Hongguang detained during church service
(China Aid)
Fact sheet: Biden-Harris administration takes action to counter Islamophobia
(The White House)
Canada: MAID lawsuit shines spotlight on faith-based health organizations
(Katie DeRosa, CBC News)
What the Supreme Court’s latest abortion ruling means for religious freedom
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
In France’s high-stakes legislative election, a Jewish candidate faces and fights hate and division
(John Leicester and Alex Turnbull, Associated Press)
Canadian interfaith conversation: Standing together against hate based on religious identity
(The Canadian Council of Churches)
Jewish senators alarmed by Alito’s pro-Christian agenda
(Alexander Bolton, The Hill)
US religious freedom report notes violence against Indian minorities
(Kanishka Singh and Simon Lewis, Reuters)
Thailand: Funeral for monk shot by soldiers highlights Myanmar army’s delicate relationship to Buddhist clergy
(Grant Peck, Associated Press)
Egypt: Christians in Egypt embark on construction of churches as persecution ebbs
(Catholic News Agency)
VIRTUAL EVENT, 8 July 2024: Accidental Diplomats: American Missionaries and the Cold War
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
State Department releases annual report documenting dire global religious freedom picture
(Jeremy Barker, Religious Freedom Institute)
State Department criticizes religious persecution: But will it act?
(Knox Thames, Knox Thames)
Sri Lanka blocks exam results over Muslim head coverings
(Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch)
Sri Lanka country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Nicaragua country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Church halted from sunday service at Colorado amphitheater over concerns of preferential treatment
(Spencer Wilson, CBS News)
Religions, Beliefs, and Legal Norms: The Tai Ji Men case
(Claudia Huang, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)
Oklahoma mandating Bibles in school classrooms—Just days after State Court rejects religious charter school
(Brian Bushard, Forbes)
Oklahoma state superintendent orders schools to teach the Bible in grades 5 through 12
(Sean Murphy, Associated Press)
Nation’s only publicly funded religious school struck down by Oklahoma court
(Brian Bushard, Forbes)
Some quick thoughts on the Oklahoma charter school case
(Mark Movsesian, Reason)
Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is dangerously wrong
(Mark Chancey, The Hill)
Louisiana sued over Ten Commandments law
(Molly Bohannon, Forbes)
Long before La.’s new law, Ky. parents won a major Ten Commandments case
(Anumita Kaur, The Washington Post)
Morocco's religious minorities struggle with government bureaucracy and societal fear
(Latifa Babas, Yabiladi)
US urged to stop using religion to smear China after latest report
(Global Times)
Group representing two million U.S. reform Jews mounts legal challenge to Indiana abortion ban
(Etan Echin, Haaretz)
US religious freedom commission recommends placing Turkey on special watch list for serious violations
(Stockholm Center for Freedom)
A deeper look at the rising threats to religious freedom in America
(David K. Trimble, National Catholic Register)
Singapore: New Asia-wide partnership announced
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Annual Report 2023
(Conference of European Churches)
City-sponsored prayer vigil violated Establishment Clause
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Europe’s burning question
(Sayyed Nadeem Kazmi, G20 Interfaith Forum)
Kenya: After anti-tax protests, Kenyan churches urge government to focus more on youth
(World Council of Churches)
Kenya: Religious leaders in solidarity with ‘Gen-Z’ led protests rejecting Finance Bill 2024, condemn use of excessive force by police
(Wesley Omondi, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Cuba: Religious groups call for protections for freedom of religion or belief
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Holy See calls for global action against trafficking of women and girls
(Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
The most religious, and religiously diverse, places in America
(Adrián Blanco, Lenny Bronner and Andrew Van Dam, The Washington Post)
Supreme Court overturns ‘Chevron’ doctrine with big implications for religious liberty
(Daniel Payne, Catholic News Agency)
Nigeria: Oyo govt seeks deeper commitment from religious, traditional leaders
(Rukiyat Ogunwade, Tribune Online)
Iran: Religious minorities overlooked in Iran’s presidential campaigns
(Ashkan Khosropour, Iran Wire)
CoE Fourth Opinion on Protection of National Minorities
(Civil Georgia)
Thursday, 27 June 2024
WEBINAR, 27 June 2024 (12PM MT): Towards Indigenous Sovereignty: Exploring Rights and Solidarity in Self-Governing Territories
(G20 Interfaith Forum)
Wednesday, 26 June 2024
Becket president condemns UCLA’s antisemitic encampments in Congressional testimony
(Ryan Colby, Becket Law)
Jewish students seek court order against UCLA’s antisemitic encampments before fall semester
(Ryan Colby, Becket Law)
Northern Irish bishops call on ‘vote for hope’ in UK national election
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
2023 Report on International Religious Freedom
(U.S. Department of State)
The right to be proselytized under international law
(Ryan Cheney, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Pro-Palestinian protest outside LA synagogue criticized as ‘antisemitic’ after street fights with pro-Israel protesters
(Cindy Von Quednow and Eric Levenson, CNN)
The fight for freedoms of Spanish Protestants becomes visible at the university
(Evangelical Focus)
Hungarian EU Presidency | European Churches meet with Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén
(Conference of European Churches)
Tajikistan: USCIRF calls on the U.S. Government to impose consequences on Tajikistan due to increasing repression
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Public funds for religious charter school would be unconstitutional, Oklahoma high court says
(Sean Murphy, Associated Press)
Small church in Rome goes to the big court in Strasbourg to find justice
(Evert van Vlastuin, Christian Network Europe)
Belarus human rights group denounces detention of priest who posted Ukrainian flag on social media
(Associated Press)
New Jersey bill allowing standalone crematories could benefit Hindu funeral rituals
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Israel’s military must enlist the ultra-Orthodox. What will that mean for Netanyahu and the war?
(Melanie Lidman, Associated Press)
Churchgoers believe public perception of Christians is declining in the U.S.
(Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research)
Why the swing state faith voters who really matter in 2024 aren’t evangelicals
(Bob Smietana, Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)
UOC-MP Metropolitan Jonathan exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war - media
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Religious exemptions and retaliation under Title IX
(Constance Couch, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Mali: ICC convicts al-Qaeda-linked leader of war crimes in Mali’s Timbuktu
(Al Jazeera)
Uzbekistan: New amendments target parents seeking Islamic education for children in Uzbekistan
(Niginakhon Saida, The Diplomat)
The tiresome claim that pro-life legal measures violate the establishment clause
(John M. Breen, Mirror of Justice Blog)
RFI’s Andrew Kubick offers robust vision of medical conscience rights at Acton University
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
(Sara Cline and Kevin McGill, Associated Press)
Russia imposes longest sentences yet on Jehovah's Witnesses for 'extremism'
(Reuters)
Pope: All people should be free to choose and practice religion
(Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
Pope at Audience: 'Moral duty to stop production, trafficking of drugs'
(Deborah Castellano Lubov, Vatican News)
Monday, 24 June 2024
At least 20 killed in synagogue, church attacks in Russia’s Dagestan
(Al Jazeera)
Russia: Further jail term for answering fellow prisoners' questions about faith?
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
EVENT, 24 June 2024: Believers and Our Ethics in the Public Square (Washington DC, USA)
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Around the web - 24 June 2024
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
India's 12th state plans law to criminalize conversions
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Franklin Graham announces Billy Graham Defence Fund to support religious freedom in the UK
(Premier Christian News)
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