Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 23 March 2026
‘When we see the cross we feel safe’: Monks shelter Muslims from the war
(Tom Kington, The Times)
Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr around the world amid shadow of war
(Al Jazeera)
Trafalgar Square iftar: Comment from the Lead Bishop for interfaith engagement
(The Church of England)
Faith in Conflict: How Global Crises Are Shaping UK Faith Communities
(Woolf Institute)
Prince William keen to build 'strong and meaningful' bond with Church
(Daniela Relph and Amy Walker, BBC)
Jewish and Muslim people face a wave of hate. Can schools turn the tide?
(Troy Closson, The New York Times)
Syrian authorities’ new limits on alcohol sales in Damascus spark backlash
(Omar Sanadiki, Associated Press)
1st Circuit: Equal benefit requirement for religious schools does not extend to all private schools
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Articles of interest - 23 March 2026
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal judge grants injunction allowing clergy visits at Minneapolis ICE holding facility
(Steve Karnowski, Religion News Service)
Texas accepts some Islamic schools into voucher program after lawsuits
(Jaden Edison, Religion News Service)
Bangladesh Bishops decline government stipend for Catholic clerics
(Stephan Uttom Rozario, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Unanimous court allows street preacher’s free speech case to move forward
(Kelsey Dallas, SCOTUSblog)
Two teenagers arrested in Heemstede over suspected terror plot targeting synagogue
(NL Times)
New index links interfaith dialogue to stronger, more investment-ready economies
(Vishal Arora, Religion Unplugged)
A view from Geneva: Exploring international polycrises and the G20 Interfaith Forum
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem remains closed
(Barb Fraze, OSV News)
Kenya: Archbishop Muhatia rebukes political leaders over public insults, calls for restraint
(Catholic Information Service for Africa)
EU has condoned religious discrimination in tenders from Germany for 12 years (2)
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Slovak ombudsman targets 50,000 faith rule
(The European Times)
About 6 in 10 Americans don’t have moral objections to medical aid in dying
(Rebecca Leppert, Pew Research Center)
Middle East: the mistake of reducing religion to pacifism (Spanish)
(Fishel Szlajen)
Church celebrates educational reform in Bolivia after years of being silenced
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Abolish death penalty for apostasy, humanists tells the Maldives at UN
(Humanists UK)
Maldives: Oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council
(International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH))
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announces Senate Select Committee on Religious Liberty
(Office of the Lieutenant Governor)
Bishops release briefing pack for Scottish Election
(Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh)
South African provincial govt applauds Hindu organisation for community work
(ABP Live)
Religious education expansion in Türkiye sparks debate over secularism
(Atilla Yeşilada, PA Turkey)
A shameful double standard on religious freedom
(Melissa Rogers, The Brookings Institution)
South African provincial govt applauds Hindu organisation for community work
(Press Trust of India)
Friday, 20 March 2026
HHS’ Office for Civil Rights investigates thirteen states under federal conscience law
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
Presidential message on Eid al-Fitr
(The White House)
New national polling reveals scale of antisemitism crisis on UK campuses
(Union of Jewish Students)
Muslim Council of Elders calls for global campaign to confront extremism, hate speech, promote coexistence
(Gulf News)
Nigel Farage condemned over call to ban public prayer for Muslims in the UK
(Libby Brooks, Severin Carrell and Peter Walker, Guardian)
Abortion law changes: Bishops take part in House of Lords debate
(The Church of England)
‘We know what it means when doors are closed’ say rabbinic leaders at Refugee Shabbat launch
(Ben Conway, The Jewish Chronicle)
Faith in Action: Imam Mohamed Magid awarded the Karamah Institute’s Distinguished UMM Salamah Award
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
WCC urges EU to protect farmers' seed rights
(World Council of Churches)
World: The Freedom of Thought Report 2025, a Humanist Perspective
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest March 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Judge strikes down Arkansas law mandating schools display the Ten Commandments. Here’s what to know
(Sara Cline, Associated Press)
When US fights in the Middle East, American Muslim students often face discrimination
(Amaarah DeCuir, The Conversation)
Faith's quiet advantage: New research on religion and academic outcomes
(William C. Duncan, Sutherland Institute)
Idaho House passes criminal transgender bathroom ban in business, government buildings
(Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun)
House Republicans’ ‘Sharia Free America’ Caucus is surging
(Emily Kennard and Violet Jira, NOTUS)
A pastor arrested over YouTube videos, a child detained for days, a country in crisis. What is happening in Cuba?
(Ellis Heasley, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Pakistan: Court challenges the bias that confines minorities to sanitation work
(A. Sahara Alexander, Bitter Winter)
Police investigates the agressors of Amsterdam's lonely Uyghur
(Abdurehim Gheni Uyghur, Bitter Winter)
Carmel rebukes antisemitic comments, but says it can't remove them
(Cate Charron, Indianapolis Star)
Muslim parents, private schools sue Texas over exclusion of Islamic institutions in voucher program
(Jaden Edison, The Texas Tribune)
Between law and reality: media and religious discrimination. When religious freedom faces a new threat in media reports that obscure and distort reality.
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter)
Maryland Episcopal church faces city fines for letting unhoused people sleep on its property
(Melodie Woerman, Episcopal News Service)
Woman charged with attempted murder under Georgia abortion law
(Jabari Gibbs, The Current)
To Catholic thinkers, Pentagon’s AI demands violate ‘human dignity’
(Michelle Boorstein and Tara Copp, The Washington Post)
A Sociology of Religious Freedom
(Olga Breskaya, Giuseppe Giordan, and James T. Richardson, Oxford University Press)
Maltese court clears Matthew Grech of all charges
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
Anti-Christian Incidents February 2026
(Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe)
Belgium deploys soldiers to Jewish sites as Britain charges 2 men with spying on Jews for Iran
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Colombia: Why are there religious symbols in court offices? Learn the historical reasons. (Spanish)
(Brayan Silva Hernandez, Portafolio)
US Jews grapple with a surge in attacks and bitter rifts over Israeli policies
(David Crary and Peter Smith, Associated Press)
As religious tensions rise, synagogues and other houses of worship in Maine look to beef up security
(Sean Scott, Associated Press)
4th Circuit hears oral arguments in 3 employment discrimination cases involving religiously affiliated institutions
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Husband's religious objections to divorce were inappropriate basis for sanctions or restraining order
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
From Bush to Obama to Trump, White House faith office persists at 25 years
(Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)
Shuttered stores, canceled pilgrimages: Can Bethlehem's Christians survive another Easter?
(Michele Chabin, Religion News Service)
Christian democracy is facing regime change
(Jan-Werner Müller, Foreign Policy)
Budapest interfaith dialogue highlights ethics, faith and social media
(The European Times)
Dignity in judgement between religious and secular thinking
(Andrea Pin, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Combating hate speech through dialogue: KAICIID participates at UN human rights conference
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Russia: Religious issues and persecution – Bimonthly News Digest March 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Russian Orthodox Church to open religious community in UAE capital, according to Center for Countering Disinformation
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Russia: Handcuffed, stripped, beaten, "repeatedly subjected to electric shocks"
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
What do Americans consider immoral?
(Pew Research Center)
Database launched on anti-Christian violations of religious freedom in Australia
(Chris Eyte, Christian Daily)
Argentina’s Church leaders says ‘never again’ as coup anniversary nears
(Buenos Aires Times)
Wednesday, 18 March 2026
BYU law professor at the U.N.: ‘The most significant obstacle to peace is people or interests who do not want peace’
(Mariya Manzhos, Deseret News)
Judgment of the Court in Case C-258/24 Katholische Schwangerschaftsberatung (re employer leaving the Catholic church)
(Court of Justice of the European Union)
VIRTUAL EVENT, 18 March 2026: The Endangerment of Jews: The Rise of Antisemitism Abroad
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Selakovic: Since 1999, 156 churches and monasteries and 255 Serbian cemeteries destroyed in Kosovo
(Kosovo Online)
Sweden’s blind spot on religious freedom
(Jacob Rudenstrand, Evangelical Focus)
German antisemitism commissioner quits far‑left party over anti-Israel resolution
(Toby Axelrod, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The Protestant Church introduces a new chaplaincy officer for the Federal Police (German)
(Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)
Turkey engaging in severe violations of religious freedom: US watchdog
(Ommcom News)
Vatican envoy visits Lebanese church after priest killed in shelling
(Al Jazeera)
Addis Ababa held productive discussion with Islamic religious leaders, followers
(Addis Media Network)
Hate speech: At the UN, Morocco advocates for interfaith dialogue
(Mohamed Ezzouak, Yabiladi)
Pope to visit Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea in Africa
(Francisco Otamendi, Omnes)
An ‘Entity of Particular Concern’ whose actions bear the ‘hallmarks of genocide’ – why does the United Arab Emirates continue to support the RSF?
(Ellis Heasley, Sight Magazine)
Starmer urged to challenge Nigerian president over Christian persecution
(James Lewis, Premier Christian News)
Thousands of Christians are being evicted in Pakistan’s capital
(Al Jazeera)
Innovation and religion with Dr. Marco Ventura
(YouTube Video, Brandon Vaidyanathan)
Don’t let the cradle of Christianity become its graveyard
(Frank R. Wolf, The Hill)
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