Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Canada: Religion vs creed: Dealing with religious accommodation requests
(Emily Douglas, Human Resources Director)
India: Celebrated novelist Arundhati Roy faces prosecution in India – for a speech she gave in 2010
(Priya Chacko, The Conversation)
India: From sati to interfaith marriages, institution of marriage has undergone sea change: SC
(Press Trust of India)
India: Minister Sekar Babu warns of action against persons speaking ill of other religions
(The Hindu)
India: SC refuses to entertain PIL seeking rights for Hindus, others to manage their religious places like Muslims
(Ashish Tripathi, Deccan Herald)
India: What's next for same-sex marriage in India
(Shruti Mahajan, The Washington Post)
Mexico: Religious minorities in Michoacán, Mexico just wanted to be treated equally
(Pablo Vargas, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
BYU study examines how religious faith bolsters family hope and unity
(Tyler Stahle, BYU News)
Why a Catholic nun sued the Louisiana Board of Pardons
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
6-year-old boy fatally stabbed in anti-Muslim attack, authorities say
(Johnny Diaz, Mitch Smith, and Robert Chiarito, The New York Times)
Spain: Jehovah’s Witnesses win important case against “El Mundo”
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Blasphemy: Nigerian singer, Yahaya Sharif-Aminu's death penalty case discussed at European Parliament
(Sahara Reporters)
Donald Trump and the exceptions of American evangelicalism
(John G. Stackhouse, Jr., Sightings, The University of Chicago Divinity School)
Istanbul police arrest 17 people suspected of financing Daesh/ISIS terrorist group
(Zeynep Yesildal, Anadolu Agency)
What’s next after Hamas’ attack on Israel?
(Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, The United States Institute of Peace)
Why Israel’s Gaza evacuation order is so alarming
(Sari Bashi, Human Rights Watch)
China: UN Chief should denounce crimes against humanity
(Human Rights Watch)
Uproar after 6-year-old Muslim boy killed in US Islamophobic attack
(Daily Sabah)
Hundreds killed in explosion at a crowded Gaza hospital
(Jaclyn Diaz, Steve Inskeep, Bill Chappell, NPR)
Catholic healthcare clinic fights to help pregnant women in need
(Becket Law)
FFRF gets prayer cards removed from Mississippi middle school
(Freedom From Religion Foundation)
California: Prison religious clothing bill signed into law
(Contra Costa News)
Federal judge poses tough questions to state about Colorado’s abortion pill “reversal” law
(John Ingold, Colorado Sun)
The German chancellor condemns a firebomb attack on a Berlin synagogue and vows protection for Jews
(Kirsten Grieshaber, Associated Press)
School material on Islam did not violate current Establishment Clause test
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
FBI releases 2022 hate crime statistics
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Guatemala Church supports demonstrators, demands respect for election results
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Germany intensifies security around Jewish institutions (video)
(Emily Gordine, Philipp Falkenstein, Matthew Moore, Deutsche Welle)
How the Catholic Church’s crash in Poland brought down the Law and Justice party
(Anna Piela, Religion News Service)
A congressman’s ‘Dharma Caucus’ stirs suspicion for Hindu and Sikh organizations
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Russia halts circulation of new ruble note after complaints from priests
(AFP, The Guardian)
Russia: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest Oct 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Occupied Ukraine: Russian occupation forces continue to disappear religious leaders
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Mufti of Crimea: There are five Muslim chaplains in the ranks of the Armed Forces
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Belarus: Repressive draft Religion Law awaits second reading
(Olga Glace and Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Christians shouldn’t celebrate Elenis: A perspective from the Missio Dei
(David W. Opderbeck, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Sri Lanka: Church challenges Sri Lankan draft law to stifle social media
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Kenya: Shakahola must not drive State to undermine religious freedom
(Nyatundo George Oruongo, The Standard)
Belarusian judge confirms the liquidation of the New Life Church in Minsk
(Christian Network Europe)
Brazil: For the first time, Dial 100 agents receive training on religious diversity (Portuguese)
(Ministério dos Direitos Humanos e da Cidadania)
Brazil: Globo [TV] is reported to the MPF for religious intolerance in soap operas (Portuguese)
(Miguel Araújo, O Povo)
Religious liberty may bar defendant's forced medication, US court says
(Nate Raymond, Reuters)
USAID wants to partner with more faith groups
(Jeff Brumley, Baptist News Global)
Portugal moves to end Sephardic Jewish citizenship law
(Orge Castellano, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Religion is intimately linked to the center of a person’s identity (Portuguese)
(Inês Granja, 7 Margens)
Tuesday, 17 October 2023
EVENT, 17 October 2023 (6PM): Securing Religious Freedom: Why British Leadership on FoRB Should Be Written into Law (London, UK)
(Marc Sidwell, Malcolm Evans, Fabio Petito, Mervyn Thomas, and Fiona Bruce, The Henry Jackson Society)
Monday, 16 October 2023
Israel: White phosphorus used in Gaza, Lebanon
(Human Rights Watch)
Canada: Protesters urinated, defecated on church property, convoy trial hears
(David Fraser, CBC News)
France raises security level after school knife attack
(Laurence Peter, BBC News)
MWL statement on stabbing crime in France
(Twitter, Muslim World League)
Catholic patriarch of Jerusalem offers to be exchanged for hostages held by Hamas
(Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency)
Israel at war: Islamic world divided over Hamas massacres
(Gil Zohar, Religion Unplugged)
‘War knows no religion’: Gaza’s oldest church shelters Muslims, Christians
(Al Jazeera)
Far from Israel, Jews grieve and pray for peace in Shabbat services held as Israel-Hamas war rages
(Associated Press)
Australian parliament unites to condemn hate speech including antisemitism and Islamophobia
(Daniel Hurst, The Guardian)
Muslims gather at mosques for first Friday prayers since Israel-Hamas war started
(Associated Press)
Italian lawmakers debate long-delayed Holocaust Museum revived by far-right-led government
(Colleen Barry, Associated Press)
Inclusion of religious minorities and development of multicultural dialogue for the growth of democracy. The potentialities of the Italian model in the Mediterranean area
(Fondazione per le scienze religiose)
India: ICC releases report on concerning trends in India
(International Christian Concern)
Statement from President Joe Biden [on violent Islamophobic attack in Illinois]
(The White House)
Detroit religious leaders discuss threats against Muslims after man arrested (video)
(CBS News)
Around the web - 16 October 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Nigeria: Religious activism for peace in Nigeria’s Northern Region
(Prince Charles Dickson and Sumayya Abubakar, Opinion Nigeria)
Ukrainian Muslims feeling destruction and rifts from the war
(Religion Watch, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Anti-war Russian clergy face punishment
(Maria Katamadze, Deutsche Welle)
Dealing with the Soviet past and democracy in the Russian Orthodox Church
(Religion Watch, Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 16
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Japan: The request for dissolution of the Unification Church in Japan: A tragic violation of freedom of religion or belief
(Bitter Winter)
Japan: Unification Church slams Japan’s dissolution request as a threat to religious freedom
(Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press)
Articles of interest - 16 October 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
State may regulate Health Care Sharing Ministries
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Punjab’s ‘Aeroplane’ temple: Where India-Canada tensions meet Sikh anxiety
(Yashraj Sharma, Religion News Service)
Hundreds of Germans form ‘human shield’ to protect synagogue as residents report antisemitic incidents
(Toby Axelrod, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
After their synagogue is vandalized, Porto Jews brace for antisemitism during Israel-Hamas war
(Shira Li Bartov, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The Bloom Review: Does government ‘do God?’ – The good, the bad and the ugly
(Martin Weightman, Law & Religion UK)
Report: Conflict resolution and interreligious encounter at the VHI
(University of Cambridge)
Why Family Law Treats Female Genital Mutilation and Circumcision Differently: An Explanation
(Nick Brown, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Ewelina Ochab on the crime of genocide and her work in the Houses of Parliament
(YouTube Video, Brunel Law School)
Bangladesh: Tension rising in Bangladesh ahead of major Hindu festival
(Emran Hossain, Union of Catholic Asian News)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly digest October 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Norwegian Jehovah's Witnesses demand subsidy despite their loss of religious status
(Christian Network Europe)
New book: Towards Jihad? Muslims and Politics in Postcolonial Mozambique
(Eric Morier-Genoud, Hurst)
Deserted churches and fewer believers: Swiss abandon God
(Pauline Turuban, Swiss Info)
Exploring the diverse religious and political affiliations of Hispanic Americans
(Diana Orcés, PRRI)
Afghanistan: International Day of the Girl is a cruel irony for daughters in Afghanistan
(Belquis Ahmadi, The United States Institute of Peace)
Mexico: Segob and Prosecutor's Office accused of violating right to religious freedom in a CDMX church; corruption (Spanish)
(Carlos Ramírez, Reporte Indigo)
Brazil: Influencer who offended pastor in video on social network will pay R$12,000 for moral damages (Portuguese)
(Bom Dia Advogado)
Brazil: TRE-PI and OAB-PI promote debate on religious freedom (Portuguese)
(Tribunal Regional Eleitoral do Piauí)
Sunday, 15 October 2023
CALL FOR PAPERS, abstracts due 15 October 2023: Copyright in Islamic Law
(İstanbul Araştırma ve Eğitim Merkezi)
Friday, 13 October 2023
Jerusalem Heads of Churches urge addressing humanitarian crisis in Gaza
(World Council of Churches)
Statement by Lantos Foundation President on Hamas' brutal attack on Israel
(Katrina Lantos Swett, The Lantos Foundation)
Africa’s religious leaders take sides in ongoing Israel-Hamas war
(Tom Osanjo, Religion Unplugged)
Call for ‘Day of Jihad’ prompts greater vigilance by FBI, Jewish groups
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Iran calls on Islamic, Arab countries to confront Israel over its war on Hamas
(The Times of Israel)
Most Jewish Americans have long-standing connections to Israel
(John Gramlich and Alan Cooperman, Pew Research Center)
Al-Azhar calls on Arabs and Muslims to take united stance against Israeli crimes
(Middle East Monitor)
Tens of thousands protest after Muslim prayers across Mideast over Israeli airstrikes on Gaza
(Isabel Debre and Jon Gambrell, Associated Press)
Obispos chilenos invitan a orar por la paz en el mundo
(Religión Digital)
US law enforcement on alert, thousands rally for Palestinian cause in New York City
(Joseph Ax and Julia Harte, Reuters)
Blinken invokes Jewish ancestry in address to grieving Israeli public
(John Hudson, The Washington Post)
Email Subscription
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies maintains a Law and Religion Headlines service covering news about freedom of religion or belief internationally. All interested may subscribe to this service, free of charge, using the link below.
Subscribe