Law and Religion Headlines

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Wednesday, 5 July 2023

Texas bill allowing schools to hire chaplains stirs controversy, pushback
(Patrick M. Davis, Texas Standard)

Court says Dobbs decision does not undercut Freedom of Access To Clinic Entrances Act
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Catholics have a duty to care for immigrants. And the government can’t punish us for that.
(Timothy Michael Dolan, America: The Jesuit Review)

Colombia: Church in Colombia to collaborate with government in search for remains of ‘disappeared’
(Eduardo Berdejo, Catholic News Agency)

Tuesday, 4 July 2023

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS, deadline 4 July 2023: Global Youth Religion and Mediation Course
(Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers)

Monday, 3 July 2023

Opinion: 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis (pdf)
(Supreme Court of the United States)

HYBRID COURSE, 3-7 July 2023: The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level
(Geneva Human Rights Platform)

Supreme Court rules website designer can decline to create same-sex wedding websites
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)

The Supreme Court rules for a designer who doesn’t want to make wedding websites for gay couples
(Jessica Gresko, Associated Press)

Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of web designer who won’t build same-sex wedding websites
(Kelsey Dallas and Suzanne Bates, Deseret News)

BJC comments on 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis decision
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)

Colorado can't force a graphic designer to create same-sex wedding websites, Supreme Court rules
(Stephanie Slade, Reason)

The Supreme Court has opened the door to discrimination. Here’s how states can slam it shut.
(Aaron Tang, The New York Times)

Supreme Court GVR's case on bakers' refusal to design cake for same-sex wedding
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Supreme Court strengthens religious freedom protections for workers
(Sanya Mansoor, Time)

The future of “Born-Again Evangelicalism” is charismatic and Pentecostal
(Fanhao Nie, Flavio Rogerio Hickel, Leah Payne, and Tarah Williams, PRRI)

IRFBA chair’s statement on Nicaragua religious prisoner of conscience, Bishop Rolando Álvarez
(U.S. Department of State)

Pakistan: Defender of religious freedom single-handedly stops mob
(Aid to the Church in Need)

Routledge Handbook of Religion and Politics (Third Edition)
(Edited By Jeffrey Haynes, Taylor & Francis)

With echoes of ‘the most difficult time in North Korean history’, the international community must do more to bring about change
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Statement from the Muslim World League on burning of Quran
(Muslim World League)

Vietnam: Imprisoned human rights defender and Protestant pastor denied medical treatment
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)

India: Muslim man killed by cattle vigilantes in Maharashtra State
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)

Ethnic violence spirals in India’s northeastern Manipur state
(Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch)

Thousands protest in Iraq for a second day over burning of Quran in Sweden
(Ali Jabar and Nabil Al-Jurani, Associated Press)

Certiorari granted in case on interpretation of Title VII
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Court refuses to enjoin New York's ban on firearms in places of worship
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Holy See: Cardinal Zuppi in Moscow to open paths of peace
(Vatican News)

Amid geopolitical, escclesiastical tensions, top Vatican prelate visits Belarus
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

African church leaders warn of new genocide risks in Sudan
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Jewish quotas were at the heart of Supreme Court affirmative action ruling
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Muslim activist gives powerful speech against forced LGBTQ curriculum: 'Our people are not backward'
(Hannah Grossman, Fox News)

The competition for believers in Africa is transforming Christianity and Islam
(Francis X. Rocca, Nicholas Bariyo, and Gbenga Akingbule, The Wall Street Journal)

The majority of Ukrainians haven't faced criticism based on religious affiliation - survey results
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Kazakhstan: parish ousted from church after 31 years
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

Catholic universities blast Supreme Court affirmative action decision
(Peter Pinedo, Catholic News Agency)

Bridging the gap: How a Greek university is supporting Thessaloniki’s Muslims
(Puneet Bsanti, Religion Unplugged)

Religious leaders urged to enhance China’s ‘soft power’
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Iraq/Sweden: Statement by the Spokesperson on the latest events following the burning of the Quran
(European Union External Action)

COMECE 2022 Annual Report is now online
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))

Iran: Religious persecution and issues – Monthly digest June
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Column from Belarus: Like in the USSR, the state tries to wipe out the church
(Zmichier Chviedaruk, Christian Network Europe)

Gender (im)balance and the making of the ECtHR Bench: A critical discussion of Romania’s selection process for its Strasbourg judge
(Georgiana Epure and Elena Brodeală, Strasbourg Observers)

USCIRF hearing on deteriorating religious freedom conditions in Cuba
(YouTube Video, U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Religious freedom for all: The experience of minority faith groups in Cuba (Spanish)
(YouTube Video, Outreach Aid to the Americas)

Mexico: Presentation of the Tzotzil translation of the Law of Religious Associations and Public Worship (Spanish)
(El Heraldo)

Ecclesiastical court judgments – June (I)
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

Ecclesiastical court judgments – June (II)
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

UK anti-boycott bill on the wrong side of history
(Yasmine Ahmed and Emilie McDonnell, Human Rights Watch)

Around the web - 3 Juy 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)

Barclays to pay Christian group for discrimination
(Bridget Ryder, The European Conservative)

Faith and power: Review finds religion overrepresented in Colorado's legislature
(Hannah Metzger, Colorado Politics)

Friday, 30 June 2023

David H. Moore named dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School
(Brigham Young University)

Protesters briefly storm the Swedish Embassy in Baghdad in protest over Quran burning
(Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Ali Jabar, Associated Press)

Opinion: Groff v. DeJoy (pdf)
(Supreme Court of the United States)

Justices rule in favor of evangelical Christian postal worker
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)

Supreme Court rules for ex-mail carrier refusing to work on Sabbath
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)

The Supreme Court just ruled 9-0 for a religious worker. But his fight is not over
(Kelsey Dallas and Suzanne Bates, Deseret News)

Supreme Court paves way for more religious accommodations at work with postal worker ruling
(Alison Durkee, Forbes)

S. Ct. unanimously broadens (somewhat) employees' rights to religious exemptions from neutral work rules
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Supreme Court ruling in Sabbath accommodation case has far-reaching consequences for observant Jews
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Explainer: Supreme Court unanimously rules in favor of religious liberty in postal worker case
(Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission)

How the Supreme Court paved the way for the nation's first religious charter school
(John Fritze, USA Today)

Supreme Court slashes affirmative action, rejecting Catholic universities’ support for race-based admissions
(Jason Chahyadi, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)

Medical Conscience Rights Initiative
(Religious Freedom Institute)

UN anti-discrimination report proposes to limit religious freedom
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)

With Muslim members away for Eid, Minneapolis City Council kills rent control measure
(Associated Press)

Thousands in North Macedonia join Church protest against proposed laws on gender equality, identity
(Konstantin Testorides, Associated Press)

Islamophobia is widespread in Germany, report finds
(Sabine Kinkartz, Deutsche Welle)

France’s highest administrative court says the soccer federation can ban headscarves in matches
(Samuel Petrequin, Associated Press)

Bishops rebuke House Dems for citing faith in defense of abortion rights
(John Lavenburg, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Sweden: Muslim countries denounce Iraqi man's Quran burning
(Deutsche Welle)

Legal issues: July Synod
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

Gove admits there has been ‘controversy and opposition’ over Westminster Holocaust memorial
(Lee Harpin, Jewish News)

German delegate to the OSCE encourages Scientologists to seek FoRB protection when discriminated against by state agencies
(The European Times)

Law and religion in an age of rapid secularization
(Frank Lechner, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

WCC signs joint ecumenical statement on Sudan
(World Council of Churches)

Interactive dialogue/presentation of the annual report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
(U.S. Mission to International Organizations in Geneva)

COMECE contributes to EP dialogue seminar on the EU Single Market
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))

Headscarf, kippah and crosses become forbidden for Dutch police officers
(Christian Network Europe)

Indonesia: Blasphemy or religious persecution?
(The Jakarta Post)

UKPNP chief voices concern over oppression of religious minorities in PoK, China
(Devdiscourse)

Russian patriarch tells papal envoy their Churches should work together for peace
(Reuters)

US condemns Quran copy burning in Sweden but defends act as 'freedom of expression'
(Servet Günerigök, Anadolu Agency)

Burkina Faso: Unlawful killings, ‘disappearances’ by the army
(Human Rights Watch)

Thursday, 29 June 2023

EVENT, 29 June 2023 (10AM in Brussels): In-person meeting of the FoRB Roundtable
(FoRB Roundtable)

Wednesday, 28 June 2023

Right to freedom of religion and belief
(Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI))

What we are seeing in India is a religious freedom crisis”—Human rights advocates call for end to religious persecution in India following Modi’s visit to US
(ADF International)

Multinationals in India benefit from country’s diversity
(Brian Grim, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)

India: National Day of Prayer after sectarian violence against Christians
(La Croix International)

Uniting faith and compassion: Kashmir’s inspiring battle against drug addiction
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)

Statement from President Joe Biden on the Occasion of Eid al-Adha
(The White House)

White House defends WSJ reporter facing harassment over Modi question
(Amy B Wang, The Washington Post)

EVENT, 28 June 2023 (10:30AM ET): USCIRF Hearing: Deteriorating Religious Freedom Conditions in Cuba (Miami, USA)
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

EVENT, 28 June 2023 (5:30PM in London): The Genocide Convention at 75: Genocide against the Uyghurs and other Turkic Minorities
(All Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief)

Italy: Meloni's Islamophobic policies are pushing Muslims to the margins
(Farid Hafez, Middle East Eye)

Canada: Cardus chaplaincy presentation to National Defence Committee
(YouTube Video, Cardus)

The battle for religious liberty in education rages on in Maine
(Charles J. Russo, The Catholic World Report)

Louisiana voters to decide on freedom of worship constitutional amendment
(Jackie Mitchell, KTBS 3)

How Jewish activists are campaigning for reproductive rights, one year after Dobbs
(Jackie Hajdenberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

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