Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 26 May 2023
Shavuot: The Jewish holiday that became all about children
(Laura Yares, The Conversation)
IRFBA statement on Christians
(U.S. Department of State)
IRFBA Chair’s statement on the arbitrary detention of Reverend Dr Hkalam Samson
(International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance (IRFBA), U.S. Department of State)
The U.S. strategy for international religious engagement: 10 years on
(Peter Mandaville and Julia Schiwal, The United States Institute of Peace)
MP introduces urgent legislation for accountability in Canada’s security agencies
(Steven Zhou, Canada's National Observer)
Revictimization in the search for a solution to conflicts related to religious freedom
(Pablo Vargas, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Mosque in Germany gets letter with neo-Nazi threats
(Ayhan Simsek, Anadolu Agency)
Religious persecution at the far edge of India
(Knox Thames, The Diplomat)
The crisis in Manipur has been brewing: Depths of discord in northeastern India
(Martin Macwan, South Asia Monitor)
India: Atal Behari Vajpayee: The man who made Hindu nationalist politics acceptable
(Soutik Biswas, BBC News)
Sacred Spheres: Religious Autonomy as an International Human Right
(Diana V. Thomson and Kayla A. Toney, Catholic University Law Review)
New book: Fatwa and the Making and Renewal of Islamic Law: From the Classical Period to the Present
(Omer Awass, Cambridge University Press)
Blasphemy laws in Nigeria
(UK Parliament)
FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Releases First-Ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism
(The White House)
Universal Periodic Review – the UK’s status as a human rights champion could be under threat
(Marcial Boo, Equality and Human Rights Commission)
Travel to Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana
(Twitter, Office of International Religious Freedom)
Chechen leader slams Quran-burning incident in Volgograd as outrageous
(TASS)
Russia acknowledges Vatican peace initiative, says no steps yet for a mission to Moscow
(Paolo Santalucia and Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
Texas legislature approves chaplains in public schools
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court OK's police department's rejection of religious-themed flags and uniform patches
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Mahmoud v. McKnight (case page; parents’ rights)
(Becket)
What Britain’s government needs to know about its faith communities
(Colin Bloom, Religion News Service)
RFI’s Nathan Berkeley joins NRB panel on deplatforming risks for religious ministries
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Hurt feelings, conscience, and freedom – Part 1
(Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
France, Sonia Backès caught red-handed again: A “religious profiling” of Muslim students in schools
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Ukraine: 110 damaged religious sites inspected and documented by UNESCO
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Justice Breyer and the Establishment Clause: Notes on "appeasement," "legal judgment," and "divisiveness"
(Richard W. Garnett, SSRN)
COMECE and EU decision-makers discuss ways to promote peace in Ukraine at the European Parliament
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Does identifying with religion make one more civic-minded?
(Ryan Burge, Religion News Service)
Uzbekistan: devout muslim jailed after return to country
(Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
New Ipsos survey includes newsworthy updates on religious attitudes worldwide
(Richard Ostling, GetReligion)
Israel's violations of Al-Aqsa threaten its Islamic identity, Islamic-Christian Committee warns
(Middle East Monitor)
Boosters of Israel emigration find friends, support among evangelical Christians
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Court upholds order limiting divorced father's talking to gay son about sexual orientation and religion
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Japan home to a growing Muslim presence as it embraces change
(The Asahi Shimbun)
Religious prisoner released in Tajikistan
(International Christian Concern)
Colombia: This is how the Comprehensive Public Policy on Religious Freedom and Worship advances (Spanish)
(Camila Camacho, Alcadía de Bucaramanga)
Chile: Protections for religious freedom advance in process for new Constitution in Chile (Spanish)
(Diego López Marina, ACI Prensa)
Brazil: Hospital that denied surgery to Jehovah's Witness will have to compensate (Portuguese)
(Rafa Santos, Conjur)
Brazil: Arminianism and religious freedom (Portuguese)
(Ediudson Fontes, Guiame)
Wednesday, 24 May 2023
AI and Commodification of Religion
(Johan Eddebo, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
EVENT, 22-24 May 2023: "Dare to Overcome" National Faith@Work ERG Conference (Washington, DC)
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation and Busch School of Business)
HYBRID EVENT, 24 May 2023 (in London): Faith in Freedom: What Next for Britain’s Role in Promoting International Freedom of Religion or Belief?
(Henry Jackson Society)
A bill that would have required Texas public schools to display the Ten Commandments has failed
(Ashley Killough and Tina Burnside, CNN)
Texas pushes church into state with bills on school chaplains, Ten Commandments
(Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)
Australia and India: Albanese should raise human rights concerns with Modi
(Elaine Pearson, Human Rights Watch)
Occupied Ukraine: First known "discreditation" case in Russian-annexed territory
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Don’t legalize same-sex unions: Malawi’s Christian leaders to judges ahead of ruling
(Magdalene Kahiu, ACI Africa)
'No one should be sentenced to death for their belief': Concern over blasphemy cases in Nigeria and Pakistan
(Premier Christian News)
Priest killed in Mexico; 9th under the current administration
(Associated Press)
Pope’s Ukraine peace envoy blasts war as a ‘pandemic’ that affects everyone
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
Judge's religious comments did not violate defendant's rights
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
AAUP issues report on Hamline University Islamic Art controversy
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
New asylum policies after Title 42 ‘don’t address root cause,’ say faith-based groups
(Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
Brazil’s liberation theologians back Lula, and the Pope, on Ukraine
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
It will be easy for journalists to find God connections in Turkey's run-off election
(Julia Duin, GetReligion)
Colombia Catholic Church highlights youth, family for nation building
(La Croix International)
CAIR-California welcomes Senate passage of bill expanding state service holiday time off for religious and cultural observances
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
Stirring DeSantis speech moves Christian broadcasters to cheers, standing ovations
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Japan's religious outfits on ‘extralegal’ sales for tax breaks
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Muslims in South Korea want to build a mosque. Neighbors protest and send pig heads
(Se Eun Gong, NPR)
USCIRF calls for the release of Mubarak Bala and Yahaya Sharif Aminu
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
WEBINAR, 7 June 2023 (10AM ET): Religious Freedom for All: The Experience of Minority Faith Groups in Cuba
(Outreach Aid to the Americas)
Legal Spirits 051: The Biden Administration’s guidance on prayer in public schools (podcast)
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
The White House needs to fight antisemitism, starting with a definition - opinion
(William Daroff, The Jerusalem Post)
Scottish First Minister: 'I understand fears Jewish community have for family in Israel during conflict'
(Daniel Ben-David, The Jewish Chronicle)
Government response to IICSA’s Final Report
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Update: Landmark case bans Christian teacher for misgendering a transgender pupil
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
Bavarian police identify growing trend of anti-Christian hate crime
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
Romania condemned by European court for violating rights of LGBT couples
(Le Monde with AFP)
The persecution of Christians in Iran
(Ioannis E. Kotoulas, Algemeiner.com)
Deputy has qualified immunity in suit claiming his failure to intervene in Establishment Clause violation
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court defines clergy-penitent privilege under Montana law
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Bolivian president vows to restrict priests’ entry amid abuse scandal
(Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Saudi Arabia removes ‘practically all antisemitism’ from textbooks, report reveals
(Jotam Confino, Jewish News)
Detention of Bahraini prayer leader a disgrace for Al Khalifa: Activist
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Malaysia: Gov't will not allow Quran to be printed in Roman script
(Bernama)
Malaysia seizes Swatch watches over ‘LGBT connotations’
(Al Jazeera)
French minister warns of resumption of ‘Islamist terrorist’ threat in Europe
(Ashleigh Furlong, Politico)
Global faith-based groups urge Hiroshima G7 toward Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
(World Council of Churches)
Human rights at (disputed) international borders: Preliminary remarks after the ECTHR’s admissibility decision in Georgia v. Russia (IV)
(Veronica Botticelli, Strasbourg Observers)
Uzbekistan: Backsliding on religious freedom promises
(Human Rights Watch)
Tuesday, 23 May 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT, 23 May 2023 (10AM EDT): Seeking Refuge in Kenya: How Does the Catholic Church Engage?
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Monday, 22 May 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT, 22 May 2023 (12:30PM ET): Gender, Religion, and Forced Migration: Global Dynamics and Lived Experiences
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Cyclone Mocha devastates Myanmar’s Rohingya
(Shayna Bauchner, Human Rights Watch)
Turkey’s Camlica Mosque: Ottoman heritage or modern nationalism?
(Arwa Ibrahim and Humeyra Doruk Keskin, Al Jazeera)
Turkish First Lady welcomes UN's Islamophobia draft resolution
(Daily Sabah)
Dodgers remove ‘queer and trans nuns’ from Pride Night amid Catholic pushback
(Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service)
Settlements in the West Bank
(Matthew Miller, U.S. Embassy in Israel)
Jewish parents and schools ask Los Angeles federal court to protect children with disabilities
(Becket)
COVID-19 and the decline of religion in America
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Canada man arrested after driving car at worshippers at 2 mosques
(Barry Ellsworth, Anadolu Agency)
The Hindu festival of Ram Navami sparked anti-Muslim riots across India
(France 24)
Why are hundreds of churches being destroyed in Manipur, India?
(Ben Cohen, Premier Christianity)
Indian Church hails court's religious freedom stance
(Michael Gonsalvas, Union of Catholic Asian News)
BBC ordered to Delhi High Court over Modi documentary
(BBC News)
Ethiopia suspends TV affiliated to Orthodox church
(BBC News)
Ken Elliott: Australian hostage, 88, freed by al-Qaeda militants
(Tom Housden, BBC News)
Racist memorial to slaver John Gordon removed from Dorset church
(Hannah Walsh, BBC News)
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