Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 22 December 2023
Human Rights Day 2023 and 75th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: summary of Lord Ahmad’s speech
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, GOV.UK)
United Kingdom: Special reception at Westminster highlights principle of oneness
(Bahá’í World News Service)
RFI releases factsheets documenting unprecedented surge of anti-Semitism in the United States, France, and UK
(Religious Freedom Institute)
New book: Law Is a Moral Practice
(Scott Hershovitz, Harvard University Press)
European Parliament report urges end to China’s forced assimilation, religious repression policies in Tibet
(Tibetan Review)
New date, same traditions: Ukraine’s wartime Christmas celebrations
(Iryna Voloshyna, The Conversation)
New law for military personnel: representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate cannot be chaplains
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Religion and conflict country profiles
(The United States Institute of Peace)
Faith groups say more foster families are needed to care for the children coming to the US alone
(Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press)
Greek government says it stands by same-sex marriage pledge even after opposition from the Church
(Derek Gatopoulos, Associated Press)
Church for ‘nones’: Meet the anti-dogma spiritual collectives emerging across the US
(Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)
Negligence claims against religious boarding school barred by Establishment Clause
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
As Russia ramps up ‘traditional values’ rhetoric − especially against LGBTQ+ groups − it’s won Putin far-right fans abroad
(Sarah Riccardi-Swartz, The Conversation)
How big is the terror risk in Europe, and from whom?
(Ella Joyner, Deutsche Welle)
Christians everywhere should protest persecution in Middle East, Asia, Africa - opinion
(Leo Dee, The Jerusalem Post)
China wields Mazu 'peace goddess' religion as weapon in Taiwan election
(James Pomfret and Yimou Lee, Reuters)
Fresh thoughts on hate speech
(Seana Sugrue, Law & Liberty)
Chad: In Christmas message, Catholic Bishops in Chad call for walking “together in justice”
(Jude Atemanke, ACI Africa)
South African Catholic bishops educate voters to make better choices
(la cro, La Croix International)
Sowing seeds for a greener future: KAICIID's role at the African Union Interfaith Dialogue Forum
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Illinois and South Carolina rank tops in Religious Liberty Index
(Jovan Tripkovic, Religion Unplugged)
Why do we have an Establishment Clause?
(Mark Movsesian, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Maldives President stresses importance of Quran in daily life and culture
(BNN)
Italy schools that scrap nativity could face fine
(Kathryn Armstrong, BBC News)
Thailand: US religious freedom commission urges Thailand not to deport Hmong activist to Vietnam
(Radio Free Asia)
International scientific conference in Bucharest
(Seventh-day Adventist Church Inter-European Division)
New book: Religious Freedom in Italy: An Impossible Paradigm?
(Alessandro Ferrari, De Gruyter)
Brazil: STJ accepts request from association of atheists and agnostics and prohibits construction of the Museum of the Bible (Portuguese)
(Guilherme Grandi, Gazeta do Povo)
Ecuador: Religion in Ecuador: A cultural mosaic (Spanish)
(Manuel Alejandro De la Torre, ZBR)
Virginia Supreme Court announces controversial legal standard to revive teacher’s religious liberty claims over dismissal for refusing to use preferred student pronouns
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
Wednesday, 20 December 2023
Finding objective ways to talk about religion in the classroom is tough − but the cost of not doing so is clear
(Charles J. Russo, The Conversation)
India court to weigh future of mosque in Hindu holy city
(France 24)
India: In India’s holiest city, Hindus worship the nation of India
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
CALL FOR PAPERS, deadline 20 December 2023: European Yearbook on Human Rights 2024
(Völkerrechtsblog)
Russia: "Faith forbids him to take up arms, kill, or take oaths"
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni takes a stand: 'No room for Sharia law in Italy'
(Essa News)
A majority of Americans have a friend of a different religion
(Rebecca Leppert, Pew Research Center)
There and back again: The Supreme Court’s Establishment Clause journey
(Gerard V. Bradley, Public Discourse: The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute)
Human rights — ‘vision and reality’
(Harvard Carr Center for Human Rights Policy)
Libya: Religious freedom conditions in Libya
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
China: Christian group and family raise outcry over detention of another ‘house church’ elder in China
(Huizhong Wu, Associated Press)
US Catholic leadership foresees challenges after repeated election defeats for abortion opponents
(David Crary, Associated Press)
Germany: Bavaria can hang crosses in state buildings
(Deutsche Welle)
Jews in Germany: The aftermath of the Hamas terror attacks
(Christoph Strack, Deutsche Welle)
Germany protests to Iran after a court ruling implicates Tehran in a plot to attack a synagogue
(Associated Press)
Canada: Liberals don't want to regulate speech with online harms bill, justice minister says
(Stephanie Taylor, The Canadian Press)
11th Circuit: Appeal of DEA's denial of religious exemption to Controlled Substances Act must be in Circuit Court
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Church buses used in released-time programs not subject to school bus regulations
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Occupied Ukraine: Zaporizhzhia priests still "disappeared", 4 Churches banned
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
European bishops back EU membership push for Ukraine, Moldova
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
In a shift, Latvia and Lithuania are paying Holocaust survivors and heirs for their stolen property
(Shira Li Bartov, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
How anti-Zionism became anti-Judaism
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
U.S. religious freedom watchdog urges White House to list India as country of concern
(Daniel Payne, Catholic News Agency)
Religious freedom and comparative law: The protection of rights and the exception of religious freedom
(Andrea Pin et al., Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Abortion clinics, Public Space Protection Orders and the ECHR: Tossici-Bolt
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Nearly half of British Jews considered leaving UK due to antisemitism - poll
(Sam Halpern, The Jerusalem Post)
Ireland and Scotland may prohibit prayer outside abortion centers
(Life News)
Study: Christian nationalists may not be the demons that some claim
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Sri Lanka: Row over removal of security at Sri Lanka’s top Buddhist site
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Indonesia's official visits South Korea to discuss halal certification
(Antara News.)
Cuba: WCC general secretary at University of Havana: “Christians, cry out for peace!”
(World Council of Churches)
France: Religious freedom under threat: Over 85% of French people are against a new law
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
France: FECRIS tries twice to escape a court procedure—in vain
(Willy Fautré, Bitter Winter)
The Pablo Hasél case 2.0: Slander and defamation of the Spanish Crown according to the ECtHR
(Babette De Naeyer, Strasbourg Observers)
Sudan: Rapid Support Forces attack and occupy Coptic monastery in Wad Madani
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Egypt: Extremists attack church building site and Christian homes and properties
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Faith under fire: The biggest US religious freedom stories of 2023
(Brianna Herlihy, Fox News)
LGBTQ people raised Christian report more minority stressors, similar health to those who were not
(Williams Institutem UCLA School of Law)
Tuesday, 19 December 2023
VIRTUAL EVENT, 19 December 2023 (10AM ET): Refugees and Forced Displacement
(Elizabeth Ferris, Manzoor Hasan, Cyril Hovorun, Cynthia Juárez Lange, Katherine Marshall, Ruth Messinger, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Monday, 18 December 2023
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 18
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Articles of interest - 18 December 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Religion Watch, Volume 39 No. 1
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Two weeks in review, 4 – 16 December 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Strong and deep nexus between human dignity and religious freedom
(Jan Figel, Janfigel.eu)
Religious expressions, displays get new protection under 2023 defense authorization bill
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Pakistan: Assessing blasphemy in Pakistan
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
MI city agrees to pay $825K, protect farmer’s religious freedom
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
Leaning into the hope of Advent when the world feels so dark
(Knox Thames, Religion News Service)
The Practice of Religious Politics in Plural Societies: A Perspective of Jürgen Habermas’s Theory of the Public Sphere on the Dynamics of Democracy in Salatiga City, Indonesia
(Robert Siagian and Yusak B. Setyawan, Journal of Interreligious Studies)
France: Religious freedom under threat – Open Letter to the Government
(Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe)
13 freedom of religion quotes you should know
(Freedom Forum)
Statement on the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights
(International Association for the Defense of Religious Liberty)
Conscience and the continuum of constitutionalism: John Calvin on civil government
(Constance Lee, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Middle East Christians dwindle as anti-Christian hate crimes rise globally, says report
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Religious leaders uniting on climate in solidarity with refugees, boost UN conference
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Vatican court sending cardinal to jail for financial crimes
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Christians in Turkey - A nun returns to her ancestral home (video)
(Deutsche Welle)
‘Anti-Zionism = Antisemitism’ isn’t just wrong, it’s the problem
(Shaul Magid, Religion Dispatches)
Vol. 16 No. 2 (2023): Challenges of religious communities in European secular states and beyond
(The International Journal for Religious Freedom)
Notre Dame Law School event highlights the need to protect the Jewish community amid the rise of antisemitism on U.S. college campuses
(Religious Liberty Initiative, University of Notre Dame Law School)
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing longstanding ties to Jewish allies
(Noreen Nasir and Aaron Morrison, Associated Press)
Mexico: Catholic activists in Mexico help women reconcile their faith with abortion rights
(María Teresa Hernández, Associated Press)
Why can’t New York keep guns out of churches?
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
Two women killed in Israeli attack on Holy Family parish in Gaza
(Vatican News)
Princeton conference celebrates UDHR’s 75th birthday
(Peter Berkowitz, Real Clear Politics)
Tajikistan: Religious freedom survey, December 2023
(Mushfig Bayram and John Kinahan, Forum 18 News Service)
Journalism question for our day: Are all attacks on public statues considered equal?
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Religion-beat pros: Spikes in Islamophobia and antisemitism topped U.S. news in 2023
(Bobby Ross Jr., GetReligion)
Prayers of Love and Faith from Sunday 17 December
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Salafism, state security and Article 9 rights: request for ECtHR opinion by Belgium
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
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