Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 24 July 2023
Saudi survey says: nearly half back “moderate Islam”; few support internal protests or war with Iran
(David Pollock and Daniel Chodorow, Washington Institute for Near East Policy)
Priest: Cuban government threatening religious who express opinion on country’s situation
(Catholic News Agency)
Religious freedom recedes (Spanish)
(Sílvia Oller Girona, La Vanguardia)
Brazil: Conflicts and religious intolerance in contemporary Brazil: analysis and perspectives for peaceful coexistence (Portuguese)
(Jornal Tribuna)
Brazil: Right on target: Intolerance and the rights of religious diversity (Portuguese)
(José Leão Santiago Campos, Correio Online)
Friday, 21 July 2023
Limited political support in Sweden to ban Koran burnings
(Johan Ahlander, Reuters)
UK statement on Qur'an burning in Stockholm
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, GOV.UK)
Iraq expels Sweden ambassador, embassy stormed over Quran burning
(Al Jazeera)
WEBINAR, 21 July 2023 (1:30PM ET): An Altar Call: Renewal and the American Church — An Online Conversation with Russell Moore
(The Trinity Forum)
Navigating global religious accommodation: Insights from our lawyers on employer responsibilities towards religious beliefs in the workforce
(Seyfarth Shaw LLP, Lexology)
Churches’ suit for bias against foreign religious workers tossed
(Andrew Kreighbaum, Bloomberg Law)
How companies can update religious accommodation policies
(Jorge Gomez, First Liberty)
New book: An Epidemic among My People: Religion, Politics, and COVID-19 in the United States
(Edited by Paul A. Djupe and Amanda Friesen, Temple University Press)
Catholic abbot told to cover cross at Western Wall
(TZVI JOFFRE, The Jerusalem Post)
How do Americans feel about Zionism, antisemitism, and Israel?
(Shibley Telhami, Brookings Institution)
Japan’s threat to international religious freedom
(Aaron Rhodes, The Messenger)
Religious Freedom and Abortion
(Micah Schwartzman and Richard Schragger, Iowa Law Review)
Religion, Hateful Expression and Violence (pdf)
(Edited by Morten Bergsmo and Kishan Manocha, Torkel Opsahl Academic EPublisher)
Brazil congresswoman launches rosary campaign amid ‘serious threat’ of legalized abortion
(Catholic News Agency)
Video from the The Hague: 40th anniversary of the execution of 10 women in Iran
(Twitter, Bahá’í International Community)
Iran: Over 50 Christians in five cities arrested in new crackdown
(Article 18)
Iran: Fresh crackdown on Christians in Iran with arrests of more than 50 converts
(Open Doors)
United Nations Security Council receives its first religious freedom mandate
(Paul Marshall, Providence)
RFI Security Toolkit for Religious Institutions
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Egypt: El-Sisi pardons Egyptian researcher Patrick Zaki and lawyer
(Al Jazeera)
Egypt: Forced migration, murder, and more: A week in the life of Egypt’s Copts
(Patrick George, Daraj)
Video of interview on Bosnia and Herzegovina (English audio with subtitles)
(Twitter, Deborah Lipstadt)
To advance international human rights, first promote covenantal pluralism
(W. Christopher Stewart, Chris Seiple, and Dennis R. Hoover, Institute for Global Engagement)
Canada: Man accused of Mississauga mosque attack pleads guilty to 3 charges
(Toronto Sun)
Fighting for the freedom to practice religion in prison
(Rachel Reed, Harvard Law School)
Myanmar’s generals unveil giant Buddha statue as they seek to win hearts and minds during civil war
(Grant Peck, Associated Press)
Court rejects Muslim Americans' challenge to their treatment at U.S. borders
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
6th Circuit hears oral arguments in RLUIPA land use dispute
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Flooded with sightseers, Europe’s iconic churches struggle to accommodate both worship and tourism
(Associated Press)
Billions of federal dollars available for churches and nonprofits to go green
(Thomas Reese, RNS Column: Signs of the Times)
How the pro-religion court rulings may end up hurting conservative Christianity
(Steven Waldman, Religion News Service)
The Satmar option: Hasidic Judaism and the future of religious liberty
(Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia)
UOC-MP churches affected by the shelling in Kherson and Odessa
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russia: Jailed for refusing mobilisation on grounds of conscience
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Americans’ belief in God, heaven at lowest point in 22 years, Gallup survey says
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
India: Mumbai Christians win fight for burial grounds
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
French gov. focus on Muslims partly due to trauma of Algerian war defeat: expert
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Not the Court’s finest work: inclusive education and reasonable accommodations for pupils with disabilities in T.H. v. Bulgaria
(Merel Vrancken, Strasbourg Observers)
How after-school clubs became a new battleground in the Satanic Temple’s push to preserve separation of church and state
(Charles J. Russo, The Conversation)
Religious charter schools: another brick in the wall of separation?
(Kyle Nazareth, The Federalist Society)
Malaysia needs to curb its ethno-religious politics, but how?
(Vanitha Nadaraj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Indonesia: No authorization for interfaith marriages, Supreme Court says
(The Jakarta Post)
Nigeria: Ifa council worldwide writes Tinubu, wants rights of traditional religion practitioners protected from likes of Emir of Ilorin, others
(Sahara Reporters)
Parents sue Pennsylvania school district for barring parochial students from extracurriculars
(Anne Courchaine, The Federalist)
Rishi Sunak’s envoy for religious freedom Fiona Bruce raises Manipur issue in UK Parliament (video)
(The Times of India)
A Decade of Anti-Muslim Hate
(Tell MAMA (Measuring Anti-Muslim Attacks))
Former soldier wins appeal after facing religious discrimination, with help of equalities watchdog
(Equality and Human Rights Commission)
IICSA Chair to develop proposals for CofE safeguarding
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Protecting Britain’s human rights
(Kishwer Falkner, PoliticsHome)
Learning lessons review: Revd Michael Hall
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Argentina: Special Representative for Monitoring and Combatting Antisemitism (Spanish)
(Twitter, Marc R. Stanley)
Thursday, 20 July 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT, 20 July 2023 (10:30AM ET): Religious Freedom in Tajikistan: Policy Options for a Country of Particular Concern
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Wednesday, 19 July 2023
WEBINAR, 19 July 2023 (3PM in Brussels): Article 18’s Legacy. Promoting Universality and Indivisibility.
(Speakers: Silvio Ferrari, Paulo Macedo, and Ibrahim Salama, European Union & International Affairs Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
VIRTUAL EVENT, 19 July 2023 (10AM ET): Cooperation between Religious Leaders and Public Sector to Protect Religious Sites against Terrorist Attacks
(United Religions Initiative)
The dire state of religious freedom around the world
(House Foreign Affairs Committee)
Legal Docket: Bringing faith to work
(Mary Reichard, World)
"A Practical Guide to Monitoring the Gender Dimension of Freedom of Religion or Belief"
(İnanç Özgürlüğü Girişimi)
BYU study: Women’s involvement in U.N. peace negotiations essential for long-term security
(Christie Allen, Brigham Young University)
Slaughter of Nigerian Christians is driven by religion, says report
(Ruth Gledhill, The Tablet)
UN warns against rising hate speech amid Quran burning
(Daily Sabah)
Pakistan Christians fear reprisal after blasphemy allegation
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Pakistan claims 400,000 social media accounts spread blasphemy
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Pakistan calls for worldwide stance against religious hatred, Islamophobia
(Aamir Latif, Anadolu Agency)
Parochial school students sue for equal access to district extracurricular activities
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Inclusion in sports? Not for hijabi football players in France
(Sheema Khan, TRT World)
When the ‘left’ lectures Muslims on the ‘right’ on LGBTQ curriculums
(Suleiman Hani, Religion News Service)
Demographics on both sides create headaches in Israel-Vatican ties
(John L. Allen Jr., Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Vietnam to let Vatican appoint resident representative
(Radio Free Asia)
In Malaysia, a mom is contesting her kids' conversion to Islam. It's a landmark case
(Emily Feng, NPR)
Malaysia: Govt to hold discussions on 3R issue with relevant quarters on Friday (race, religion, royalty)
(New Straits Times)
Latin American Jewish and Muslim umbrella groups gather for landmark meeting
(Juan Melamed, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Russians oppress uncontrolled denominations
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Tribes object. But a federal ruling approves construction of the largest lithium mine
(Kirk Siegler, NPR)
Azerbaijan: Will state committee return religious books seized in 2007?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Kenya: Choosing peace and dialogue for a harmonious nation
(Twitter, Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK))
LGBT rights in Africa: Will Kenya be the latest to pass anti-gay law?
(Catherine Byaruhanga, BBC News)
Freedom of thought and conscience and the challenges of AI
(Andrea Pin, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Egypt jails rights researcher Patrick Zaki for 3 years, NGO says
(Al Jazeera)
Act now on deep seabed mining
(Helen Rosenbaum, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
COMECE on the “ethical indefensibility” of an EU fundamental right to abortion
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Iran's morality police to resume headscarf patrols
(David Gritten and Laura Gozzi, BBC News)
A pilgrimage to the mecca of mediumship
(The Economist)
Iraqis are furious over their government’s demolition of a minaret that stood for nearly 300 years
(Abdulrahman Zeyad and Dawood Salman, Associated Press)
The head of Iraq’s Chaldean Catholic Church has been pushed out of Baghdad. What’s next for Christians there?
(Kevin Clarke, America: The Jesuit Review)
Judge rules for First United Methodist Church of Oklahoma City in disaffiliation dispute
(Carla Hinton, Oklahoman)
UN Human Rights Council gets it wrong: Prosecuting blasphemy won’t stop religious discord, but it will silence dissent
(Sarah McLaughlin, Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression)
Syria’s president wants non-Muslim religions to help end his pariah status
(The Economist)
Church Reporter, Vol. 8/7, 15 July 2023 - Newsletter for the English speaking members and friends of the Church Law Society (PDF)
(Jiří Rajmund Tretera and Záboj Horák, eds., Church Law Society Prague – Brno – Olomouc – Stříbro – České Budějovice)
Officials file more charges, but not hate crimes, against man accused of attacking Muslim lawmaker
(Dave Collins, Religion News Service)
Fort Worth faces legal battle over censorship claims by atheist organization
(Fiona André, Religion News Service)
Geneva College soccer coach fired after expressing support for LGBTQ people
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
Canada: New research helps explain why religious women have more kids
(Cardus)
Transnational Evangelical Networks in Serbia and Their Influence on Interethnic Relations
(Aleksandra Djurić Milovanović, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Denial of teacher's religious exemption from covid vaccine mandate is upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
US prelates lead ‘Pilgrimage of Peace’ to Japan seeking abolition of nuclear weapons
(John Lavenburg, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
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