Law and Religion Headlines

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Wednesday, 8 May 2024

82% of Ukrainians do not trust Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate, 63% seek its ban
(Ukrainska Pravda)

Ukraine has a historical tradition of religious plurality and tolerance
(Regina Elsner, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies)

Australia: Tasmanian Catholics unite against changes to religious freedom laws
(CathNews)

Ghana: President promotes tolerance and peaceful coexistence among religions as election approaches
(Ghana News Agency)

Indonesia: Religious tolerance in Indonesia still worth questioning
(VOI)

Senate Republicans secure religious liberties in Minnesota
(Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus)

Rubio to Biden: Reaffirm America’s unwavering support for religious freedoms
(Marco Rubio, U.S. Senate)

Iran: All faiths promote peace, support oppressed people: Tehran conference
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))

Iranian police chief claims 'homeland and religion would vanish without hijab'
(Iran Wire)

Weil seeks U.S. Supreme Court review of religious liberty case for Rastafarian inmate in Louisiana
(Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP)

Australia: Islamic College of Brisbane and Queensland churches together oppose Anti-Discrimination Bill 2024
(Kenji Sato and Steve Austin, ABC News Australia)

Court open to Satanic Temple's challenge to Boston prayer denial
(Nate Raymond, Reuters)

Czech court removes surgery requirement for gender transition
(Reuters)

European churches commemorate lost lives of refugees
(Conference of European Churches)

South Africa: Government department scorecard
(Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA))

Christians and Buddhists must walk together 'for the sake of peace'
(Linda Bordoni, Vatican News)

North Carolina may join other states in codifying antisemitism definition
(Makiya Seminera and Gary D. Robertson, Associated Press)

How faith leaders can get a grasp on the mental health crisis
(Nicole Guzik, Religion News Service)

Ugandan faith leaders work to confront increase in gender-based violence
(Tonny Onyulo, Religion News Service)

Controversial antisemitism bills are passing, and not only in the US House
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)

Friedrich Merz, the CDU and its bid for power
(Sabine Kinkartz, Deutsche Welle)

For Muslim student protesters, a sense of purpose mingled with fear
(Dina Katgara, Religion News Service)

The violent incidents database: A social innovation for religious freedom
(Dennis P. Petri and Kyle Wisdom, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

Paris 2024: Despite wars, Vatican defends "Olympic truce" as step towards peace
(Loup Besmond de Senneville, La Croix International)

FoRB podcast: Business and religious rights
(Dmytro Vovk and Merilin Kiviorg, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

Religious freedom among values threatened by media: experts
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Colombia: WCC executive committee will meet in Colombia to strengthen peacebuilding work
(World Council of Churches)

Executief van de Moslims van België and Others v. Belgium: the ECtHR’s perspective on balancing animal welfare with religious freedom
(Elien Verniers, Strasbourg Observers)

USCIRF: China’s religious liberty and “malignant influence” getting worse
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)

COMECE-CEI open letter to the European Union (English and Italian)
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))

Jewish parents & schools stand up for their children with disabilities in court
(Becket)

Kyrgyzstan: Religious authorities muzzle influencer who said pre-marital sex is not a sin
(Ayzirek Imanaliyeva, Eurasianet)

Taiwan, France, Japan: Roots and consequences of an anti-cult ideology
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)

Malaysia: Woman loses bid to be declared non-Muslim
(Free Malaysia Today)

Pakistan to continue facilitating Sikh community’s visits to their religious places: Masood Khan
(Pakistan Today)

Archons strongly condemn Turkey’s decision to convert Chora Church
(ekathimerini)

Monday, 6 May 2024

Statement from President Joe Biden on Orthodox Easter
(The White House)

Statement by Vice President Harris on Holocaust Remembrance Day
(The White House)

Putin attends Easter service led by head of Russia's Orthodox Church
(Reuters)

Russian Orthodox Church is prepared to deploy over a thousand clergy to the war
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Russia allows hijabs for citizen application photos
(RT)

Cuba: Catholic Church in communist Cuba proposes an open dialogue with the government
(Orlando Matos and Carmen Sesin, NBC News)

Update from OIC Heads of State Summit
(X, Rashad Hussain)

The Rosicrucian movement of esotericism: Historical and philosophical dimensions
(Stephanos Peppas, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)

Afghanistan: The situation in Afghanistan under review by the United Nations
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)

Vietnam: Building neighborly L.O.V.E. in Vietnam through cross-cultural religious literacy
(Hien Vu, Institute for Global Engagement)

Introduction: Interaction of Muslim and State Law—Muslim Women, Domestic Abuse, and Religious ADR
(Samia Bano and Naheed Ghauri, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)

Understanding the impermissibility of domestic violence in Islamic law
(Hakim Mudasir Maqsood, Rising Kashmir)

NSDC Secretary met with representatives of the UCCRO
(Institute for Religious Freedom, Ukraine)

Raskin, Huffman reintroduce resolution designating May 4th “National Day of Reason”
(Jamie Raskin, U.S. House of Representatives)

In Conversation: Podcast explores dynamic relationships between worship and service
(Bahá’í World News Service)

Cambodia: The WFB President meeting with the high-ranking officials in Cambodia
(The World Fellowship of Buddhists)

Damaged in war, a vibrant church in Ukraine rises as a symbol of the country’s faith and culture
(Jill Lawless, Associated Press)

Justice Department sues Texas Department of Criminal Justice for religious discrimination
(U.S. Department of Justice)

Churches tied to Civil Rights awarded National Park Service preservation funds
(Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)

Democratic Republic of Congo: Clergy, laity protest ‘shameful’ judicial probe of Congo cardinal
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Taiwan: Noisy, gaudy and spiritual: Young pilgrims embrace an ancient goddess
(Chris Buckley and Amy Chang Chien, The New York Times)

Kazakhstan: One district, 4 police raids, 7 fines
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

Fleeing from Jordan to Greece because of their change of religion
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)

Togo: Amended Constitution threatens to erode democracy in Togo, bishop warns
(Charles Ayetan, La Croix International)

Spanish archbishop slams government’s obsession with the Catholic Church
(Nicolás de Cárdenas, Catholic News Agency)

House antisemitism bill not an attack on Christian Scriptures, scholars say
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)

Jordan King reaffirms commitment to protecting Jerusalem’s holy sites
(Middle East Monitor)

Panama: Bishops call for voter participation and provide 4,000 "election observers"
(Manuel Rueda, Agenzia Fides)

"Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023" (which just passed the House) could suppress First-Amendment-protected criticism of Israel
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Saudi Food and Drug Authority engages Malaysian officials to strengthen halal industry collaboration
(Saudi Gazette)

Malaysia establishes dedicated hotline for reporting insults to Islam
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))

Malaysia: Largest international conference for religious leaders in Asia to be hosted in Kuala Lumpur
(Saudi Gazette)

Third party intervention to the ECtHR in Obesnikova v Bulgaria: Unpacking gender bias in youth football
(Ingrida Milkaitė, Marlies Vanhooren, Cathérine Van de Graaf, Pieter Cannoot, Eva Brems, Strasbourg Observers)

Nigeria: Lekki Roundtable: Cleric speaks on role of church in solving societal problems
(Motunrayo Akinrun, Punch)

Faith programmes safe, say BBC heads of religion and ethics
(Ed Thornton, Church Times)

Proposal would protect rights of Michigan college students to wear religious attire
(Elijah Taub, The Mining Journal)

Volume 4, 2024: Theology and Jurisprudence
(Australian Journal of Law and Religion)

Australia: Faith leaders express concern over draft discrimination bill in Australia
(Tracey Bridcutt, Adventist Review)

Church, state and elementary school: Christian club at Florida school spurs backlash
(Douglas Soule, Tallahassee Democrat)

Michigan: Proposal would protect right of college students to wear religious attire
(Elijah Taub, The Alpena News)

Arizona repeals 1864 abortion law, while Florida enacts 6-week ban
(Diana Chandler, Baptist Press)

Justice Department sues TDCJ for religious discrimination
(The Department of Justice)

The pro-life movement in political retreat: It finds itself at serious odds with Americans' historical deference to diversity of belief.
(Mark Silk, Religion News Service)

As abortion looks like a key issue in 2024, voters more divided by party than ever
(Sarah McCammon, NPR)

Abortion views in all 50 states: findings from PRRI's 2023 American Values Atlas
(PRRI)

Understanding America's overlooked religious middle: In our era of polarization, the civic institutions that hold us together in good faith disagreement are critical.
(Robert P. Jones, White Too Long)

United Methodists begin to reverse longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)

The number of religious ‘nones’ has soared, but not the number of atheists – and as social scientists, we wanted to know why
(Christopher P. Scheitle and Katie Corcoran, The Conversation)

United Methodists, winnowed by conservative exodus, embrace LGBTQ inclusivity
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)

Gambia and religious liberty: Proposals that a 'license' will be needed to preach are reminiscent of the dark era of dictator Jammeh
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A magazine on religious liberty and human rights)

Iran: USCIRF calls for additional sanctions amidst new harsh enforcement of Iran’s mandatory hijab law
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Articles of interest - 6 May 2024
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Turkey formally opens another former Byzantine-era church as a mosque
(Associated Press)

$400 million boost in federal funds for security at places of worship
(Associated Press)

Friday, 3 May 2024

USCIRF releases 25th Annual Report on International Religious Freedom
(Jeremy P. Barker, Religious Freedom Institute)

Kyrgyzstan: US religious freedom watchdog recommends Kyrgyzstan for special watch list
(Catherine Putz, The Diplomat)

Indonesia disputes US call for crackdown over religious freedom violations
(Arie Firdaus, BenarNews)

India: MEA accuses US body of interference in India's elections over religious freedom report
(The Wire)

Here are the countries that rank worst in the world in religious freedom
(Peter Pinedo, Catholic News Agency)

Culture, Secularization, and Democracy: Lessons from Alexis de Tocqueville
(Edited by Sophie van Bijsterveld, Hans-Martien ten Napel, Routledge)

A Proclamation on National Day of Prayer, 2024
(The White House)

A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2024
(The White House)

Catholic leaders, urging cease-fire, call on Biden to halt weapons shipments to Israel
(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)

Georgia: Church joining state in pushing for foreign agents bill
(Eurasianet)

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