Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 3 November 2025
The West: Double standards and the resurgence of anti-Semitism (Spanish)
(Dr. Fishel Szlajen)
Friday, 31 October 2025
Religious freedom and exclusion in religious legal systems: Cases of Bahá’ís in Iran and Ahmadis in Pakistan
(Akif Tahiiev, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Cambodia hosts Buddhist summit to strengthen religious ties
(Torn Vibol, Khmer Times)
Hundreds of Muslims protest church construction in Indonesia
(Christian Daily)
Pope at Audience: “the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism"
(Isabella H. de Carvalho, Vatican News)
Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest military draft in Jerusalem
(Moshe Edri and Melanie Lidman, Associated Press)
Freedom of religion or belief in the Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Chad
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Pope condemns antisemitism and vows to fight it as tensions rise over Israel’s war in Gaza
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
GOP lawmakers urge Trump administration to back Falun Gong lawsuit against Cisco
(Dake Kang and Byron Tau, Associated Press)
Volume 6, 2025
(PDF download, Australian Journal of Law and Religion)
Law and Religion in the Far East: Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines in an Intercultural Perspective (Italian)
(Simone Baldetti, Giappichelli)
After deadliest police killings in Brazil, Church leaders affirm sacredness of human life
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
"The Church keeps its voice to cry out": Catholics in Haiti amidst gang violence (French)
(Timothée David, La Croix International)
Closing comments at IF20 South Africa
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Brazilian church delegation visits Brussels to highlight the situation of indigenous communities in South America
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest October 15-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Vietnam’s government restructuring: Streamlining or strongarming?
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Jewish federations set up Hurricane Melissa relief fund
(Jewish Federations of North America
)
Islamic Relief launches appeal after Jamaica hurricane
(Islamic Relief Worldwide)
Faith-based disaster relief groups mobilize to respond to Hurricane Melissa
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
Wednesday, 29 October 2025
From trauma to transformation: How one man’s journey through dialogue sparked faith, healing and love
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Sermons urge youth to take part in public affairs in Morocco after wave of protests
(Akram Oubachir, Associated Press)
North Korea’s violations of religious freedom have surged since pandemic: Report
(Jooheon Kim, NK News)
Pope reaffirms dialogue with Jews as he marks 60th anniversary of a key document
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
China courts Taiwanese worshippers in religious charm offensive, study shows
(Yimou Lee, Reuters)
Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt’s commitment to religious freedom in meeting with World Council of Churches
(Daily News Egypt)
First Lady seeks unity between religious bodies, government
(Stanley Helon, Radio Nigeria)
A religious freedom lifeline to Burma’s persecuted people of faith needs to be extended
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Al Qaeda and the Islamic State: Still alive and fighting in the Sahel
(Philip Wasielewski and Michael DeAngelo, Foreign Policy Research Institute)
Monday, 27 October 2025
“Sacred stuff”: Indigenous religions in post-apartheid South Africa
(Christine M. Venter, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Kyrgyzstan country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Balancing freedom of political speech against freedom of religion a delicate legal issue
(Chris Merritt, Rule of Law Institute Australia)
Balancing faith and security: Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy and the proscription of TLP – OpEd
(Muhammad Musab, Eurasia Review)
Ukraine and Russia: Religion and its role in the conflict
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Christian pastor arrested in India’s largest state
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
‘Hijab’ row in Indian Catholic school settled 'amicably' in court
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
From words to witness: Our covenant of action – Bishop Sipuka’s remarks at IF20 South Africa
(Sithembele Sipuka, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
At UN, Pakistan voices concern over rising Islamophobia worldwide, urges respect for diversity
(Fatimah Amjad, Arab News)
Church objects licensing of oil exploration project in Amazon River of Brazil
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Sri Lankan unions oppose allowing Islamic dress for nurses
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Iranian women flout law on mandatory veiling as police curtail arrests
(Yeganeh Torbati, The Washington Post)
RFI condemns China’s ongoing hostility toward religion
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Friday, 24 October 2025
State complicity fuelling religious killings in Nigeria – Faith leaders
(Luminous Jannamike, Vanguard Nigeria)
Japan: The dissolution of the Family Federation is “arbitrary”
(Jan Figeľ, Forum for Religious Freedom Europe)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 40
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Church urges return to dialogue after military takeover in Madagascar
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Does Oman’s ban on evangelism increase its religious liberty?
(Jayson Casper, Christianity Today)
Kiribati: Rethinking authority in pursuit of a culture of equality
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Kazakhstan’s Congress of World and Traditional Religions: Two decades of interfaith diplomacy
(Religions for Peace)
Why Beijing is looking to exert tighter control over Chinese Christians
(Gerda Wielander, The Conversation)
China conducts Dalai Lama pictures-raid at top monastery outside Tibet Autonomous Region
(Tibetan Review)
The Buddhist monk-military alliance taking over Myanmar
(Sonia Sarkar, Religion Unplugged)
Response to the CRL S22 Committee (video)
(YouTube Video, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA))
Lebanon: Faith, hardship, and the hope of living together
(Chloe El Khoury, Institute for Global Engagement)
Pakistan bans hard-line Islamist party after recent deadly clashes with police
(Munir Ahmed, Associated Press)
Jesuits’ role in Vietnam’s post-war refugee crisis
(Bryan Goh, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Religious Freedom: A global victim of authoritarianism, extremism and war
(Aid to the Church in Need)
Senior churchman defends protestors in Peru as demonstrations intensify
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Why is China again targeting underground 'house churches?'
(Yuchen Li, Deutsche Welle)
The Chinese government and its code of conduct for internet evangelization
(Zenit)
Vatican will return dozens of artifacts to Indigenous groups in Canada as gesture of reconciliation
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
Pope meets with global group of clergy abuse survivors to talk zero tolerance
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
She converted during the pandemic. Israeli immigration officials say her Zoom course doesn’t count.
(Asaf Elia-Shalev, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Canada: Report warns revoking churches’ charitable status could devastate faith sector
(B.C. Catholic)
Violent attacks just one threat facing Nigerian Christians
(Maggie Phillips, Real Clear Investigations)
Political tensions surface amid celebrations honoring Venezuela’s 2 new saints
(Kristina Millare, Catholic News Agency)
Russia: More long jail sentences, removals of citizenship
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Monday, 20 October 2025
Sixty years of Nostra Aetate: Interreligious dialogue as a path to justice and peace
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Iran's new metro station honours Virgin Mary
(France 24)
Torture and ill treatment are tools of violating religious freedom
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Coalition advances bill mandating mezuzahs, allowing Orthodox rituals in public spaces
(Ariela Karmel and Rossella Tercatin, Times of Israel)
Articles of interest - 20 October 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Pope Leo appeals for ceasefire in Myanmar, peace in war-torn lands
(Devin Watkins, Vatican News)
Sikh pilgrims allowed to visit Pakistan after India reverses ban
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
Russia: Another Jehovah's Witness tortured during arrest
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Pakistan’s hybrid legal system: Negotiated coexistence of secular and Islamic law
(Jo D. Chitlik and Rashid Mehmood, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Al-Azhar Observatory warns of AI misuse to spread anti-Muslim hate in India
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
China: Religious issues and persecution – Bimonthly Digest October 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Religious freedom can prevent the next caliphate and a new wave of terrorism
(Sam Brownback, Caden Benedict and Clint Lyons, The Hill)
Friday, 17 October 2025
A common future for Kurds and Jews: A shared history and moral duty - opinion
(Amed Mardin, The Jerusalem Post)
Bangladesh’s Christian community seeks representation in the next parliamentary election
(Stephan Uttom Rozario, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
A prayer room in the Pope’s library: Vatican’s gesture Toward Muslim Scholars Sparks Quiet Storm A Prayer Room in the Pope’s Library: Vatican’s Gesture toward Muslim scholars sparks quiet storm
(Valentina Di Giorgio, Zenit)
How voluntary assisted dying in the NT would be different to down south
(Geetanjali Lamba, Kane Vellar, and Paul Komesaroff, The Conversation)
Minorities cautious as Pakistan cracks down on far-right Islamist party
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Interfaith solidarity offered up hope after floods devastated Pakistan
(Jamaima Afridi, Religion Unplugged)
Why is India prosecuting Muslims who said ‘I love Muhammad’? (video)
(Al Jazeera)
Consecration of the Auxiliary Bishop of Shanghai, China
(Vatican News)
Put a stop to the enemies of freedom of religion and belief!
(International Society for Human Rights)
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
This is why the story of Abraham is coming up in the push for Middle East peace
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)
“Public welfare” and religious liberty in Japan: The case of the Unification Church
(Patricia Duval, Bitter Winter)
Punjab: Parents demand justice for 17-year-old girl goes missing after 'conversion' to Islam
(Shafique Khokhar, Asia News)
Venezuelan Catholics among those quietly celebrating Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Kyrgyzstan: Did torture cause jailed Reform Adventist pastor's brain damage?
(Mushfig Bayram and Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Iraq: Patriarch Sako: Fewer than seventy Christian families remain in Mosul
(Agenzia Fides)
Korean Church seeks better worker rights under new law
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Churches called to remember, resist, and rebuild: GETI plenary reflects on faith amid persecution
(World Council of Churches)
Singapore doubles down on zero tolerance for identity politics, foreign interference
(Jean Iau and Kolette Lim, South China Morning Post)
Kazakhstan: Religion as the inspiration for cooperation
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Monday, 13 October 2025
WCC welcomes ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, urges lasting peace
(World Council of Churches)
Iran: Christians brought before notorious judge on ‘propaganda’ and ‘collusion’ charges
(Article 18)
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