Law and Religion Headlines
Tuesday, 14 April 2020
America's Girl Scouts have been impacting the world for generations. Now they're helping those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic
(Story by Alaa Elassar, Video by Tawanda Scott Sambou, CNN)
In New York, an LGBT rabbi who confronted AIDS crisis now faces COVID-19
(David Crary, The Times of Israel)
Slavic Gospel Association launches international prayer campaign; responds to coming avalanche of spiritual and humanitarian needs
(Slavic Gospel Association, RNS Press Release Distribution Service)
Hamas jails Gaza Activist for video chat with Israelis
(Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch)
Egypt intervenes as Gaza warns Israel over medical aid
(Rasha Abou Jalal, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
No sanitizers, fresh food or distance in some of Gaza's quarantine centers
(Entsar Abu Jahal, Al-Monitor: Palestine Pulse)
With Nepal in lockdown, volunteers feed hungry animals at Hindu shrine
(Binaj Gurubacharya, Religion News Service)
COVID-19 in Yemen – A perfect storm
(Afrah Nasser, Human Rights Watch)
Greece: Free unaccompanied migrant children
(Human Rights Watch)
Sikhs turn to online Vaisakhi
(Simrin Singh, Religion News Service)
Italy in crisis: The pandemic will exacerbate political tensions
(Christopher Caldwell, First Things)
Church challenges to COVID-19 orders proliferate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
A time for cornerstones
(Duncan Stroik, First Things)
Coronavirus is deepening the divide between Orthodox and liberal Jews
(Jodi Rudoren, Forward Opinion)
Netanyahu accused of breaking his own quarantine rules by having son at Passover Seder
(Aiden Pink, Fast Forward: Quick reads through a Jewish lens)
COVID-19: Protecting worker health
(John Cherrie and Sean Semple, Annals of Work Exposures and Health)
Hospital chaplains try to keep the faith during the coronavirus pandemic
(Emma Goldberg, The New York Times)
John Scalzi on messiahs, the apocalypse, coronavirus and religion in science fiction
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
Quand la propagande djihadiste s’empare de la crise sanitaire
(Myriam Benraad, The Conversation)
Top evangelicals urge release of some detainees during virus
(Elana Schor, Associated Press)
Italian bishop breaks ranks to publicly challenge coronavirus restrictions
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Justice Department speaks out on church closures, condemns religious freedom violations in new statement
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News Faith)
Attorney General William P. Barr issues statement on religious practice and social distancing; Department of Justice files statement of interest in Mississippi church case
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Coronavirus is changing the rituals of death for many religions
(Lauren Frayer, Daniel Estrin, Jane Arraf, National Public Radio)
Jehovah's Witnesses are searched despite pandemic lock-down
(Daniil Kuznetsov, 7 x 7 Ivanovskaia Oblast)
Enforcement overkill? Louisville newspaper tries to document the 'war on Easter'
(Julia Duin, GetReligion)
Scotland Yard breaks up group prayer in private garden amid lockdown
(Mathilde Frot, Jewish News)
Pastors sue California governor for coronavirus restrictions 'criminalizing the free exercise of religion'
(Jason Lemon, Newsweek)
Principal Nigerian religious leaders largely in lockstep with government on lockdowns
(John Campbell, Council on Foreign Relations)
'Prayer was the difference': COVID-19 survivor praises God, thanks healthcare professionals for saving his life
(Lori Arnold, Christian Headlines)
Judge rules abortion access outweighs efforts to fight coronavirus
(Catholic News Agency)
US bishops join Pope Francis' call for global ceasefire to counter coronavirus
(Catholic News Agency)
In New York, former Catholic nursing home opens as COVID rehab center
(Catholic News Agency)
Pro-life counselors 'singled out' for coronavirus enforcement, lawsuit alleges
(Matt Hadro, Catholic News Agency)
Roman priest offers Easter Mass on church roof amid coronavirus
(Hannah Brockhaus, Catholic News Agency)
Justice Department to act on unfair religious restrictions during coronavirus
(Catholic News Agency)
Monday, 13 April 2020
UK bishop calls for government to release detainees at immigration centers
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
The Apocalypse as an 'unveiling': What religion teaches us about end times
(Elizabeth Dias, The News York Times)
Hope in the midst of apocalypse
(Martin E. Marty, Sightings: The Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School)
Court allows drive-in church services for Easter in Kentucky; in-person attendees face quarantine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Kentucky governor: Anyone at mass gatherings this weekend must quarantine
(Taylor Weiter, Jessie Cohen, WHAS 11 News)
5th Circuit upholds part of TRO issued against Texas COVID-19 abortion ban
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court lifts part of order blocking Texas abortion ban
(Associated Press)
Kansas Supreme Court says legislative attempt to revoke governor's COVID-19 order was invalid
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Kansas Supreme Court upholds governor's order limiting the size of Easter services
(Jason Breslow, National Public Radio)
Suit challenges city's ban on drive-in church services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
ADF files suit on behalf of Mississippi church subjected to city’s ban on ‘drive in’ church services
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
With a bike and loudspeakers, London vicar spreads the word
(Pan Pylas, Associated Press)
In Brazil, Church at loggerheads with president over coronavirus stance
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
President of Belarus defies precautions
(Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
Three priests are fined in Ukraine for large gathering of people on the Palm Sunday
(Interfax-Religion)
Here we go again: Protestant pastor locked out of his church when he arrived for 'mass'
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
'God is with us': Many Muslims in Pakistan flout the coronavirus ban in mosques
(Asif Shahzad, Reuters)
Megachurches may be particularly threatened by COVID-19 closures
(Mark Mulder and Gerardo Martí, Religion News Service)
Pastor who vowed to preach ‘unless I’m in jail or the hospital’ dies of COVID-19 in VA
(Brooke Wolford, Lexington Herald-Leader)
Saturday, 11 April 2020
Religions confront the coronavirus
(Susan Hayward, United States Institute of Peace blog)
Why fasting and prayer are especially meaningful at Easter and during a pandemic
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News | InDepth)
After a Holy Week disrupted by death, an honest Easter
(Laura Everett, Religion News Service Opinion)
Good Friday in pandemic: deadly serious reflections
(Nuala Kenny OC, MD, La Croix International)
The meaning of COVID-19: We can’t all be right
(Arthur E. Farnsley II, Religion News Service)
Why Holy Week is made for this pandemic
(Thomas Reese SJ, RNS Column: Signs of the Times)
Religious communities' role in countering epidemics
(Katherine Marshall, Council on Foreign Relations)
The Current Global Crisis: A Statement from the Parliament of the World’s Religions
(Official Statement, Parliament of the World's Religions)
World Healh Organzation releases recommendations for religious leaders and faith-based communities in regards to COVID-19
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Practical considerations and recommendations for religious leaders and faith-based communities in the context of COVID-19
(World Health Organization)
Benedictine nuns release Gregorian chants to help ease coronavirus isolation
(Kate Connolly, The Guardian)
Praying together in a pandemic, even when divided
(Paul Marshall, Religion Unplugged)
Quarantines resurrect church attendance just in time for Easter
(Meagan Clark, Religion Unplugged and Newsweek)
Judge: Kentucky church can conduct Easter drive-in service
(Associated Press)
Kansas’ high court weighs virus limits on religious services
(Associated Press)
UN urges religious leaders to work for peace, fight virus
(Associated Press)
Church in South Africa supports government’s COVID-19 efforts, archbishop says
(Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Why the government can shut down church gatherings during pandemic
(Jonathan Turley, The Hill)
States are restricting Easter gatherings amid COVID-19. Churches and lawmakers are pushing back.
(Grace Hauck, USA Today)
Why are Blacks dying at higher rates from COVID-19?
(Rashawn Ray, Brookings)
Friday, 10 April 2020
The religious revival that could save America
(Jonathon Van Maren, National Review)
A domestic court’s attempt to derogate from the ECHR on behalf of the United Kingdom: the implications of Covid-19 on judicial decision-making in the United Kingdom
(Stevie Martin, EJIL: Talk!)
COVID-19 and conflict: Commentary from USIP
(United States Institute of Peace)
Leviathan unshackled?
(Dominic Ruck Keene, UK Human Rights Blog)
Canterbury Cathedral’s bell ‘Harry’ to toll daily for world’s coronavirus victims, frontline workers
(Episcopal News Service)
How rituals and focus can turn isolation into a time for growth
(Arthur Kleinman, The Wall Street Journal)
Nigeria should build peace like it fights coronavirus:Focusing on prevention and public information works against COVID-19. It can work against violent conflicts.
(Oge Onubogu, United States Institute of Peace)
How to make women count in the response to coronavirus
(Danielle Robertson, United States Institute of Peace)
The coronavirus is a call to build resilience in frangile states
(Nancy Lindborg, United States Institute)
As fighters lay down arms to combat coronavirus, we must pick up the tools to build peace
(Stephen J. Hadley and Nancy Lindborg, United States Institute of Peace)
Coronavirus could spark a new exodus of Christians from Holy Land, says longtime observer
(Mélinée Le Priol, La Croix International)
An imam leads his congregation through the pandemic: In most states, religious institutions are exempt from shutdowns, and leaders have struggled with whether to close their doors.
(Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker)
Update on the Secretary General's appeal for a global ceasefire
(Secretary-General António Guterres, United Nations)
Central Asia and coronavirus: when being nomadic isn't enough
(Gavin Helf, United States Institute of Peace)
The pandemic has exposed fissures within religions
(The Economist)
Statement on the COVID-19 implications for migrant workers
(Kevin Hyland, Institute for Human Rights and Business)
How covid-19 will change the global business climate
(The Economist)
During coronavirus crisis, Congress’s first caucus for nonreligious belief seeks a larger role in promoting science
(Julie Zauzmer, The Washington Post)
Coronavirus: how new restrictions on religious liberty vary across Europe
(Alexis Artaud de La Ferrière, The Conversation UK)
Venezuela: Could the coronavirus threat be an opportunity?
(Keith Mines; Steve Hege, United States Institute of Peace)
The world’s refugee camps are a coronavirus disaster in waiting
(Cox's Bazar, Istanbul and Nyarugusu, The Economist)
A Saudi ceasefire provides some hope of ending the war in Yemen
(The Economist)
The Coronavirus Act 2020: When legislation goes viral (part two)
(Darragh Coffey, UK Human Rights Blog)
The Coronavirus Act 2020: When legislation goes viral (part one)
(Darragh Coffey, UK Human Rights Blog)
COVID-19 and Holy Week: Texas faith leaders spread message of hope, renewal
(John C Moritz, MSN News)
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