Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
EEOC Sues Blackwell security services for religious discrimination
(U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
Cuba, Nicaragua can no longer whitewash their religious freedom violations
(Teo Babun, The Hill)
Brazil: Soccer player Paulinho won’t let intolerance of his Afro-Brazilian religion stop his faith
(Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press)
America appears to be heading for a religious civil war
(Nilay Saiya, Religion Dispatches)
Latest immigration fight unfairly targets religious organizations
(John Meiser, The Hill)
Reflections on the Parliament of the World’s Religions
(European Network on Religion & Belief)
What is an abaya − and why does it cause such controversy in France? A scholar of European studies explains
(Armin Langer, The Conversation)
Houses of Worship: Officials explore social cohesion at Chile temple
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Tuesday, 26 September 2023
EVENT, 26 September 2023 (6PM CT): 2023 Benac Human Dignity for All Lecture (Dallas, TX, USA)
(Featuring Ambassador Sam Brownback, Ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein, and President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice Katrina Lantos Swett, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and DFW Alliance for Religious Freedom)
Monday, 25 September 2023
Statement from President Joe Biden on Yom Kippur
(The White House)
Iran demands Sweden act against Koran burnings, urges release of prisoner
(AFP, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)
EVENT, 25 September 2023 (14:00 CEST): UN Human Rights Side Event: The Targeting of Minority Communities – From Hate Crime to Atrocity Crimes
(International Bar Association, Coalition for Genocide Response, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Physicians for Human Rights)
European action day against Islamophobia: Assessing the ongoing struggle of Muslims
(TRT World)
Kentucky's near-total abortion ban takes center stage in gubernatorial election
(Sylvia Goodman, NPR)
Indonesia: Does God need to be defended by law?
(Aisyah Llewellyn, The Diplomat)
Indonesia jails woman for blasphemy over TikTok food video
(Al Jazeera)
Muslim countries rap repeated desecration of Quran in Europe
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Muslim girl banned from school for kimono sues France in UN court
(Esra Taskin and Feiza Ben Mohamed, Anadolu Agency)
Mali's junta grapples with surging chaos amid UN peacekeeper exit
(Daily Sabah)
Leaders of Türkiye, Malaysia slam 'new form of racism' victimising Muslims
(TRT World)
Israel to seal off Palestine territories for Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur
(Middle East Monitor)
Israel's Yom Kippur protests signal a liberal correction to religious coercion
(Or Kashti, Haaretz)
Meeting between Jewish leaders and Benjamin Netanyahu broaches judicial overhaul — and gets personal
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Turkish police detain 10 accused of Islamic State links, minister says
(Reuters)
CTD arrests 13 TTP, Daesh terrorists during Punjab-wide IBOs
(Pakistan Today)
Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic defends Catholic charter school’s mission to expand educational options for underserved children
(University of Notre Dame Law School)
National Cathedral unveils racial justice-themed windows, replacing Confederate ones
(Juliana Kim, NPR)
Grant for new paths set to make northern church more accessible
(BBC News)
Iran – Concerns over Chastity and Hijab Bill
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
Iran's women on Mahsa Amini's death anniversary: 'I wear what I like now'
(Caroline Hawley, BBC News)
UK Special Envoy: ‘FoRB has never been more at risk’
(The Christian Institute)
UK Catholics urge government to ‘scrap the cap’ on new Church-run free schools
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Law and religion round-up – 24th September
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Isle of Man church granted cathedral status by Pope Francis
(Alex Blake, BBC News)
CEC welcomes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as a Member Church
(Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the EU (COMECE))
Islamophobia, distrust: Dutch Muslims react to state surveillance
(Daily Sabah)
Kuwait University to enforce gender segregation in classrooms, sparking controversy and backlash
(New Arab)
The largest Hindu temple on American soil will soon open its doors
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Brazil’s bishops reject blame for abortion debate over alleged backing for Lula
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Senegal: Bishop calls for respecting the rights of those wishing to migrate
(Charles Senghor, La Croix International)
The Rights of Nature Part 1 – Review of the Legal Movement
(Clair Brown, Arthur Dahl, Yoshinobu Miyake, Sherrie Steiner, and Victoria W. Thoresen, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
The Rights of Nature Part 2 – Faith Viewpoints
(Clair Brown, Arthur Dahl, Yoshinobu Miyake, Sherrie Steiner, and Victoria W. Thoresen, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Two weeks in review, 11 September – 24 September 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Algeria: Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light people meet UN Special Rapporteur
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Egypt: An encouragement to President Sisi to go further in the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in Egypt
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Founding the Journal of Law and Religion: A Reflection Forty Years On
(Stephen B. Young, Journal of Law and Religion)
US military captures key Islamic State militant during helicopter raid in Syria
(Tara Copp, AP News)
Religious marriage-related agreements can be enforced by American courts, but only when they comply with state law
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Around the web - 25 September 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
What happens when the boss invites you to Bible study?
(Jennifer Miller, The New York Times)
Religious freedom in Hungary: Hell hath no fury like a prime minister scorned
(Alexander Faludy, Balkan Insight)
USAID’s ‘Power’ play on religious engagement
(Susan Crabtree, Real Clear Politics)
Kosovo monastery siege ends following deadly attack on police
(Al Jazeera)
PaRD Annual Forum 2023: Multiplex collaborations in a multipolar world
(International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development)
Whose equality? Freedom of religious associations and Gaum v. Van Rensburg
(Shaun de Freitas, Journal of Law and Religion)
Articles of interest - 25 September 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
New book: The Third Sword: On The Political Role of Prophets
(James Bernard Murphy, Cambridge University Press)
Friday, 22 September 2023
Supreme Court 2023-24 Term: Sidewalk counselors, Native sacred land, government mandates
(Becket)
The Pope and the War: A series on how Pope Francis deals with the Russia-Ukraine war
(Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
On spiritual resources and common homes: A look at crimes in Ukraine in conversation with Raphael Lemkin and Pope Francis
(Greg Marcar, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
EVENT, 22 September 2023 (12:30PM ET): Constitution Day Panel: "Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses"
(de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, University of Notre Dame)
EVENT, 22 September 2023 (12PM ET): Bioethical Challenges and Exploiting Nascent Human Beings (Washington, DC, USA)
(Faith & Law)
UC Law lecture examines religious expression for imprisoned persons
(Sherry English, University of Cincinnati)
China: 6 facts about Buddhism in China
(Pew Research Center)
Afghanistan: 2 years ago, the Taliban banned girls from school. It’s a worsening crisis for all Afghans
(Riazat Butt, Associated Press)
Chinese court imposes life sentence on Uyghur scholar
(Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch)
Kashmir’s top pro-freedom cleric leads Friday prayers after four years
(Al Jazeera)
India: Ornate Indian Hindu temple will open on old mosque site, fulfilling Modi’s election promise
(Rhea Mogul and Vedika Sud, CNN)
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?
(Krutika Pathi and David Cohen, Religion News Service)
Indian govt seeks detailed report on anti-Christian violence
(Bijay Kumar Minj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
ELCA hears from Indigenous boarding school survivor ahead of National Day of Remembrance
(Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
Can a chatbot preach a good sermon? Hundreds attend church service generated by ChatGPT to find out
(Kirsten Grieshaber, Religion News Service)
Riding a wave of converts, one group aims to fuse Orthodoxy with Southern values
(Meagan Saliashvili, Religion News Service)
Tinmel – Morocco’s medieval shrine and mosque – is one of the historic casualties of the earthquake
(Abbey Stockstill, The Conversation)
AI won’t be replacing your priest, minister, rabbi or imam any time soon
(Pauline Hope Cheong, The Conversation)
Legislation factsheet: Blasphemy (2023 update)
(Luke Wilson, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom)
India-Canada tensions shine light on complexities of Sikh activism in the diaspora
(Deepa Bharath, Associated Press)
Incendiary rhetoric on Sikh's murder stokes debate in Canada diaspora
(Nadine Yousif, BBC News)
Why India fears the Khalistan movement and how Canada became embroiled in diplomatic spat over killing of Sikh separatist
(Mark Juergensmeyer, The Conversation)
EU-India: Religious freedom in the context of a Free Trade Agreement
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Globally respected Muslim scholar receives Human Dignity Award from American Jewish Committee
(American Jewish Committee)
U.S. urged to provide more support for persecuted faith groups in Myanmar
(Jeff Brumley, Baptist News Global)
Exemption to anti-bias law for 'ministers' may apply to gay teacher, judges say
(Daniel Wiessner, Reuters)
Leaders of Muslim world slam West at UN over Quran desecrations
(Daily Sabah)
Surveillance of Indian diplomats in Canada led to allegations around Sikh killing, official says
(Rob Gillies, Associated Press)
Abortions resume in Wisconsin after 15 months of legal uncertainty
(Sarah Lehr and Margaret Faust, NPR)
CEC contributes to discussion on peace and democracy at Council of Europe event
(Conference of European Churches)
LDS Church appeals, says James Huntsman’s tithing lawsuit poses ‘profound threat’ to religious liberty
(Tony Semerad, The Salt Lake Tribune)
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey tells atheists complaining about Auburn U. baptisms to back off
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Auburn coaches’ role in prayer event draws fire from atheist group
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Episcopal Church’s latest parochial reports point to denominational decline, hope for future
(David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)
Uzbekistan: USCIRF deeply troubled by Uzbekistan’s backsliding on religious freedom
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
South African “hate speech” bill would violate human rights; Free speech experts address Parliament
(ADF International)
Legislation clarifying right of local authorities to support churches clears final hurdle in House of Lords
(The Church of England)
Bishop of Norwich’s response to Net Zero statement by PM
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Rejecting Policy Exchange's assault on British Muslim women
(East London Mosque)
Netanyahu tells UN that Israel is ‘at the cusp’ of a historic agreement with Saudi Arabia
(Associated Press)
Quran torn by Islamophobic group given to Turkish Embassy in Netherlands
(Abdullah Asiran, Anadolu Agency)
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