Law and Religion Headlines
Tuesday, 29 August 2023
NJ town accused of discriminating against Orthodox Jews will pay $575K settlement
(Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)
Monday, 28 August 2023
Pakistani doctor sentenced to 18 years in prison for attempting to provide material support to ISIS
(U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Minnesota, U.S. Department of Justice)
France to ban female students from wearing abayas in state schools
(Ece Goksedef, BBC News)
France abaya ban: ‘How far will clothes police go?’
(Al Jazeera)
France : au nom de la laïcité, le gouvernement interdit formellement l'abaya à l'école
(France 24)
CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS, deadline 28 August 2023: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act at Thirty; Free Speech, Religious Accommodation, and Affirmative Action in the U.S Supreme Court
(Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Around the web - 28 August 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Iraq: Law banning contact with ‘Zionists’ threatens desperate attempts to save the last synagogue in Mosul
(Jewish News)
Iraqi Christians only have a future if the country will be a safe place for its diverse minorities — a discussion with Jeremy P. Barker
(Hungarian Conservative)
Rasul al-Akram Cultural-Religious Institute publishes “Religion of Freedom and Free Will”
(Shia Waves)
Ethiopia: Sexual violence continues in Tigray despite the cessation of hostilities agreement
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Hundreds of faith leaders call for social care workers to be paid at least £12 per hour
(The Church of Scotland)
Germany reports over 250 Islamophobic crimes this year
(Anadolu Agency)
Taliban rebuffs UN report claiming presence of terror groups in Afghanistan
(Anadolu Agency)
India: Top court grants reprieve to Indian priest in 'baptism' case
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
India: Modi’s ‘tiger warrior’ diplomacy is harming India’s interests
(Kunal Purohit, Foreign Policy)
India teacher investigated for telling pupils to slap Muslim peer
(BBC News)
JKPDP condemns WAQF Board’s decision as an ‘attack on religious freedom’
(Kashmir Images)
Vietnam: IGE conducts religion and rule of law training in Vietnam’s Nghe An Province
(Institute for Global Engagement)
Media coverage of 2023 Parliament shares call to conscience to 2.5 billion
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Summer internship furthers international peacebuilding efforts
(Cecily Powell Tolleson, Harvard Divinity School)
Articles of interest - 28 August 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
March on Washington: “We must reset the moral compass of the nations”
(World Council of Churches)
Thousands gather for March on Washington’s 60th anniversary
(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)
BRIC by BRIC, the foundation for Pope’s geopolitical endgame is being laid
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
How states can protect religious liberty
(Sarah M. Estelle, Discourse)
Joint prayer held in Britain in solidarity with Ukraine
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Two weeks in review, 14 August – 27 August 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
China detains ethnic Kazakh Muslim for reciting Quran publicly
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Should 'sensitivity training' be forced on Southwest Airlines?
(Walter Olson, Reason)
Why one of the world's most secular nation pushes to adapt Muslim blasphemy laws
(Jacob Rudenstrand, Religion Unplugged)
Indonesia committed to combating religious intolerance in Jakarta Plurilateral Dialogue
(Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia)
DRC: At least 14 killed in church attack in eastern Congo, official says
(Reuters)
Sunday, 27 August 2023
CALL FOR BIDS, proposals due 27 August 2023: Religious intolerance in Sri Lanka
(British High Commission Colombo, GOV.UK)
Friday, 25 August 2023
Broad coalition urges Supreme Court to protect sidewalk counselor
(Becket)
Religious parents in Maryland will appeal to opt kids out of inappropriate storybooks
(Becket)
Judge rules against Montgomery County religious parents in opt-out battle over LGBTQ lessons
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Announcement of visa restrictions to address forced assimilation in Tibet
(Antony J. Blinken, U.S. Department of State)
22 Aug: International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
(YouTube Video, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, BYU Law)
Bahamas introduces bills to legalize marijuana for medical and religious purposes
(Associated Press)
Argentina: Why Pope Francis has become a political lightning rod in Argentina
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Argentina: Human rights abuses against Buenos Aires yoga school denounced at the United Nations
(Thierry Valle, Bitter Winter)
Libya captures ISIS leader behind 2018 deadly attacks in Tripoli
(Al Arabiya News)
12 Daesh suspects captured in western Türkiye
(Daily Sabah)
WCC general secretary statement on Christians denied access to holy site
(Jerry Pillay, World Council of Churches)
Religious liberty event pays tribute to 130 years of advocacy
(Marcos Paseggi, Adventist Review)
Federal judge denies religious parents’ request to opt kids out of LGBTQ+ lessons
(Fiona André, Religion News Service)
'It’s like starting with a new slate': Prayer teams visit Marion schools before opening day
(Andy Fillmore, Ocala Star-Banner)
No more prayer walks, FFRF insists to Fla. schools
(Freedom From Religion Foundation)
In historic Relief Society Building, former U.S. ambassador says religious freedom needs to be more than a ‘boutique foreign policy issue’
(Hanna Seariac, Deseret News)
Nicaragua bans Jesuits and confiscates all their assets
(Vatican News)
Cyprus: Bridging the divide through interreligious dialogue
(Elene Chkhaidze, Pulitzer Center)
China, Christians told to strictly enforce new restrictive measures on religion
(Zhang Chunhua, Bitter Winter)
China, stop targeting overseas human rights defenders
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Amputees can get their body parts back for spiritual reasons, new Oregon law says
(Associated Press)
Many Americans report interacting with dead relatives in dreams or other ways
(Patricia Tevington and Manolo Corichi, Pew Research Center)
New book: Pentecostal and Charismatic Education: Renewalist Education Wherever It Is Found
(William K. Kay and Ewen H. Butler, Rowman & Littlefield)
Belarus: Threatened with criminal prosecution for sharing faith in public
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Belarus church urged to speak up for the persecuted
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Myanmar: Six years on, still no justice for Myanmar’s Rohingya
(United Nations)
USCIRF calls for action against Burmese military’s genocidal campaign and expanded assistance for Rohingya survivors
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
RFI announces Howard Slugh as recipient of 2023 Religious Freedom Impact Award
(Religious Freedom Institute)
BYU Law School celebrates 50th anniversary
(Cision PR Newswire)
Swedish police try to silence man protesting Quran desecration
(Atila Altuntas, Anadolu Agency)
Australia: The Ethics of Freedom: Religious Freedom in the Workplace
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Brazil high court rules homophobia punishable by prison
(France 24)
Podcast on Karabakh
(Mark Movsesian, Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Appellate judges revive Jewish couple’s lawsuit alleging adoption bias under Tennessee law
(Jonathan Mattise, Associated Press)
Danish government to present draft law making it illegal to burn the Quran or other religious texts
(Jan M. Olsen, Associated Press)
Human resources employee sues seeking religious accommodation to avoid DEI participation
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Statute of limitations not tolled on Navy chaplains' claims
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Church autonomy bars court adjudicating dispute over withdrawal from parent body
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Central African Republic: What’s religion got to do with it? External state engagement in the Central African Republic
(Laura Collins, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
California must stop discriminating against religious schools to serve special needs students
(Maury Litwack and Michael A. Helfand, Jewish Journal)
Russian occupants seized a Roman Catholic chapel in Skadovsk
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russian persecution of evangelicals exceeding that of Soviet era, Mission Eurasia president says
(Scott Barkley, Baptist Press)
Russia: Freedom of religion and belief monitoring group to be liquidated
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
The Supreme Court’s refreshing unity on religious freedom
(Holly Hollman, Baptist news Global)
British judge says life support treatment can end for a brain-damaged pastor who’s in a coma
(Associated Press)
Employment status of Church of England curates: Green v Lichfield DBF
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
“Due regard” and statutory guidance (II)
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Fostering unity and celebrating diversity, Scientology representative addresses European Sikh Organization inauguration
(The European Times)
CEC-CCEE issue statement on Season of Creation focusing on theme “Let justice and peace flow”
(Conference of European Churches)
Republican presidential contenders make faith and family a central issue
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
India: Distressing trend of ‘reverse dowry’: shattering families and challenging values
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
Providing refuge for climate refugees in international law
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Catholic bishops appeal for debt relief to help Africa
(Fredrick Nzwili, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Korean religious groups to support suicide victims’ kin
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Malaysian interfaith body slams Islamic module in schools
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Nigeria: Religious freedom in Nigeria: Ilorin in perspective
(Ifaseesin Ifagbemi, Foundation For Investigative Journalism)
Nigeria: Amidst death threats, Nigerian Court rules Christian convert is free to change her religion
(ADF International)
Bridging the divide: Nigeria’s Interfaith Code of Conduct ushers in a new era of religious harmony
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Nigeria: NGO providing relief to Nigeria’s persecuted Christians
(Ekpali Saint, Religion Unplugged)
In Nigeria, WCC promotes interfaith dialogue between religious and community leaders toward eliminating HIV stigma
(World Council of Churches)
Attacks on Catholic institutions should concern all of us
(Daniel Mark, Real Clear Religion)
Column from Spain: Evangelical migrants from Latin America change the country
(Jorge Ruiz Ortiz, Christian Network Europe)
Deportation, mental illness and Article 8 ECHR: a discussion of Azzaqui v the Netherlands
(Mark Klaassen, Strasbourg Observers)
The global crisis of religious persecution
(Lord David Alton, Geopolitical Intelligence Services)
Pakistan: Religious intolerance is burning Pakistan
(Mariyam Suleman Anees, The Diplomat)
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws are misused and in need of reform
(Knox Thames, The Washington Post)
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