Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 26 February 2021
The 1776 Report: Mind the (religion) gap
(Joel A. Brown, Sightings: The Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School)
High Court (UK): Covid self-employed support scheme does not unlawfully discriminate against women
(Henry Tufnell, UK Human Rights Blog)
WEBINAR: 26 February 2021 (3 PM CET): Human rights of Baha’is – Seizure of Baha’i Properties in Ivel
(Hans Noot, WWilly Fautré - Director and Editor-in-CHans Noot, Willy Fautré, Jos Douma, Karlijn van der Voor, Björn Hoop, moderated by Myra Koomen, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
UN adoption of Pakistan-led resolution on inter-religious dialogue great victory: Qadri
(Mohammad Ali, UrduPoint)
Dozens of states ignoring guidance to prioritize clergy for COVID vaccine: Report
(Tobias Hoonhout, National Review)
World NGO Day: Standing up for those who stand up for others
(Ellis Heasley, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Latter-day Saint Charities commits US$20 million in support of UNICEF’s global COVID-19 response
(Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
‘Nobody came, nobody helped’: Fears of anti-Asian violence rattle the community
(Marian Liu and Rachel Hatzipanagos, The Washington Post)
Missing community, these college students innovated church online into pod watch parties
(David Hancock, Religion Unplugged)
Massacre in the mountains: How an Ethiopian festival turned into a killing spree
(Bethlehem Feleke, Eliza Mackintosh, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Katie Polglase, CNN)
NCCM deeply concerned after another attack on black hijabi woman in Edmonton
(National Council of Canadian Muslims)
Tajikistan: JW Shamil Khakimov (70), prisoner of conscience adopted by USCIRF
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Eritrea: Christian prisoners Twen Theodros and Mussie Eyob are free!
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Crimea: Muslim meetings for worship main target of "anti-missionary" prosecutions
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Catholicism, Joe Biden, and U.S. politics: A Conversation with Massimo Faggioli
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Korea's Supreme Court accepts secular conscience objection to military service
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Korean Supreme Court acquits man refusing to train with reserves
(Korea JoongAng Daily)
Malaysia's top court restricts scope of state power to enact sharia law
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal Court unanimously declares Selangor Shariah law criminalising ‘unnatural sex’ void, unconstitutional
(Ida Lim, Malay Mail)
Shariah lawyers see Federal Court’s ‘unnatural sex’ decision as closing doors to hudud in Malaysia, inviting challenges to other state Shariah enactments
(Ida Lim, Malay Mail)
Special report: church building in Belarus seized, religious freedom remains under attack
(The Alabama Baptist)
With no support from government or society, Covid-19 has hit Somali Christians harder
(Jonatán Soriano, Evangelical Focus)
Recent examples of privatised censorship and digital self-justice
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination in Europe)
AP photos: Hindu festival draws crowds of bathers to rivers
(Rajesh Kumar Singh, Associated Press)
Photos of the Week: Purim in Israel, Magh Mela in India
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)
Vatican foreign minister: religious freedom ‘being eroded’ by COVID-19 response
(Catholic News Agency)
The right of religious freedom in light of the coronavirus pandemic: the Greek case (PDF)
(George Androutsopoulos, MDPI)
Coup in Myanmar follows history of severe religious freedom violations
(Jay Church, International Christian Concern)
Love country and party': Taiwan criticizes China for religious persecution
(Sylvia Teng, Taiwan News)
Taiwan slams China for tightening religious freedom through law
(Focus Taiwan)
China's secret weapon: Changing the meaning of 'human rights'
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
Bosnian court sentences former IS fighter to 6 years in jail
(Associated Press)
German police raid suspected Islamic extremists in Berlin
(Associated Press)
Alabama to allow spiritual advisor at inmate’s execution
(Kim Chandler, Associated Press)
Top German bishop laments ‘scandalous’ image of church
(Associated Press)
What does supporting public schools have to do with religious liberty? A lot!
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
What do Turkey and Israel have in common? A different take on religious nationalism
(Jocelyne Cesari, London School of Economics)
Revisiting religious pluralism in Ukraine (Jose Casanova)
(YouTube Video, Ukrainian Research Institute Harvard University)
Is social media ethical? (Including multiple responses)
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
A holistic approach to law and Islam
(Rahimjon Abdugafurov, Emory CSLR)
Diocese in India says arrest of nun for ‘attempted conversion’ a revenge ploy
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Why the religion provisions in the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Bill need amending
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Children recruited by Colombian armed groups are now ambassadors for peace due to Catholic missions (Spanish)
(Religión Digital)
Why has France's Islamist separatism bill caused such controversy?
(Cailey Griffin, Foreign Policy)
Spanish bishops comment on the fervent secularist sermon of the Minister of Culture (Spanish)
(Religión en Libertad)
The authorities "certainly discriminate against us": Cardinal Blázquez's complaint for Covid restrictions (Spanish)
(Religión en Libertad)
The Muslim community reminds Fragoso that there are 30 Islamic cemeteries in Spain (Spanish)
(El Periódico Extremadura)
Jewish communities ask the prosecutor to investigate a neo-fascist act (Spanish)
(Miguel González, El Pais)
Catholic Church condemned "intolerable attacks" on the Jewish community during neo-Nazi march in Spain (Spanish)
(Nuevo Mundo Israelita)
Since this California church began flouting pandemic restrictions, attendance has surged
(Sam Kestenbaum, The Washington Post)
More than 1,400 evangelicals, other faith leaders condemn religion at insurrection as ‘heretical’
(Jack Jenkins, The Washington Post)
Thursday, 25 February 2021
ONLINE EVENT, Thursdays in February (1:30PM EST): Voices of Black Faith Freedom
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
EVENT, 25 February 2021: European Regional Pre-Assembly for WCC 11th Assembly, Warsaw, Poland
(Conference of European Churches)
WEBINAR, 25 February 2021 (11AM MST): “The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again” with Robert D. Putnam & Shaylyn Romney Garrett
(BYU Wheatley Institution)
WEBINAR, 25 February 2021 (1:30PM SGT): A Secular Need: Islamic Law and State Governance in Contemporary India
(Centre for Asian Legal Studies, Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore)
VIRTUAL EVENT, 25 February 2021 (11AM EST): FoRB Victims List and Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project Update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
ONLINE BOOK LAUNCH, 25 February 2021 (14:00 GMT+2/UTC+02:00): Grievous religious persecution: a conceptualisation of crimes against humanity of religious persecution (2020)
(Werner Nicolaas Nel, South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Public, Human Rights and International Law (SAIFAC) and the International Institute for Religion Freedom)
The government cannot dictate your conscience: Government restrictions on conscience protection should be opposed by all in a free society.
(Michael S. Parker, National Catholic Register)
Wednesday, 24 February 2021
WEBINAR, 24 February 2021 (11AM MST): Religious Freedom: Economics & Equality
(Bech-Loughlin First Amendment Center)
WEBINAR, 24 February 2021 (4PM EST): COVID Vaccination Challenges: Ethical Imperatives and Local Realities
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University; G20 Interfaith Forum; World Faiths Development Dialogue; and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities)
Former Ghana lawmaker: referencing soldiers by their religion is divisive and toxic
(Ghana MMA)
U.K. churches viewed more positively since COVID-19 pandemic, new survey shows
(Jillian Cheney, Religion Unplugged)
As storm cripples Texas' energy grid, people of faith rally to help
(Bobby Ross Jr., Religion Unplugged)
Financial Times reports that the UK is to call for UN probe of Uighur camps in China’s Xinjiang province
(David Alton, Lord Alton of Liverpool)
Letter to the Economist regarding the horrors in Xianjin, China
(Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, Ewelina U. Ochab, Zachary D. Kaufman, Kyle Matthews, John Packer, Michael Polak, Nury Turkel, Joanne Smith Finley, Medium)
Book Release: Dispute between the Macedonian Orthodox Church and the Serbian Orthodox Church: A Burden on North Macedonia?
(Otmar Oehring, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung)
Dignity and discrimination
(Frederick Mark Gedicks, SSRN)
Lawmakers vote to make Virginia first Southern state to abolish death penalty
(Laura Vozzella and Gregory S. Schneider, The Washington Post)
National Cathedral invites evangelical to preach, triggering fierce storm of protest
(Terry Mattingly, OnReligion)
Why Nigeria’s religious leaders should learn more about climate change
(George Nche, The Conversation)
A critical look at what’s missing from Muslim education in South Africa
(Nuraan Davids, The Conversation)
Fort Worth loses fight for church properties as US Supreme Court declines to hear diocese’s case
(David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)
Attacks on Asian Americans during pandemic renew criticism that U.S. undercounts hate crimes
(David Nakamura, The Washington Post)
Time in a prophetic frame: Many voices in America today claim the mantle of prophecy; the differences between them are illuminating
(William Schweiker, Sightings: The Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School)
‘Smoke and mirrors’ in post-revolution Sudan: Lessons from Egypt
(Ellis Heasley, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Japan: COVID-19 leads to increased turning to religion
(FSSPX.news)
What we are reading today: on understanding Japanese religion
(Joseph Mitsuo Kitagawa, Arab News)
Serbia's new patriarch brings track record of peace-building to divided nation
(Mladen Aleksic, Religion Unplugged)
Malaysia deports more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals despite high court order
(Religion Unplugged contributor, Religion Unplugged)
Peruvians officials, Vatican diplomat secretly obtained COVID-19 vaccines meant for doctors
(Reynaldo Aragon, Religion Unplugged)
Vote passes in Canada's House of Commons recognizing China’s treatment of Uighurs as genocide
(Emerald Bensadoun, Global News)
Canada calls it a genocide: The vote in Ottawa’s House of Commons is a sign of hope for those persecuted in Xinjiang.
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
Do India’s cows have special powers? Government curriculum is ridiculed
(Jeffrey Gettleman and Suhasini Raj, The New York Times)
Increase in online hostility towards churches in Hebei province in January
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
An urgent appeal to deescalate violence on the streets of Myanmar
(Religions for Peace)
Hindu temple's reopening in Kashmir spotlights Muslims caring for temples for decades
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
Religion Unplugged's full conversation with Alabama's 'Fifth Girl' Sarah Collins Rudolph
(Mattie Townson, Religion Unplugged)
Paul Rusesabagina, 'Hotel Rwanda' hero who credited Adventist upbringing, on trial in Kigali
(Mark A. Kellner, Religion Unplugged)
Utah governor won't sign bill targeting trans youth: "These kids are just trying to stay alive"
(Matt Baume, Them)
To tackle vaccine hesitancy philanthropy must get over its religion hesitancy
(Eboo Patel and Robert P. Jones, The Chronicle of Philanthropy)
FIDH and Inclusion Europe v. Belgium: Chronicle of a Conviction Foretold
(Marie Spinoy and Kurt Willems, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Strengthening respect for the principles of the Republic? How French President Emmanuel Macron's bill to stem Islamist separatism jeopardizes religious freedom
(Alexis Artaud de la Ferriere and Blandine Chelini-Pont, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
France and the spectral menace of ‘Islamo-leftism’
(Ishaan Tharoor, The Washington Post)
UK genocide amendment, round three
(Ruth Ingram, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
‘Destruction by a thousand cuts’: the relentless threat mining poses to the Pilbara cultural landscape
(Sarah Holcombe and Bronwyn Fredericks, The Conversation)
Three-quarters of Black Americans say Black churches have helped promote racial equality
(Jeff Diamant, Pew Research Center Fact Tank)
Imran Khan visits Sri Lanka as Muslims demand burial rights
(Bharatha Mallawarachi, Associated Press)
Iraq's struggling Christians hope for boost from pope visit
(Mariam Fam, Star Tribune)
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