Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 27 September 2023
India: Anti-Muslim hate speech in India concentrated around elections, report finds
(Kanishka Singh, Reuters)
Armenian priest fears for Karabakh's Christian heritage amid mass exodus
(Felix Light, Reuters)
The second Armenian genocide
(Mark Movsesian, Compact Magazine)
Nigeria: Sentenced to death for WhatsApp lyrics, petition for Nigerian musician’s release brought to UN working group
(ADF International)
Vatican presses world leaders at UN to work on rules for lethal autonomous weapons
(Jennifer Peltz, Associated Press)
Employees failed to show sincere religious beliefs for vaccine exemptions
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Democracies in Asia risk failing on religious freedom
(Suzan Johnson Cook and Katrina Lantos Swett, Real Clear Politics)
Ohio high school football coach resigns after players use ‘Nazi’ in play calls
(Andrew Lapin, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Kazakhstan: Still jailed despite 2021 UN "immediate" release call
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Kazakhstan: Prisoners of conscience refused conditional early release
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Opportunities and limits of religious diplomacy
(Svitlana Babynska, Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Colorado city settles with church over RV ‘hospitality ministry’ lawsuit
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Religious liberty is becoming a go-to right for everyone
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Jesuit agency head in UK blasts call to scrap UN refugee convention as ‘appalling’
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Blasphemy laws fuel religious intolerance, Humanists UK tells UN
(Humanists UK)
Religion and identity in an age of individualization
(Ted A. Smith, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Caster Semenya v. Switzerland: eligibility of intersex female athlete in female athletic events
(Tsubasa Shinohara, Strasbourg Observers)
Imprisoned Nicaraguan bishop nominated for European Parliament human rights award
(Diego López Marina, Catholic News Agency)
Methodist community in religious freedom fight against NJ regarding Sunday beach access
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Pakistan’s Ahmadis living in fear as graves, religious sites attacked
(Abid Hussain, Al Jazeera)
UN criticises France’s ban on its Olympic athletes wearing headscarves
(Ashifa Kassam, The Guardian)
France’s abaya ban risks isolating Muslim students, experts say
(Sophie Stuber, Al Jazeera)
Laotian bishop: Church gives new impetus to society
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
The government adopted discriminatory and unconstitutional defense legislation
(Tolerance and Diversity Institute)
Many anti-Semitic artifacts in Cologne cathedral
(Christian Network Europe)
Ukrainian parliament doesn't have enough votes to ban Moscow-linked church
(Ukrainska Pravda, Yahoo News)
Religion and schools
(Courthouse News Service)
EEOC Sues Blackwell security services for religious discrimination
(U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)
Cuba, Nicaragua can no longer whitewash their religious freedom violations
(Teo Babun, The Hill)
Brazil: Soccer player Paulinho won’t let intolerance of his Afro-Brazilian religion stop his faith
(Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press)
America appears to be heading for a religious civil war
(Nilay Saiya, Religion Dispatches)
Latest immigration fight unfairly targets religious organizations
(John Meiser, The Hill)
Reflections on the Parliament of the World’s Religions
(European Network on Religion & Belief)
What is an abaya − and why does it cause such controversy in France? A scholar of European studies explains
(Armin Langer, The Conversation)
Houses of Worship: Officials explore social cohesion at Chile temple
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Tuesday, 26 September 2023
EVENT, 26 September 2023 (6PM CT): 2023 Benac Human Dignity for All Lecture (Dallas, TX, USA)
(Featuring Ambassador Sam Brownback, Ambassador Rabbi David Saperstein, and President of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice Katrina Lantos Swett, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth and DFW Alliance for Religious Freedom)
Monday, 25 September 2023
Statement from President Joe Biden on Yom Kippur
(The White House)
Iran demands Sweden act against Koran burnings, urges release of prisoner
(AFP, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty)
EVENT, 25 September 2023 (14:00 CEST): UN Human Rights Side Event: The Targeting of Minority Communities – From Hate Crime to Atrocity Crimes
(International Bar Association, Coalition for Genocide Response, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Physicians for Human Rights)
European action day against Islamophobia: Assessing the ongoing struggle of Muslims
(TRT World)
Kentucky's near-total abortion ban takes center stage in gubernatorial election
(Sylvia Goodman, NPR)
Indonesia: Does God need to be defended by law?
(Aisyah Llewellyn, The Diplomat)
Indonesia jails woman for blasphemy over TikTok food video
(Al Jazeera)
Muslim countries rap repeated desecration of Quran in Europe
(International Quran News Agency (IQNA))
Muslim girl banned from school for kimono sues France in UN court
(Esra Taskin and Feiza Ben Mohamed, Anadolu Agency)
Mali's junta grapples with surging chaos amid UN peacekeeper exit
(Daily Sabah)
Leaders of Türkiye, Malaysia slam 'new form of racism' victimising Muslims
(TRT World)
Israel to seal off Palestine territories for Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur
(Middle East Monitor)
Israel's Yom Kippur protests signal a liberal correction to religious coercion
(Or Kashti, Haaretz)
Meeting between Jewish leaders and Benjamin Netanyahu broaches judicial overhaul — and gets personal
(Ron Kampeas, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Turkish police detain 10 accused of Islamic State links, minister says
(Reuters)
CTD arrests 13 TTP, Daesh terrorists during Punjab-wide IBOs
(Pakistan Today)
Notre Dame Religious Liberty Clinic defends Catholic charter school’s mission to expand educational options for underserved children
(University of Notre Dame Law School)
National Cathedral unveils racial justice-themed windows, replacing Confederate ones
(Juliana Kim, NPR)
Grant for new paths set to make northern church more accessible
(BBC News)
Iran – Concerns over Chastity and Hijab Bill
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
Iran's women on Mahsa Amini's death anniversary: 'I wear what I like now'
(Caroline Hawley, BBC News)
UK Special Envoy: ‘FoRB has never been more at risk’
(The Christian Institute)
UK Catholics urge government to ‘scrap the cap’ on new Church-run free schools
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Law and religion round-up – 24th September
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Isle of Man church granted cathedral status by Pope Francis
(Alex Blake, BBC News)
CEC welcomes the Orthodox Church of Ukraine as a Member Church
(Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the EU (COMECE))
Islamophobia, distrust: Dutch Muslims react to state surveillance
(Daily Sabah)
Kuwait University to enforce gender segregation in classrooms, sparking controversy and backlash
(New Arab)
The largest Hindu temple on American soil will soon open its doors
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Brazil’s bishops reject blame for abortion debate over alleged backing for Lula
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Senegal: Bishop calls for respecting the rights of those wishing to migrate
(Charles Senghor, La Croix International)
The Rights of Nature Part 1 – Review of the Legal Movement
(Clair Brown, Arthur Dahl, Yoshinobu Miyake, Sherrie Steiner, and Victoria W. Thoresen, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
The Rights of Nature Part 2 – Faith Viewpoints
(Clair Brown, Arthur Dahl, Yoshinobu Miyake, Sherrie Steiner, and Victoria W. Thoresen, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Two weeks in review, 11 September – 24 September 2023
(Tal Gross, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Algeria: Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light people meet UN Special Rapporteur
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Egypt: An encouragement to President Sisi to go further in the promotion of freedom of religion or belief in Egypt
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Founding the Journal of Law and Religion: A Reflection Forty Years On
(Stephen B. Young, Journal of Law and Religion)
US military captures key Islamic State militant during helicopter raid in Syria
(Tara Copp, AP News)
Religious marriage-related agreements can be enforced by American courts, but only when they comply with state law
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Around the web - 25 September 2023
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
What happens when the boss invites you to Bible study?
(Jennifer Miller, The New York Times)
Religious freedom in Hungary: Hell hath no fury like a prime minister scorned
(Alexander Faludy, Balkan Insight)
USAID’s ‘Power’ play on religious engagement
(Susan Crabtree, Real Clear Politics)
Kosovo monastery siege ends following deadly attack on police
(Al Jazeera)
PaRD Annual Forum 2023: Multiplex collaborations in a multipolar world
(International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development)
Whose equality? Freedom of religious associations and Gaum v. Van Rensburg
(Shaun de Freitas, Journal of Law and Religion)
Articles of interest - 25 September 2023
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
New book: The Third Sword: On The Political Role of Prophets
(James Bernard Murphy, Cambridge University Press)
Friday, 22 September 2023
Supreme Court 2023-24 Term: Sidewalk counselors, Native sacred land, government mandates
(Becket)
The Pope and the War: A series on how Pope Francis deals with the Russia-Ukraine war
(Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
On spiritual resources and common homes: A look at crimes in Ukraine in conversation with Raphael Lemkin and Pope Francis
(Greg Marcar, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
EVENT, 22 September 2023 (12:30PM ET): Constitution Day Panel: "Religious Liberty and the American Founding: Natural Rights and the Original Meanings of the First Amendment Religion Clauses"
(de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture, University of Notre Dame)
EVENT, 22 September 2023 (12PM ET): Bioethical Challenges and Exploiting Nascent Human Beings (Washington, DC, USA)
(Faith & Law)
UC Law lecture examines religious expression for imprisoned persons
(Sherry English, University of Cincinnati)
China: 6 facts about Buddhism in China
(Pew Research Center)
Afghanistan: 2 years ago, the Taliban banned girls from school. It’s a worsening crisis for all Afghans
(Riazat Butt, Associated Press)
Chinese court imposes life sentence on Uyghur scholar
(Sophie Richardson, Human Rights Watch)
Kashmir’s top pro-freedom cleric leads Friday prayers after four years
(Al Jazeera)
India: Ornate Indian Hindu temple will open on old mosque site, fulfilling Modi’s election promise
(Rhea Mogul and Vedika Sud, CNN)
Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?
(Krutika Pathi and David Cohen, Religion News Service)
Indian govt seeks detailed report on anti-Christian violence
(Bijay Kumar Minj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
ELCA hears from Indigenous boarding school survivor ahead of National Day of Remembrance
(Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
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