Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 12 July 2023
New Virginia law offers churches additional protections against being shut down
(Daniel Payne, Catholic News Agency)
Monday, 26 June 2023
3 courts rule on claims for religious exemptions from covid vaccine mandates
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Ethical veganism, COVID vaccine and employment: Owen v Willow Tower
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Friday, 23 June 2023
Through personal ups and downs, they've waited years to perform Hajj. These are their stories
(Fares Akram, Niniek Karmini, Abby Sewell, Mariam Fam, and Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press)
Wednesday, 14 June 2023
Tennessee Human Rights Act does not require religious accommodation
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 2 June 2023
Football coach can proceed on some claims against university after termination for refusing covid vaccine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Monday, 29 May 2023
1st Circuit: Free Exercise claim by Maine healthcare workers over COVID mandate may move forward
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Monday, 22 May 2023
COVID-19 and the decline of religion in America
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Ninth Circuit renews San Francisco employees’ lawsuit over vaccine mandates
(Candace Cheung, Courthouse News Service)
Friday, 12 May 2023
Vol. 16 No. 1 (2023): The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious minorities
(International Journal for Religious Freedom (IJRF))
Friday, 5 May 2023
Brazil: Restriction of religious freedom in the pandemic and its legislative competence (Portuguese)
(Fernando Capez, Conjur)
Monday, 1 May 2023
Court calls for fuller explanation for denying religious exemption from covid vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 14 April 2023
Dismissal recommended in healthcare worker's claim for religious exemption from vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Slovakia: Former EU religious freedom champion challenges 2021 Covid-19 worship restrictions
(Evangelical Focus)
Wednesday, 5 April 2023
Former EU Envoy for Freedom of Religion tackles Covid restrictions on public worship at Europe’s Top Human Rights Court
(ADF International)
Friday, 31 March 2023
11th Circuit: Jewish student's masking objections do not get 1st Amendment protection
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Monday, 27 March 2023
NYPD administrative review of religious exemption claim was arbitrary
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
COVID-19 sent houses of worship online. Will congregations come back in person?
(Ryan Burge, Religion News Service)
Friday, 17 March 2023
J.M. Smucker is not a state actor
(Jonathan H. Adler, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Wednesday, 15 March 2023
6th Circuit: Employees have no free exercise claim against company that denied them a religious exemption from vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
COVID order violated priest's free exercise rights
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Webinar in Geneva: Conflict, children, climate, and COVID
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Friday, 10 March 2023
Federal judge pauses church’s fight over Santa Clara Covid rules
(Natalie Hanson, Courthouse News Service)
Wednesday, 8 March 2023
Minnesota appeals court decides when religious reasons for vaccine refusal were proven
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Religion and the lawbreaking Supreme Court
(Andrew Koppelman, The Hill)
Friday, 3 March 2023
Reasonable limits: how far does religious freedom go in Canada?
(Dwight Newman, Cardus)
Wednesday, 1 March 2023
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on freedom of religion or belief in Turkey report is published
(İnanç Özgürlüğü Girişimi)
Court rejects free exercise claim of judge who was not reappointed because of vaccination status
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Tuesday, 21 February 2023
5th Circuit rejects pastor's jurisdictional theory of religion clauses
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 15 February 2023
Denial of NYPD officer's religious objection to vaccination was arbitrary and capricious
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 10 February 2023
2nd Circuit hears arguments on religious objections to NYC employee vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Judge England condemns lawless executive power in Moscow, ID
(Eugene Volokh, The Volokh Conspiracy)
Wednesday, 8 February 2023
Court tells city to negotiate damages after its wrongful arrest of "psalm sing" protesters against covid restrictions
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Tuesday, 24 January 2023
Federal Reserve Bank can be sued under both Title VII and RFRA
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 13 January 2023
Learning from the vast COVID-19 restrictions on religion
(Eric Patterson, World)
Wednesday, 11 January 2023
Faith after the pandemic: How COVID-19 changed American religion. Findings from the 2022 American Religious Benchmark Survey
(Lindsay Witt-Swanson, Jennifer Benz, and Daniel A. Cox, Survey Center on American Life)
Monday, 9 January 2023
COVID-19 ravaged worship attendance, but affiliation steady, study finds
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Saturday, 7 January 2023
Vaccine mandate without religious exemption is upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Thursday, 5 January 2023
Court says idiosyncratic personal religious beliefs may not support religious accommodation
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Tuesday, 27 December 2022
Court remands question of accommodating religious objection to COVID testing
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Army enjoined from disciplining plaintiffs who refuse COVID vaccine on religious grounds
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 23 December 2022
COVID-19 and Religion: Pandemic Lessons and Legacies
(Katherine Marshall, The Review of Faith & International Affairs)
Monday, 19 December 2022
B.C. Court of Appeal sides with provincial health officer over COVID-19 restrictions on churches
(Jason Proctor · CBC News, CBC News)
British Columbia's COVID restrictions on worship services upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 16 December 2022
Sovereigns, exceptions, and “shadow dockets”: law, religion, and states of emergency
(M. Christian Green, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Ban on worship services during pandemic was illegal, says German court
(Christian Network Europe)
Friday, 2 December 2022
Court rejects religious challenges to covid mask requirements
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
3rd Circuit: Challenge to COVID limits on worship services is moot
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
How COVID-19 restrictions affected religious groups around the world in 2020
(Samirah Majumdar, Pew Research Center)
Sixth Circuit keeps Air Force vaccine mandate on hold
(Kevin Koeninger, Courthouse News Service)
6th Circuit affirms preliminary injunction protecting Air Force personnel who have religious objections to covid vaccine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Football coach sues after being fired for religious refusal of covid vaccine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 16 November 2022
Religion and Covid-19: Islamic scholars and Muslim humanitarian actors in Pakistan
(Kaja Borchgrevink, Abdul Rauf, and Ihsan Qadir, Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO))
Monday, 14 November 2022
Did faith fall off a cliff during COVID? New study says no.
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
Thursday, 10 November 2022
The Weekly Round-up: Migrant tagging, pandemic education rights, and Mental Health Act reform
(Matthew Johnson, UK Human Rights Blog)
Suit challenges refusal to grant religious exemption from Covid vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Monday, 7 November 2022
Actor's disparate-impact religious discrimination claim is dismissed
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 4 November 2022
Challenging State Responses to the Covid-19 pandemic before the ECtHR
(Lewis Graham, Strasbourg Observers)
Monday, 31 October 2022
Dalai Lama calls for courage amid harsh COVID lockdown in Tibet
(Lobsang Gelek and Kalden Lodoe, Radio Free Asia)
Wednesday, 12 October 2022
Weekly Highlight #225: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Our updates
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Friday, 7 October 2022
Revival sought for pastor’s lawsuit over COVID restrictions
(Kevin McGill, Associated Press)
Churches’ fight over Santa Clara County Covid restrictions on thin ice
(Natalie Hanson, Courthouse News Service)
Wednesday, 5 October 2022
Weekly Highlight #224: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Nairobi Indaba on child protection; terrorism and extremism during COVID-19 emergencies
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Monday, 3 October 2022
Qualified immunity protects defendants who denied religious exemptions from covid vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 30 September 2022
Ensuring and monitoring the right to freedom of peaceful assembly during pandemic the focus of ODIHR event
(The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
City employees did not show sincere religious objection to COVID vaccine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 28 September 2022
Weekly Highlight #223: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Religious engagement through and beyond COVID-19; religious tourism; spirituality
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Friday, 23 September 2022
Milwaukee hospital ends religious exemption for vaccine
(Associated Press)
New Zealand: COVID-19 church restrictions justified, New Zealand court rules
(David Crampton, Christianity Today)
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
Weekly Highlight #222: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Continuing issues, taking stock
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Employees fired for religious refusal of COVID vaccine bring Title VII suit
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 16 September 2022
DOD fast-tracked vaccine religious exemption denials, civil liberties law firm says
(Mark A. Kellner, The Washington Times)
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Calling the shots: Multistage challenges to federal vaccine mandates
(Elysa Dishman, SSRN)
Weekly Highlight #221: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: COVID-19 addressed in various global events, emerging research
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Mask mandate did not violate free exercise rights
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Religious objections to COVID vaccine: Wierowska
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Monday, 12 September 2022
Southern Africa Regional Forum on Religion and Covid-19
(Eve de la Mothe Karoubi, Sustainable Development Solutions Network)
Friday, 9 September 2022
Catholic care worker can defend vaccine refusal on religious grounds
(Patrick Hudson, The Tablet)
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
Vaccine hesitancy is not a matter of doctrine, but for some it remains a matter of faith
(Mallory Challis, Baptist News Global)
Weekly Highlight #220: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: New research on religion and COVID-19
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
UK: How COVID-19 changed religious experience
(Joshua Edelman, London School of Economics Religion and Global Society Blog)
Wednesday, 31 August 2022
Weekly Highlight #219: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Post-COVID-19 “normal”? Concerns around discrimination
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Unvaccinated cadets ordered off Coast Guard Academy campus
(Associated Press)
7th Circuit: Plaintiffs failed to show facts supporting free exercise objections to COVID vaccine mandate
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 26 August 2022
Argentina: Jewish groups slam Argentine president for repeatedly comparing number of COVID-19 deaths to the Holocaust
(Jackie Hajdenberg, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Big win for thousands of U.S. Marines with religious objections to covid vaccine mandate
(Jorge Gomez, First Liberty)
Wednesday, 24 August 2022
Weekly Highlight #218: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Lingering court cases; xenophobia/COVID-19 links; pandemic lessons
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Religious objections to Air Force COVID mandate dismissed for lack of standing and ripeness
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Friday, 19 August 2022
Maine's COVID vaccine mandate, without religious exemption, is upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 17 August 2022
California appeals court rejects COVID-19 fines for church
(Associated Press)
Weekly Highlight #217: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: Assessing the varied and shifting impacts of the COVID-19 crisis
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Wednesday, 10 August 2022
Weekly Highlight #216: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: COVID-19 in "normal times"; discrimination and hate crimes
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Wednesday, 3 August 2022
Wisconsin violated Archdiocese rights in excluding clergy as COVID precaution after other outsiders were allowed in
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Faith groups praised for response during Covid pandemic
(Paul Jeffrey, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Monday, 1 August 2022
Health care workers settle COVID shot mandate for $10.3 million
(Liberty Counsel)
Friday, 29 July 2022
Weekly Highlight #215: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: COVID-19 vaccination and social assistance efforts; tensions play out in the law
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Friday, 22 July 2022
Updated COVID-19 advice from CofE
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
The post-pandemic Western populist right: A purported clash between the public good and individual rights
(Chiara Migliori, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Wednesday, 20 July 2022
Weekly Highlight #214: COVID-19: Exploring faith dimensions: COVID-19 and religion on global and local agendas
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Friday, 15 July 2022
Analysis of changes to COVID-19 legislation in England
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
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