Law and Religion Headlines
Thursday, 28 May 2020
Virginia family sues governor over ban on religious gatherings
(Calvin Freiburger, LifeSiteNews)
COVID-19 in Chile: will all religious gatherings be banned?
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
The First Amendment and religious freedom compel me to refute Trump’s position on churches reopening
(Wendell Griffen, Baptist News Global)
Medical groups ask FDA to ease access to abortion pill during the pandemic
(Sarah McCammon, National Public Radio)
Kazakhstan: warned for violating coronavirus regulations, but fined for leading worship
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
WEBINAR, 28 May 2020 (3 pm CEST, GMT +2): COVID-19, Religion and Belief: Webinar Series || EPISODE 8: Special Envoys' Perspectives
(Jan Figel', Michael Suhr, Tristan Azbej, Emanuela C. Del Re, Daria Wołosiuk)
COVID-19: latest guidance from the Church of England
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Considerations for religious institutions in times of crisis
(Barry Black and John B. Madden, law.com)
Law firm representing churches calls Pritzker's new guidelines 'victory for people of faith'
(WAND)
Wednesday, 27 May 2020
As Covid-19 crisis grows, Latin America’s basic ecclesial communities step up to help
(Eduardo Campos Lima, America: The Jesuit Review)
How ancient Christians responded to pandemics
(Michael Flexsenhar III, OUPblog Religion)
Churches during relaxation of lockdown – I
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Evidence of environmental dispersion of COVID-19
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Research on transmission of COVID-19
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Reflections on Freedom of Religion or Belief during the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic
(Conference of European Churches)
The failure to pursue the mandates of international organizations in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic
(Dr Lorenzo Gasbarri, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
New CofE guidance: fabric and building maintenance
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Church challenges Colorado's limitation on size of worship services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Church sues Colorado governor over public health order
(Janet Oravetz, 9News)
Churches challenge Oregon's COVID-19 limits
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Oregon governor sued over COVID-19 order that allows numerous gatherings, restricts churches
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
This is a news story: Shuttered churches fuel death of Catholic newspapers during pandemic
(Clemente Lisi, GetReligion)
Cuba uses the coronavirus crisis to continue to harass, imprison religious leaders | Opinion
(Teo Babun, Miami Herald)
At Manhattan mosque, an imam eases a pandemic’s grief
(Selin Thomas, Religion News Service)
Oman ending lockdown in capital
(Al-Monitor: Gulf Pulse)
Tuesday, 26 May 2020
RECORDED WEBINAR (5 May 2020): States' Positive Obligations under IHRL during the coronavirus outbreak
(Stuart Wallace, Conall Mallory, Aoife Nolan, Merris Amos, Amanda Cahill-Ripley, Laurens Lavrysen, Strasbourg Observers)
Is the lockdown of churches an aggression towards freedom of religion or belief?
(Cătălin Raiu, Diresome)
RECORDED WEBINAR (21 April 2020): Council of Europe: The Conscience of Europe in a Time of Crisis
(Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou, Stuart Wallace, Veronica Bilkova, Philip Leach, Rob Linham, Jörg Polakiewicz, Inete Ziemele)
RECORDED WEBINAR (from 7 April 2020): Human Rights in the Time of Coronavirus- Does England's Lockdown Violate Human Rights Law?
(Stuart Wallace, Ed Bates, Natasa Mavronicola, Başak Çalı, Alan Greene, Kanstantsin Dzehtsiarou)
Why we don't see church as 'essential'
(Brett McCracken, The Gospel Coalition)
Contact-tracing apps face serious adoption obstacles
(Sarah Kreps, Baobao Zhang, and Nina McMurry, Brookings)
U.S. policing after wave one of COVID-19
(Vanda Felbab-Brown, Lawfare)
WEBINAR RECORDING: Lessons from COVID-19: Building A Stronger Global Health System
(Foreign Policy)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #70: Reopening Debates: When Will Religious Doors Open and Who Decides?
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
The President cannot order the states to open houses of worship during covid-19
(Marci A. Hamilton, Verdict)
California lays out pandemic rules for church reopenings
(Stefanie Dazio and, Associated Press)
California church appeals to U.S. Supreme Court as governor announces new guidelines for opening houses of worship
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
New Jersey pastor that defied state order to reopen says 'church is essential,' people 'want to be with their pastors'
(Matthew Impelli, Newsweek)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #69: Brazil’s Catholic Bishops Contest Government Policy on COVID-19
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Plug-In: Faith vs. COVID-19 – Restrictions prompt clashes over churches reopening
(Bobby Ross Jr., GetReligion)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #68: COVID-19 Dampens Eid Celebrations Worldwide
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
The European Court, Domestic Oversight of COVID-19 Emergency Measures, and Procedural Rationality
(Guest Post by Vassilis P Tzevelekos, ECHR Blog)
In photos: Malaysianscelebrate Eid Al Fitr in lockdown
(Alexandra Radu, Religion Unplugged)
Kashmir gun battle leaves hundreds homeless during Eid and COVID-19 pandemic
(Masrat Zahra, Religion Unplugged)
Implications of COVID-19 on ethno-religious tensions in Sri Lanka
(Thamesha Tennakoon, Berkley Forum, Georgetown University)
New York Times asks what 'hardcore' New Yorkers miss during pandemic (hint: no steeples)
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
EVENT RECORDING (from May 21): The COVID-19 Crisis: Faith Engagement Between Peace and Conflict in Asia
(Katherine Marshall - Religious Responses to COVID-19, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Class of COVID-19: 3 commencement addresses that highlighted faith
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Be fearlessly authentic: “Open and honest discussion of core beliefs helps maintain a flourishing culture.”
(Kent Johnson, Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Church sues challenging Nevada's covid-19 limits on in-person services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Nevada governor: People can gather in restaurants, stores, salons, but not in churches
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
US warns Nevada governor about in-person worship limits
(Elana Schor, Associated Press)
Serbia criticizes Montenegro for keeping border ban on Serbs
(Predrag Milic, Associated Press)
WEBINAR, 26 May 2020 ( 2pm EDT): Democracy’s defenders — American diplomacy in the age of COVID-19
(Norman Eisen, Jeff Gedmin, Alina Polyakova, Brookings)
Justice Department raises concerns over Nevada restrictions on religious services
(Melissa Quinn, CBS News)
Why governments should not be deeming in-person worship essential
(Mark Silk, RNS Column: Spiritual Politics)
Do not play communal politics during lockdown: Congress MLA slams Karnataka govt for reopening only temples
(Nagarjun Dwarakanath, India Today)
KZN religious leaders call for relief aid or allowing churches to open
(Sakhiseni Nxumalo and Lyse Commins, IOL News)
South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading the call for a National Day of Prayer, which will take place on Sunday.
(The Citizen)
Reflections on the current COVID-19 crisis from CEC Thematic Group on Education, Democracy and Diversity
(Council of Europe)
Egypt makes major archaeological discovery amid coronavirus crisis
(Rasha Mahmoud, Al-Monitor: Egypt Pulse)
Bethlehem, Jerusalem churches reopen to limited number of worshipers
(Al-Monitor: Israel Pulse)
Cardinal Cupich: How Vatican II can help us navigate the politics of a pandemic
(Blase J. Cupich, America Magazine)
Monday, 25 May 2020
5th Circuit enjoins enforcement of city's COVID-19 order against church pending appeal
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
9th Circuit: Church loses challenge to California COVID-19 order
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal court backs California Gov. Gavin Newsom's orders keeping churches closed
(Bill Hutchinson, ABC News)
8 Christians arrested in India while preparing relief packages for the poor
(Samuel Smith, The Christian Post)
Slowly, surely, US houses of worship emerge from lockdown
(Gary Fields and Sally Stap, Associated Press)
Next big pandemic news story: Missionaries brace for coronavirus in the Third World
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Churches prepare to reopen during pandemic, but more than 100 COVID-19 cases reported after German service
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Requiring face masks to fight COVID-19 while upholding niqab bans shows irony lost on leaders ǀ View
(Marco Perolini, Euronews)
Saturday, 23 May 2020
Pandemic intrigue in Geneva: COVID-19 and the 73rd World Health Assembly
(Pedro A. Villarreal, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
COVID-19 response from WHO
(Seventy-third World Health Assembly, United Nations World Health Organization)
A world without human rights?
(Silvio Ferrari, Reset: Dialogues on Civilizations)
Faith, women, and human rights: A global dialogue on COVID-19
(Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #67: Migrants and Refugees Face New Threats and Challenges During COVID-19 Emergency
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #66: Religious Art, Plagues, and COVID-19
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
DAILY HIGHLIGHT #65: Faith, Women, and Human Rights: A Global Dialogue
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
The Sunday best... and worst of reopening
(Tony Perkins, Family Research Council)
Reruns of religious dramas comfort Indians in dire times
(Vineeta, Associated Press)
English diocese keeps Lourdes appointment: Virtual pilgrimage attracts hundreds
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
France allowing religious services to resume
(Associated Press, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
No violation of fundamental rights in keeping religious places closed: Punjab, Haryana HC
(Surender Sharma, Hindustan Times)
Diocese of Oxford: New technical advice papers
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Friday, 22 May 2020
Vatican urges health as a 'primary common good' at World Health Assembly
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Maryland stay-at-home orders upheld over Free Exercise and other challenges
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
CDC withholds guidance on reopening of churches
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Local Wisconsin covid-19 orders challenged on 1st Amendment grounds
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal lawsuit challenges local “Safer at Home” orders
(Jeramey Jannene, Urban Milwaukee)
Pastor sues over Delaware covid-19 restrictions on church services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Pastor sues Gov. Carney in attempt to more fully open places of worship across Delaware
(Esteban Parra, Delaware News Journal)
Federal Court: “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
(Evan Seeman, RLUIPA-Defense)
In reversal, White House tells CDC to post church guidance
(Zeke Miller and Mike Stobbe, Associated Press)
Sikh kitchens feed New Delhi’s masses in virus lockdown
(Emily Schmall, Associated Press)
Congress may protect businesses from coronavirus lawsuits. Should it grant immunity to most churches, too?
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News Faith)
Dutch parishes holding on financially for now, but are still suffering
(Katholiek Nieuwsblad, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
The First Amendment Faithful: Minnesota’s Governor courts a legal defeat over his church lockdown.
(Editoral Board, The Wall Street Journal - Opinion)
Russian church in Moldova clashes with civil government over pandemic
(Interfax-Religiia, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
The loneliest Ramadan
(Julie Zauzmer, The Washington Post)
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