Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 19 July 2023
Meet the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue
(Brian Grim, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Tuesday, 18 July 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT, 18 July 2023 (12PM ET): Framing Religious Freedom Globally
(America First Policy Institute)
Monday, 17 July 2023
European Parliament adopts resolution on India's human rights breaches
(Dunya News)
Vatican and Vietnam to take major step forward in relations
(Philip Pullella and Francesco Guarascio, Reuters)
Around the web - 17 July 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Massachusetts’ SJC rules RV Camp protected by Dover Amendment
(Evan Seeman, RLUIPA Defense Blog)
Pope approves Shanghai bishop appointment after the fact
(Al Jazeera)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest July 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
RFI’s Ismail Royer presents on “Islam, Democracy, and American Public Life”
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 13
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Fighting to free the women and children enslaved by IS
(Rachel Wright, BBC News)
July/August 2023 issue
(Liberty Magazine)
A religious freedom wake-up call
(Jaziah B. Masters, Liberty Magazine)
The not-so-soft power of faith: Religion as an instrument of foreign influence in Montenegro
(Ljubomir Filipović, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Podcast explores the discourse on coexistence in the Arab region
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Canada: NCCM and CCLA continue to challenge Quebec's school prayer ban
(Canadian Civil Liberties Association)
Canada launches investigations into allegations of Uyghur forced labor
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Articles and reports of interest - 17 July 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
The man who threatened to burn holy books outside the Israeli Embassy in Sweden abandons the plan
(Associated Press)
In Thailand, ‘socially engaged Buddhism’ goes beyond meditation to seek justice
(Kalpana Jain, Religion News Service)
Sanchez v France: The expansion of intermediary liability in the context of online hate speech
(Jacob van de Kerkhof, Strasbourg Observers)
Russia: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest July 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
“Cult victims”: Real, “time-bomb,” and imaginary
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
European region: “Europe has to find a new way to be in the world"
(World Council of Churches)
Law and religion round-up – 16th July
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
The Role of Religion in Domestic Violence and Abuse in UK Muslim Communities
(Rahmanara Chowdhury, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Tynwald and the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man
(Peter Edge, Law & Religion UK)
Law, African religion, and environmentalism
(Ikechukwu Anthony Kanu, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Holy See calls for development programs to focus on integral human development
(La Croix International)
Catholics in Iraq fear losing government support
(Héloïse de Neuville and Malo Tresca, La Croix International)
Two weeks in review, 3 July – 16 July 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Pakistan: Muslim, Christian leaders advocate religious harmony
(Dawn)
Religious accommodation policies lacking
(Sara Weissman, Inside Higher Ed)
Brazil: TJ-SP prohibits use of the phrase 'under the protection of God' and biblical reading in Chamber sessions (Portuguese)
(Bom Dia Advogado)
Iran: Jail sentences on the rise for the persecuted Baha'i minority (French)
(France 24)
Honduras: Religious freedom, issue between ambassador and Archbishop Nácher (Spanish)
(La Tribuna)
Legal Journal Number 9 (18): July (Spanish)
(Observatorio de Libertad Religiosa de América Latina y El Caribe)
Friday, 14 July 2023
OIC hails the adoption of the Resolution on Acts of Religious Hatred at the 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
(Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC))
A climate of hatred and intolerance can only lead to violence
(Maha Akeel, Arab News)
London conference shines spotlight on religious liberty worldwide
(Samuel Benson, Deseret News)
Middlesex County man admits communicating threats to attack synagogue
(U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Jersey, U.S. Department of Justice)
Swedish police authorize protest by man who plans to burn Torah, Bible outside Israeli Embassy
(Karl Ritter and Jan M. Olsen, Associated Press)
Quran burnings show moral decay of the West
(Joram van Klaveren, TRT World)
EVENT, 14 July 2023 (12PM in Washington): RFRA at 30: Protecting Religious Freedom for All
(Faith & Law)
France. Islamophobia and culture wars, the Bergeaud-Blacker “case”
(Jocelyne Cesari, Orient XXI)
Mission of France to the UN on detained Bahais (French)
(Twitter, Bahá’í International Community)
2023: Explore the Religious Liberty in the States rankings
(Center for Religion, Culture & Democracy)
South Africa: Summary of FOR SA’s submission to Parliament on the hate speech bill
(Daniela Ellerbeck, Freedom of Religion South Africa)
New book: The Classical and Christian Origins of American Politics: Political Theology, Natural Law, and the American Founding
(Kody W. Cooper and Justin Buckley Dyer, Cambridge University Press)
9th Circuit: Prison official's referencing Bible verse did not violate Establishment Clause
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Korea: Seoul city loses suit against church over COVID-19 spread
(Hwang Jang-jin, Yonhap News Agency)
Iraq’s Christians protest government move against Cardinal Sako
(Julian Bechocha, Rudaw)
Malaysia mulls new law to impose civil penalties against those playing up race, religion and royalty rhetorics
(Channel News Asia)
Removing dams from the Klamath River is a step toward justice for Native Americans in Northern California
(Beth Rose Middleton Manning and Robert Lusardi, The Conversation)
United Methodists lose one-fifth of US churches in schism driven by growing defiance of LGBTQ bans
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)
Demographic profiles of Republican and Democratic voters
(Pew Research Center)
Religious group lodges European court action against Türkiye after pullback at Bulgarian border
(The Sofia Globe)
Megachurches are getting even bigger as churches close across the country
(Scott Neuman, NPR)
Australia: Religious freedom debate yet to strike the right balance: Brennan
(Adam Wesselinoff, The Catholic Weekly)
American mosques and Pakistani politics
(Imran Jan, Tribune)
Mississippi, under judge’s order, starts allowing religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations
(Emily Wagster Pettus, Associated Press)
Federal appeals court upholds religious school's freedom to choose its leaders
(Becket)
28 years after genocide, Bosniak Muslims mourn their dead but celebrate a return of Islamic life to Srebrenica
(David I. Klein, Religion News Service)
Russian information warfare in the Balkans: How identity and religion are instrumentalized in the Kosovo-Serbia dispute
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
The Serbian Orthodox Church and extreme-right groups: A marriage of convenience or organic partnership?
(Vesko Garčević, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Faith-based groups sound alarm about fairness of Guatemala elections
(John Lavenburg, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Does Islam smile on cryptocurrency?
(The Economist)
Is antisemitism always delusional? The Pittsburgh synagogue shooter’s penalty could hinge on the answer.
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Council of Churches asserts that the cannabis legalization bill prioritizes drug business over medicine
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Azerbaijan: Yet another conscientious objector case set for Strasbourg?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
London mayor’s £5m pledge for school meals with religious dietary requirements
(Michelle Rosenberg, Jewish News)
MEPs tell EU Commissioner Věra Jourová that actions to protect religious freedom are far from enough
(The European Times)
Religious regulation and discrimination in Venezuela
(Dennis Petri, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Same-sex marriage grounds for firing Catholic school’s guidance counselor, appeals court says
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
India’s Modi sparks political storm with pitch for common civil code
(YP Rajesh, Reuters)
What European MPs said during debate on Manipur, India violence
(The Wire)
Life sentence for 3 Indian radical Islamist activists
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Malawi: Religious groups protest homosexuality “an Imposition on Africa, Asia and Latin America”
(Arnold Neliba, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
EU: 10th Anniversary EU Freedom of religion or belief Guidelines: a Dutch CSO viewpoint
(Hans Noot, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
EEOC report: Religious discrimination in the workplace reaches all-time high
(Jorge Gomez, First Liberty)
Cuba: Into exile: Alaín Toledano Valiente
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Cuba: Into exile: Yordanys Díaz Arteaga
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Rising religious intolerance is shaming Nigeria
(Punch)
Even in the face of the Supreme Court’s rebuke, the Biden Administration continues its assault on faith
(Mike Pompeo, American Center for Law and Justice)
Where will SCOTUS draw the line on religious liberty?
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Public opinion is no excuse to ignore the First Amendment
(Zack Smith and Seth Lucas, The Washington Times)
New survey reveals public attitudes towards religious influence in Israel
(The Jerusalem Post)
Atheist-religious tensions in Europe could spell disaster - opinion
(Gol Kalev, The Jerusalem Post)
Embassies urge Hungary’s government to retract discriminatory LGBTQ+ laws ahead of Pride march
(Justin Spike, Associated Press)
USCIRF welcomes President Biden’s appointment of Susie Gelman to U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Japan’s religious right resists marriage equality
(Ernils Larsson, East Asia Forum)
New book: The Gospel and Religious Freedom: Historical Studies in Evangelicalism and Political Engagement
(Edited by David W. Bebbington, Baylor University Press)
China: The CCP’s threat to religious freedom: An interfaith discussion
(YouTube Video, Select Committee on the CCP)
Rep. Gallagher: China’s Xi trying to replace God
(Susan Crabtree, Real Clear Politics)
‘No religious freedom in China,’ exiled Christian pastor tells House committee
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
China blocks prominent Tibetan lama from preaching
(Sangyal Kunchok, Radio Free Asia)
Thursday, 13 July 2023
EVENT, 13-15 July 2023: Frontiers of Democracy 2023: Religious Pluralism and Robust Democracy in Multiracial Societies, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA
(Tufts University)
Wednesday, 12 July 2023
UN HRC53: Explanation of vote on countering religious hatred
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Simon Manley CMG, GOV.UK)
No. 10 Downing Street encourages faith friendly workplace movement
(Brian Grim, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
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