Law and Religion Headlines

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Monday, 3 August 2020

Why are Arkansas, South Carolina, Wyoming holding back on adopting hate crime laws?
(Dov Wilker, The Hill Opinion)

Republicans and Democrats agree on need to cancel ‘cancel culture’
(Angela Sailor, The Daily Signal - Commentary)

The 'cancel culture' debate gets the fight for free speech entirely wrong
(Eve Fairbanks, The Washington Post)

‘Cancel culture’ is as old as religion, and it’s only a thing because of who’s doing the cancelling
(Shaul Magid, Religion Dispatches)

Cancel culture comes for Pentagon. Latest ‘woke’ proposal would hurt national security.
(James Carafano, The Daily Signal)

Pilgrims wear masks, socially distance during Hajj
(Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East)

AP photos: Muslims worldwide mark Eid festival amid pandemic
(Associated Press)

Attack on Connecticut COVID-19 orders rejected
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

San Francisco’s Archbishop Cordileone urges Friday fasting for an end to COVID
(Catholic News Agency)

What literature can tell us about people’s struggle with their faith during a pandemic
(Agnes Mueller, The Conversation)

Religious liberty advocates see rough road ahead due to pandemic, but mostly optimistic about future wins
(Mark Tapscott, The Epoch Times)

Burqa ban, face mask laws frustrate Dutch Muslims
(Ingrid Gercama, Sanne Derks, Deutsche Welle)

Ukrainian politician points to European political thrust (regarding religious holidays)
(RISU, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Ukrainian Bureau of Investigation avoids interference in church dispute
(RISU, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Friday, 31 July 2020

Killing of Tahir Naseem in Pakistan
(Press Statement, U.S. Department of State)

USCIRF expresses outrage at the killing of U.S. citizen over blasphemy charges in Pakistan
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Pakistan’s bloodthirsty blasphemy law needs to be repealed
(Kunwar Khuldune Shahid, The Diplomat)

Thousands rally in Pakistan in support of killer of American
(Kathy Gannon, Associated Press)

Lawyer: Yemeni rebels free 6 Baha’i prisoners held for years
(Ahmed Al-Haj, Associated Press)

USCIRF commends release of religious prisoner of conscience Hamid Bin Haydara and 5 other Baha’is in Yemen
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Six Baha’is imprisoned by the Houthis freed in Yemen
(Bahá’í World News Service)

Religion Photos of the Week - 31 July 2020
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)

Desecration of Catholic churches across U.S. leaves congregations shaken
(Francis X. Rocca, The Wall Street Journal)

New podcast: What did those Big Tech hearings have to do with religious life in America?
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)

Big tech hearing: Amazon slammed for "empowering" hate towards Catholics, Jews
(Timothy Nerozzi, Religion Unplugged)

World Day Against Human Trafficking: A fight that concerns all countries
(Larissa I. López, Zenit: The World Seen from Rome)

Podcast: Pasha 74: From girl to adult: the impact of early marriages in Ghana
(Ozayr Patel and Elizabeth Anokyewaa Sarfo Fordjour, The Conversation)

How the Hagia Sophia decision impacts Turkey, minorities and now, Syria
(Claire Sadar, Religion Unplugged)

Hagia Sophia’s status change threatens cultural rights (Responding to: Hagia Sophia: From museum to mosque)
(Heghnar Zeitlian Watenpaugh, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)

Hagia Sophia: turning this Turkish treasure into a mosque is at odds with its UNESCO status
(Senija Causevic, The Conversation)

Kashmir: new domicile rules spark fresh anger a year after India removed region’s special status
(Leoni Connah, The Conversation)

Why is Eid celebrated twice a year and how has coronavirus changed the festival?
(The Conversation)

Tahafuz-e-Bunyad-e-Islam Bill against constitution: Nasir Abbas Jaffri
(Mansoor Ali, The Nation)

Livestock prices stress Muslims in Africa ahead of Eid
(Babacar Dione and Krista Larson, Associated Press)

Rights group urges Indonesia to end caning under Islamic law
(Edna Tarigan, Associated Press)

Pilgrims pray on peak day of hajj in shadow of coronavirus
(Aya Batrawy, Associated Press)

Canadian court says Catholic archdiocese is vicariously liable for sexual abuse at orphanage
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Appeal court holds Catholic church liable for abuse suffered at Mount Cashel
(CBC News)

Ministerial Exception doctrine leads to dismissal of music director's discrimination suit
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Over 145 Brazilian bishops condemn Bolsonaro’s handling of pandemic
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

12 dead as Philippine troops battle militants in south
(Associated Press)

Reflection on race by Bishop João Noé Rodrigues of South Africa
(Paul Tatu, Zenit: The World Seen from Rome)

Why are peaceful human rights activists still behind bars in Vietnam?
(Kasit Piromya, The Diplomat)

The Supreme Court’s religious crusaders take on the pandemic response
(Linda Greenhouse, The New York Times Opinion)

Why religious freedom is special
(Emilie Kao, The Hill Opinion)

Death of the Lemon Test? The future of religious freedom jurisprudence
(Roger Byron, Real Clear Religion)

Mexico Supreme Court rejects state's bid to decriminalise abortion
(BBC News)

Pastor in Nepal jailed for more than three months released on bail
(Morning Star News)

Corporate human rights due diligence in times of COVID-19
(Julianne Hughes Jennett, Laila Hamzi and Ram Mashru, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

COVID-19: Scapegoating Shincheonji in South Korea. A Second White Paper
(Massimo Introvigne, Willy Fautré, Rosita Šorytė, Alessandro Amicarelli, Marco Respinti, CESNUR – Center for Studies on New Religions)

Voices: Donald Trump is protecting religious freedom in a perilous age
(Ramiro Peña, Baptist Standard)

Supreme Court religious school ruling offers opportunities for low-income families (Guest viewpoint)
(Charles Chieppo and Jamie Gass, Mass Live)

AG Pax­ton leads 21 states in ami­cus brief defend­ing reli­gious liberty
(EIN Presswire)

Freedom beats aid for religious schools
(Avi Schick, The Wall Street Journal - Opinion)

Rob Boston: Trump adviser unleashes error-filled attack on separation of church and state
(Rob Boston, YubaNet)

Analysis: Do religious voters like Trump or Biden best?
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)

Prayer in schools
(James F. McGrath, Patheos Blog Religion Prof)

Russian Orthodox Symphonia in the Time of Coronavirus
(Mikhail Antonov, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

Iran: Wave of support in the EU for persecuted Baha’is
(Bahá’í International Community, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

COVID-19: Interfaith group sensitises Bodija traders
(Saheed Salawu, Nigerian Tribune)

Nigeria cannot be defeated by evil forces, inter-faith clerics declare at ongoing prayers
(Vanguard Nigeria)

Annual Report 2019/2020: Eradication of modern slavery: Catholic action in Australia
(Australian Catholic Anti-Slavery Network)

CCP offers high monetary awards to those who report on banned religious groups
(Ye Jiajia, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)

Does re-converting Hagia Sophia into a mosque violate secularism in Turkey? (Responding to: Hagia Sophia: From museum to mosque)
(Umut Azak, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)

After over four months, public Masses can resume Aug. 3 in Leicester, England
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Vatican official voices support for German abbess who sheltered refugees
(Sarah MacDonald, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Ukrainian president shows ecumenical spirit: New religious state holidays to appear in Ukraine
(Union of Orthodox Journalists, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Largest raid on Jehovah's Witnesses leads to police brutality
(Viktoria Ponomareva, The Insider, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

Ukraine-Russia church conflict echoes Russia-Ukraine hybrid war
(RISU, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))

French evangelicals denounce the risks of surrogacy in a report to the UN
(Evangelical Focus Europe)

IGE participates in 25th anniversary celebration of diplomatic relations between the United States and Vietnam
(Institute for Global Engagement)

Indonesia ranks among most religious countries in Pew study
(Made Anthony Iswara, The Jakarta Post)

Montenegro's power games between church and state may be about to create a Balkan explosion
(Gawain Towler, The Telegraph)

Face-coverings in places of worship: update
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)

Article 9 challenge to lack of provision for humanist weddings in England & Wales dismissed
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)

Coronavirus COVID:19 – NW England restrictions
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

Ecclesiastical court judgments – July 2020
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

‘I don’t care about Hitler’: Wiley and the rise of antisemitism
(The Conversation)

Islam and Muslims on UK University Campuses: perceptions and challenges (PDF)
(Mathew Guest, Alison Scott-Baumann, Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor, Shuruq Naguib, Aisha Phoenix, Yenn Lee and Tarek Al-Baghal, Arts and Humanities Research Council)

Alienation and Establishment
(Simon Thompson, MDPI Journal)

Coalition letter rejects report issued by State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights
(Human Rights First)

What comes next for religious liberty?
(Russell Shaw, Angelus News)

Obeying God rather than men? A constitutional scholar on what’s really a religious liberty issue
(Ed Stetzer, The Exchange)

SBA program violated church-state separation
(Tom Waddell, Central Maine Opinion Column)

High-stakes court case over church abuse draws legal arguments
(Peter Smith, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Supreme Court wrap up: How did religious liberty do this term?
(Maureen Collins, Alliance Defending Freedom)

Press Release: Wright introduces religious liberty amendment in appropriations package
(Congressman Ron Wright)

USAID helps promote religious freedom in the Middle East
(VOA)

COVID hajj restrictions leave streets of Mecca empty, pilgrimage businesses in trouble
(Rabiya Jaffery, Religion News Service)

USCIRF applauds Global Magnitsky sanctions against Xinjiang entity
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

U.S. Ambassador Brownback on China’s high-tech persecution of Uighurs
(Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition)

11th Circuit: Shame to Muslim family from assault allegations allows woman to proceed as Jane Doe
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Religious Freedom in China: The Case of Bishop James Su Zhimin
(Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, U.S. House of Representatives)

Religious Freedom in China: The Case of Bishop James Su Zhimin (video)
(Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, YouTube Video)

Wednesday, 29 July 2020

Department of Justice announces guidance on religious liberty protections in grant programs
(U.S. Department of Justice)

DOJ releases new religious liberty guidance on grants
(Christopher Vondracek, The Washington Times)

DOJ clarifies religious groups' equal access to government grants
(Catholic News Agency)

KAICIID: The Road to the G20 Interfaith Forum
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)

G20 Interfaith Forum gathers Latin American religious leaders for consultation on COVID-19 and society inequalities exposed by the virus
(G20 Interfaith Forum, PR Newswire)

Russian Foreign Ministry sends notes of protest to Western states' embassies over LGBT flags hoisted on their buildings
(Interfax-Religion)

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