Law and Religion Headlines
Tuesday, 2 June 2020
An outbreak of Coronavirus at women's monastery of UOC-MP in Kyiv
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Monday, 1 June 2020
Why 4 justices on the Supreme Court voted to reopen churches in the pandemic
(Ian Millhiser, Vox)
The pastors already planning to rebel against future shutdowns
(Emma Green, The Atlantic)
Emergency orders can't last forever
(Keith E. Wittington, Reason Foundation)
The new normal: back to church in Papua New Guinea
(Willie Kunsei, Adventist News Network)
US Supreme Court, 5-4, refuses to enjoin California's limits on worship services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court declines to lift restrictions on crowds at church services
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)
TRO denied in church's challenge to Delaware COVID-19 order
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal judge denies request to more broadly open Delaware churches
(Esteban Parra and Isabel Hughes, Delaware News Journal)
Guidance released on NSW COVID-19 laws and churches
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
U.S. Supreme Court upholds California’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious worship
(Evan Seeman, RLUIPA-Defense)
DOJ supports church suing to overturn Colorado governor’s executive order
(Tyler Gillett, Jurist)
London archbishop says opening churches a matter of ‘basic equality’
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Africans in Germany lose their church communities
(Daniel Pelz, Deutsche Welle)
Pandemic creates problems for Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
(Kavkazskii Uzel, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
COVID-19: latest guidance from the Church of England – updated
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
White evangelicals shown as a group with slipping trust in Trump's handling of COVID-19
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Latin America’s pandemic highlights best and worst of church-state relations
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Old religious quarrels return as covid-19 lockdowns ease
(The Economist)
Freedom to worship must not be sacrificed to government restrictions during COVID-19 pandemic
(Miche P. Orsi, The Washington Times Opinion)
Pastors planned to ignore Governor’s rules on Sunday
(Valley News)
Reopening states are still treating churches and businesses differently
(Nicole Russell, The Washington Examiner Opinion)
Press Release: His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros direct Archdiocese clergy Syndesmos address
(Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America)
In the name of ‘Religious Liberty,’ Roger Severino wants to feed U.S. Christians to the (COVID-19) lions
(Ivan Strenski, Sightings: The University of Chicago Divinity School)
Sunday, 31 May 2020
Pope Francis prays for pandemic-hit Amazon region at Regina Coeli
(Catholic News Agency)
Pope Francis calls for 'a more just, equitable and Christian society' after coronavirus crisis
(Catholic News Agency)
Pope Francis urges Christians to be united as 'witnesses to mercy'
(Catholic News Agency)
Amazon delivery driver who prayed God would protect sick child says 'God is good'
(Catholic News Agency)
COVID-19: Akufo-Addo lifts ban on religious activities in Ghana
(Andreas Kamasah, Pulse.gh)
Saturday, 30 May 2020
What COVID-19 restrictions on religious freedom reveal about America in 2020: An interview with Thomas Farr
(Religious Freedom Institute: Cornerstone Blog)
A sage appraisal of COVID-19
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Churches begin navigating a gradual reopening with safety as top priority
(Jeff Thomas, Catholic News Service)
Supreme Court, in rare late-night ruling, says California may enforce certain restrictions on religious gatherings
(Robert Barnes, The Washington Post)
Why staying home from church fulfills commandment to love thy neighbor
(Gracie Bond Staples, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Opinion)
When pastors and pews disagree on churches reopening
(Kara Bettis, Christianity Today)
Jews tell about celebrating Shavout under quarantine
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #74: Reopening Churches: Risks Versus Benefits
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Covid-19 and Elections in sub-Saharan Africa: what risks for democracy and human rights?
(Statement, FIDH: International Federation for Human Rights)
West Africa facing food crisis as coronavirus spread: Pandemic adds to jihadi and climate change threats to present ‘immense challenge’ for region
(Emmanuel Akinwotu, The Guardian)
Human rights threatened under COVID-19 pandemic
(VOA - Straight Talk Africa)
Worship in Coronavirus time- the latest NSW rules
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Supreme Court rejects challenge to limits on church services
(Mark Sherman, Religion News Service)
From Illinois to Puerto Rico, Latino Muslims navigate faith and quarantine among their non-Muslim families
(Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service)
Trained in rebuilding after disasters, NC Baptists now distribute food boxes
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
State bar group calls for ‘mandatory’ COVID-19 vaccinations, regardless of objections
(Jason Grant, New York Law Journal, DiReSoM: Diritto e Religione nelle Società Multiculturali/ Law and Religion in Multicultural Societies)
COVID-19 story few are covering: Vast majority of Baptists (and others) are being careful
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Ontario: Recalibrating education
(Peter Stockland, Convivium: Canada's Premier Hub for Faith in Common Life)
COVID-19: Re-opening plans across Canada
(Deina Warren, Canadian Council of Christian Charities: Noteworthy)
Cyber attacks and cyber (mis)information operations during a pandemic
(Marko Milanovic, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Orthodox Jews will challenge Doug Ford’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious liberty
(Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, LifeSiteNews)
Justice Department backs Colorado church suit against Polis
(The Hour)
California ends ban on in-person religious services as one church takes it to US Supreme Court
(Paul Strand, CBN News)
What is worship and is it really ‘essential’?
(Richard Kannwischer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Opinion)
Divided Supreme Court rejects churches on covid restrictions
(Greg Stohr, Bloomberg Law)
Some say if retail stores are open, churches should be too. Here’s why it’s not so simple.
(Carol Kuruvilla, Huffington Post)
Supreme Court rejects Calif. church’s request to lift limits on in-person services ahead of Pentecost Sunday
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)
Ahead of Pentecost, Supreme Court backs California coronavirus limits on churches
(Catholic News Agency)
UN and US trade criticism over abortion during coronavirus
(Catholic News Agency)
Friday, 29 May 2020
Announcing the Religious Freedom Annual Review: Religion and Religious Freedom in the COVID-19 Era: Finding Community and Hope
(The International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #72 - Russia: COVID-19 Causes Rumbles in Orthodox-State Relations
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
COMECE launches an online platform for live streaming masses
(COMECE: The Catholic Church in the European Union)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #73: Episcopal and Catholic Leaders Express Solidarity with Native American Communities Affected by COVID-19
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
APPG Statement on COVID-19 and prisoners of conscience
(UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief)
Bishop of Truro: FoRB, persecution and COVID-19
(UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Freedom of Religion or Belief)
Turkey reopens some mosques, prayers held in ex-cathedral
(Associated Press)
Asia Today: Indonesians return to mosques, at a distance
(Associated Press)
Communion unchanged in Greek Orthodox Church despite virus
(Elena Becatoros and Costas Kantouris, Associated Press)
For top U.S. virus experts, faith and science work together
(Elana Schor, Associated Press)
COVID-19 and the Constitution: How the Bill of Rights is being tested by the coronavirus
(John Curran, Jake Gardener and Jeffery Ding, law.com)
Vietnam’s widely praised COVID-19 response harms religious minorities
(Kelsey Zorzi, Real Clear Religion)
Vatican official says anti-religious bias was evident during lockdown
(Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
CDC quickly changed its guidance on limiting choirs at religious services
(Bill Chappell, National Public Radio)
Religious leaders speak out over Government's 'unlawful' closure of churches
(Gabriella Swerling, The Telegraph)
Illinois backs down, says churches can meet again
(Michael Foust, Christian Headlines)
Thursday, 28 May 2020
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #71: Basic Ecclesial Communities (CEBs) Respond to the COVID-19 Crisis
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
AP Photos: Romanian port city marks Easter late due to virus
(Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press)
Covid-19: Vatican urges OSCE to promote religious freedom amid rising intolerance
(Devin Watkins, Vatican News)
As churches reopen, Supreme Court faces balancing act between physical and spiritual health
(Richard Wolf, USA Today)
UN experts urge US states to honor reproductive rights amid COVID-19 pandemic
(Alanah Lockwood, Jurist: Legal News & Research)
The COMECE Social Affairs Commission releases statement on proposed EU recovery plan
(COMECE: The Catholic Church in the European Union)
Let Europe recover through justice: Reaction of the COMECE Social Affairs Commission to the proposed recovery plan
(Position Paper, COMECE: The Catholic Church in the European Union)
Justice Departments sends letter to California governor calling for equal treatment of religious gatherings
(The United States Department of Justice)
Broad opposition to religious exemptions during stay-at-home orders
(PRRI)
Indigenous leader calls for help in Brazil’s biggest reserve
(Yesica Fisch and Mauricio Savarese, Associated Press)
LA allows shopping, worship sooner than expected in pandemic
(Brian Melley, Associated Press)
Ill. churches ask Supreme Court to stop state’s lockdown order limiting worship attendees
(Michael Gryboski, The Christian Post)
What religion can offer in response to COVID-19
(Katherine Marshall, World Politics Review)
Church reopening debate revolves around religious freedom, public safety
(Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service)
Catholic gift shops near Vatican struggle to reopen after coronavirus lockdown
(Courtney Mares, Catholic News Agency)
US senators concerned over potential COVID-19 outbreak at Guantanamo Bay
(Erin Napoleon, Jurist: Legal News & Research)
County reopens in-person religious services under attendance limitations
(Hector Hernandez Jr., Highland Community News)
Freeing workers: Labor and plague in the Islamic World
(Shireen Hamza, The Revealer: A Review of Religion and the Media)
Before reopening, houses of worship should consider what their faith holds most dear
(Simran Jeet Singh, Religion News Service)
The fight over reopening churches reaches the Supreme Court
(Ian Millhiser, Vox)
Turkey readies for 'new normal' after declaring success against coronavirus
(Ayla Jean Yackley, Al-Monitor: Turkey Pulse)
Egypt registers highest number of coronavirus cases in single day
(Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
AUCCRO initiates another meeting with the prime minister since the adaptive quarantine fails to meet the believers' needs
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Freedom House calls for vigilance to dombat abuses during coronavirus pandemic
(Freedom House)
Family of 12 challenges Virginia restrictions on worship services of over ten persons
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
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