VIRTUAL EVENT, 5 May 2026 (9AM EDT): 12th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Bassed Organizations in International Affairs (New York, NY, USA) (International Academy for Multicultural Cooperation)

EVENT, 12 May 2026: Brussels Family Policy Exchange & 2026 European Family Values Award (European Union & International Affairs Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Sutherland Institute)

EVENT, 20 May 2026: Strengthening Religious Freedom Through Civil Dialogue (Chattanooga, TN, USA)(Religious Freedom Alliance Council) (Bessie Smith Cultural Center and Chattanooga African American Museum, Chattanooga Faith Forum)

HYBRID EVENT, 29 May 2026: 12th Annual Law and Religious Freedom Conference (Kansas City, MO, USA)(Religious Freedom Alliance Council) (University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law)

EVENT, 16 June 2026: Religious Freedom Annual Review: The USA at 250: Life, Religious Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Provo, Utah, USA) (International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS), Brigham Young University)

Research Opportunity

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS, deadline 8 May 2026: Clinical Program 2026/2027 (Kraków) (Centre for Law and Religious Freedom, Jagiellonian University)

Abrahamic values as the bridge between religions (Daffa Raynanda, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

Women and church governance: What Pope Francis’s reform changed—and what it left open (Francisca Pérez-Madrid, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

Uganda demolishes ‘unapproved churches’ in effort to clean up cities (John Semakula, Religion Unplugged)

Church in Mexico campaigns against euthanasia bill (Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Asia

Sri Lankan court indicts extremist monk for insulting Islam (Union of Catholic Asian News)

Nepal temple celebrates return of stolen Buddha statue (France 24)

Punjab and Haryana High Court puts on hold plea against anti-sacrilege law, questions petitioner’s credentials (Indian Express)

Tajik president denies religious freedom as he strives for total control (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Middle East

Iran: Türk deplores crackdown on dissent, says rights of all Iranians must be respected (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)

Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood wing opts for a cosmetic rebrand (Ahmad Sharawi, Foundation for Defense of Democracies)

Greek Orthodox Church sounds alarm over attacks on Christians in Jerusalem (Al Jazeera)

Australia and New Zealand

Christchurch mass killer loses bid to overturn conviction (BBC)

This Australian coastal town is home to a Punjabi Sikh community that’s a ‘success story’ for multiculturalism (MSN)

PM vows to act against people ‘venerating the murder of Jews’ as terror threat level rises (Rowena Mason, Vikram Dodd and Helena Horton, The Guardian)

UK raises national terror threat level after the stabbing of 2 Jewish men (Jill Lawless, Associated Press)

Colchester church appeals ban on street preaching after passerby told ‘he was going to hell’ (Independent)

Patriarch Kirill has managed, with Viktor Orbán’s help, to avoid EU sanctions – but now may not be able to for much longer (Joe Barnes and Antonia Langford, The Telegraph)

Another Jehovah’s Witness family in Chelyabinsk condemned to years of separation: Oleg Artemov sentenced to 6.5 years in colony (Jehovah's Witnesses-Russia)

Norway: The Supreme Court dismisses all accusations against Jehovah’s Witnesses (Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Resolution on the new Chinese law on ‘ethnic unity and progress’ and the intensified suppression of ethnic identities (European Parliament)

Task Force publishes report on eradicating anti-Christian bias and restoring religious liberty (U.S. Department of Justice)

America 250: Presidential message on the anniversary of the first landing and the raising of the Cape Henry cross (The White House)

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton sus­pends tem­po­rary injunc­tion to stop a rul­ing that would have com­pelled the Texas Work­force Com­mis­sion to unlaw­ful­ly aid EPIC City development (Attorney General of Texas)

Church autonomy returns to SCOTUS (Stephanie Barclay, SCOTUSblog)

Faith in Housing bill crosses finish line, clears path for church-based affordable housing (Emily Leayman, Associated Press)

Muslim women are suing jails and police over hijab removal at booking. And winning. (Ulaa Kuziez, Religion News Service)

Inside ‘Scientology speedruns,’ the viral trend prompting the church to bolster security (Krysta Fauria and Kaitlyn Huamani, Associated Press)

Colorado Catholic schools need not apply - opinion (Nicole Ault, Wall Street Journal)