Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Motion to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage (freedom to worship)
(X, Jamil Jivani)
Trump’s religious rhetoric clashes with Canada’s secular politics
(Luis Andres Henao and David Crary, Associated Press)
Looking for common ground in the Gaza war
(Rachel Mikva, Religion News Service)
Brazil withdraws from IHRA shortly after country joins South Africa's genocide case against Israel
(Mathilda Heller, The Jerusalem Post)
Reimagining peace from the ground up: KAICIID and ICAN empower women and faith leaders to lead change
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Holy See, Azerbaijan sign agreement on interreligious dialogue
(Alessandro De Carolis, Vatican News)
Vatican communication office urges 2-state solution as France backs Palestinian statehood
(Kate Quiñones, Catholic News Agency)
How a Catholic nonprofit is meeting inmates’ health needs in Nigeria
(Ekpali Saint, Religion Unplugged)
Economic and financial action: a jubilee call for global equity
(Marianna Richardson, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Ecumenical Patriarch addresses World Council of Religions for Peace
(World Council of Churches)
Where justice fails: How cultures of impunity lead to forced displacement in India and Mexico
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Kerala nuns’ arrest reignites political and ecclesiastical fault lines in State ahead of polls
(The Hindu)
Pakistan: Sanitation workers facing systemic discrimination and other rights violations need better legal protection – new report
(Amnesty International)
Tackling Africa’s wildlife crimes from the religious front
(Cyril Zenda, Religion Unplugged)
Demand for Sikh regiment in British Army peaks, minister says open to idea
(India Today)
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Russia’s special state security forces attempt to silence voices of truth about the war in Ukraine
(Institute for Religious Freedom, Ukraine)
Islamic State-backed rebels attack a Catholic church in eastern Congo, killing at least 34
(Justin Kabumba, Ope Adetayo and Jeans-Yves Kamale, Associated Press)
Iran country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Articles of interest - 28 July 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Israeli occupation continues to ban Mufti of Al-Quds from Al-Aqsa Mosque
(Yemen Press Agency)
Hundreds of rabbis demand Israel stop ‘using starvation as a weapon of war’
(Ben Sales, Times of Israel)
Taliban cracks down on clerical extremism to safeguard regional stability – OpEd
(Iram Sarwar, Eurasia Review)
Addressing interreligious tensions through literacy and enhancing understanding and harmony
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Global hunger, local inequities: tackling food insecurity worldwide
(Marianna Richardson, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
South Korean bishops oppose amendment to abortion law
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Australia has seen 'dramatic surge' in Islamophobic incidents since Oct. 7, 2023
(Anadolu Agency)
Ghana: Catholic bishops call for rule of law over recent electoral violence and chief justice suspension
(Paschal Norbert, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Russia jails Falun Gong practitioners, escalating Beijing-backed persecution abroad
(Falun Dafa Information Center)
Nepal: Submission to the 51st Session of the Universal Periodic Review
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Evictions and expulsions of Muslims to Bangladesh precede Indian state polls
(Tora Agarwala, Reuters)
Canada: How to improve university EDI policies so they address Jewish identity and antisemitism
(Lilach Marom and Ania Switzer, The Conversation)
Monday, 28 July 2025
Pakistan: Widespread impunity for violence and discrimination against minorities must end, warn UN experts
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
A Blind Justice? Investigating Judicial Discourses on Legal Gender Recognition in the Middle East and North Africa
(Nora Noralla, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
India: Muslim bodies urge govt to ensure end of 'Israeli aggression' in Gaza
(Deccan Herald)
Village leaders ban Christian family from Indian village for refusing to convert to Hinduism
(r kenn, Ecumenical News)
Interfaith collaboration essential for Africa’s spiritual and material progress
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Cardinal David blames corruption for widespread flooding in Philippines
(Joseph San Mateo, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
French plan to recognise Palestinian state draws fire from Israel, US
(Reuters)
Ancient temples have long been a flashpoint between Cambodia and Thailand
(Pranav Baskar, The New York Times)
Ukraine: Official claims "social outrage" prevents Romanian Orthodox registration
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
International Court of Justice delivers ruling on States’ obligations in relation to climate change
(World Council of Churches)
Liberia: Police accused of “ruthless” treatment of hijab-wearing woman Resisting arrest over power theft allegation—public divided as authorities flip-flop on response
(Selma Lomax, FrontPageAfrica)
Preaching in public transport: Law, faith and freedom
(Arise Abeeku Ansah, Modern Ghana)
Rising antisemitism and the voices of Jewish Australians
(Micha Turtletaub, Times of Israel)
Friday, 25 July 2025
RFI hosts roundtable with young North Korean defectors
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Vatican-Korea officials recommit for peace in Korean Peninsula
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Sri Lankan Church dismisses allegations of meddling in police affairs
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Anglican-backed adult literacy mission is changing lives in Papua New Guinea
(Anglican Communion News Service)
Australia: Health, indigenous rights, freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression – Report to the UPR 51st Session
(World Evangelical Alliance)
Freedom of religion or belief: The cornerstone of the UN human rights covenants
(Rosita Šorytė, Bitter Winter)
Latter-day Saints honored with King Charles III Coronation medals for interfaith leadership in Canada
(Eastin Hartzell, Church Newsroom)
Syria: Abuses, humanitarian emergency amid Sweida clashes
(Human Rights Watch)
Church leaders return with 'broken hearts' after rare visit to Gaza
(Yolande Knell, BBC News)
India: Hundreds of Muslims unlawfully expelled to Bangladesh
(Human Rights Watch)
Central African Republic: ICC convicts two Anti-Balaka leaders
(Human Rights Watch)
Controversial so-called street preachers charged with hate crimes in British Columbia
(Jason Proctor, CBC News)
With no access to education beyond the 6th grade, girls in Afghanistan turn to religious schools
(Elena Becatoros, Associated Press)
Russian Supreme Court bans Satanist organization
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
United Torah Judaism quits gov’t to protest new proposal on army enlistment exemptions
(Sam Sokol, Times of Israel)
Christian Natural Law and Religious Freedom
(Alex Deagon, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Economic and financial action: Faith perspectives on economic justice
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Archbishop Caccia delivers statement at the General Debate of the ECOSOC High-Level Political Forum
(H. E. Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations)
Egypt: Christian convert charged with terrorism after requesting new identification documents
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Paraguay - The local Church's commitment to the dignity and rights of migrants
(Agenzia Fides)
Angola's new religious freedom law: necessary and overdue (Portuguese)
(Roboredo Garcia, Angola 24 Horas)
Wednesday, 23 July 2025
How the Filipino faithful should conduct politics
(Ricardo Saludo, The Manila Times)
Sacred boundaries: Navigating faith and control in Kyrgyzstan
(Jonathan Bühne, Religion Unplugged)
What’s the difference between secularization and “laicity”?
(Éducaloi)
Maharashtra State announces cancellation of Scheduled Caste certificates for converts to Christianity or Islam
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Call for recognition of tribal religion in India's upcoming census
(Bijay Kumar Minj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Suspension of non-Hindu employees in TTD institutions is unlawful: CPM
(The New Indian Express)
Director General of Legal Affairs and Human Rights meets Chairperson of Arab Charter on Human Rights Committee
(Bahrain News Agency)
Chinese authorities raze hundreds of Buddhist stupas and Padmasambhava Statue in Karze, Tibet; enforce harsh restrictions on local Tibetans
(Central Tibetan Administration)
Understanding the violence against Alawites and Druze in Syria after Assad
(Güneş Murat Tezcür, The Conversation)
Syrian Christian leaders say Islamist government can’t protect them or Druze
(Dale Gavlak, OSV News)
Bermuda shorts, beachwear and a local ban divide Algerian town
(Associated Press)
Canada’s antisemitism envoy resigns abruptly: ‘It was hard to get people to speak up’
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Cardinal Tomasi: Religious communities can play key roles in nuclear disarmament
(Gina Christian, National Catholic Reporter)
Monday, 21 July 2025
After 11 years, Supreme Court of Sri Lanka issues favorable ruling in human rights case
(Jehovah's Witnesses)
Sri Lanka: Minister's secret visit to illegal Thaiyiddy temple sparks backlash from local council
(Tamil Guardian)
Religion Watch, ‘Volume 40 No. 8’
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 37
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Uzbekistan: Shifting consciousness of the role of faith in a secular state
(Bahá’í World News Service)
The Muslim World League condemns the plan to transfer the administration of the Ibrahimi Mosque to a settler council and the bombing of the Latin Church in Gaza
(Muslim World League)
Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue in Rome: "Strengthening trust and embracing hope for our common future"
(Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
USCIRF releases report on Bangladesh
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Bangladesh’s Islamist party projects force with a big rally in Dhaka
(Julhas Alam, Associated Press)
USCIRF releases report on religious freedom in Nigeria
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
The battle for parental rights in education (video)
(YouTube Video, Freedom of Religion South Africa)
UN concerned by Taliban’s arrest of Afghan women and girls for dress code violations
(Associated Press)
Articles and books of interest - 21 July 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Does religious peacekeeping still matter if it doesn’t produce peace?
(Peter Henne, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
The Dalai Lama succession: Religious tradition, geopolitical contest and implications for South Asia
(Nirupama Rao, National University of Singapore)
Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest July 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Ukraine's ultimatum to Russian Orthodox Christians
(Vladimir Rozanskij, Asia News)
Chinese government impunity for crackdown on lawyers fuels decade of repression
(Freedom House)
Friday, 18 July 2025
Vilification laws and religious free speech
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
An Indigenous Australian community is fighting to protect sacred springs from a coal mine
(Monica Garnsey, BBC News)
USCIRF condemns violence against Syria’s Druze community
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
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