Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 5 January 2022
75 years of separation: New programs will mark AU’s milestone anniversary
(Rachel Laser, Americans United for Separation of Church and State)
Religion during the Russian Ukrainian conflict
(Journal of Contemporary Religion)
Iran: Nine Iranian Christians released from jail
(Ben Zion Gad, The Jerusalem Post)
BSA bankruptcy plan misses mark in vote by abuse claimants
(Randall Chase, Associated Press)
Hate crime investigation sought into Iowa mosque vandalism
(Associated Press)
Saudi Arabia: Top conservative Saudi cleric who once headed judiciary dies
(Aya Batrawy and Abdullah Al-Shihri, Associated Press)
Spain: A surge of evangelicals in Spain, fueled by Latin Americans
(Alberto Arce, Associated Press)
Israel: "Christians are a gift for Israel," says country's president
(Félicien Rondel, La Croix International)
Israel: Future of prayer site in doubt under Israel’s fragile govt
(Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press)
Maneuvering continues in challenge to Texas heartbeat abortion law
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
11th Circuit: Punitive damages for non-physical injuries are available to inmate under RLUIPA
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Public school districts challenge expansion of Ohio's voucher program
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
100 public schools are suing Ohio, saying EdChoice voucher programs are unconstitutional
(Anna Staver, The Columbus Dispatch)
2021: The year in religious liberty
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
Rabbi wounded in synagogue shooting sentenced for fraud
(Associated Press)
Iraqi Catholic leader warns against extremists exploiting religion
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Chile: Proposals protecting religious freedom presented to Chile’s constitutional assembly
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Interfaith Worker Justice closes, to give resources to Georgetown arm
(Mark Pattison, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
In Germany and Austria, a movement of grandmothers is taking on the far right
(Joe Baur, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Singapore: A new museum tells the story of Singapore’s Jews, starting with their Baghdad roots
(Jordyn Haime, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Canada: Quebec's secularism law is discriminatory: Antisemitism envoy Irwin Cotler
(Marie Woolf, National Observer)
Canada: Quebec shutters houses of worship in response to Omicron variant
(David Lazarus, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Canada summer jobs 2022
(Canadian Centre for Christian Charities)
Churches target new members, with help from big data
(Khadeeja Safdar, The Wall Street Journal)
Kazakhstan: Legal changes increase obstacles for holding religious events
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Despite San Francisco Chronicle sermon, parents oppose teachers hiding LGBTQ evangelism
(Julia Duin, GetReligion)
West Africa highlighted as hotspot for persecution of Christians in 2022 by Release International
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
UK: Merry Christmas, from a Muslim
(Nasser Hussain, First Things)
UK: British rabbi ends his regular contributions to the BBC, saying no Jew ‘who has any pride’ can work there
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
UK: Board will go to Ofcom if BBC fails to apologise for antisemitic bus attack coverage
(Lee Harpin, Jewish News)
Christians have a role To play in defending U.S. democracy: An interview with the Rev. Adam Russell Taylor
(Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, Center for American Progress)
India: 'Dharam Sansad' for liberating temples from govt control
(Deccan Herald)
India: Church of Pakistan condemns Hindu extremist violence against Christians in India
(International Christian Concern)
Sri Lanka: International quiz competition on Buddhism and Buddhist heritage
(Shyamal Sinha, The European Times)
Mozambique: Religious representatives in Cabo Delgado warn of a humanitarian crisis
(Agenzia Fides)
Nepal: Volatile mix of politics and religion
(Nepali Times)
Guinea: Cardinal Sarah blasts Guinea's military junta
(Lucie Sarr, La Croix International)
Senegal: African clerics denounce scandalous refusal of burial
(Charles Senghor, La Croix International)
Turkey: Uighurs in Turkey file criminal case against Chinese officials
(Al Jazeera)
China: Xiamen Christian school raided and fined over $15,000
(Yu Bing, China Aid)
China: Xi Jinping’s sinicization, the new Cultural Revolution dear to Mao Zedong
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China: Human rights abuses will taint the Olympics and the World Cup. It’s time to end ‘sportswashing’ now.
(Minky Worden, Human Rights Watch)
Ukraine introduces large fines for indicating gender or religious beliefs in vacancies
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Thailand's Muslim insurgents mark new year with attacks
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Biden’s 11th Circuit judicial nominee is ‘radical activist,’ Family Research Council says
(Mark Kellner, The Washington Times)
Latin America: Interfaith action and the Venezuelan refugee crisis
(Elias Szczytnicki, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Finnish bishop and politician face trial for LGBT statements
(Ken Chitwood, Christianity Today)
Tuesday, 4 January 2022
Pew Research Center Study: Percentage of U.S. population that identifies as Christian continues to drop
(Anne Stych, MInistryWatch)
Monday, 3 January 2022
Russian court liquidates historical research and human rights group “Memorial”
(Forum for Religious Freedom-Europe)
Russian court shuts renowned rights group
(Dasha Litvinova, Associated Press)
Russia: Freedom of religion or belief : Special Bimonthly FORB Digest (16–30.12.2021)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
NASA used religious experts to predict how humans may react to aliens
(Brooke Migdon, The Hill)
Perspective: A firewall sprang up around religious liberty during the pandemic, and it held
(Robin Fretwell Wilson, Deseret News)
South Africa: ‘Moral compass’: Requiem for South Africa’s Archbishop Tutu
(Andrew Meldrum, Associated Press)
South Africa: Desmond Tutu will 'leave an indelible legacy'
(Africa South Area, Newsroom: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
2021 photos of the year
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)
Iran: Three Baha’i women began serving their prison sentence in December
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, activist and apartheid foe, is dead at 90
(Adelle M. Banks and B. Denise Hawkins, Episcopal News Service)
Last parent of a child killed in 1963 church bombing dies
(Associated Press)
Lebanese Christian leader: alliance with Hezbollah imperiled
(Sarah El Deeb, Associated Press)
Teen’s suit says coaches made him eat pizza despite religion
(Associated Press)
Comments renew debate over adoption as abortion alternative
(David Crary and John Hanna, Associated Press)
Turkish govt expands probe targeting Istanbul city staff
(Zeynep Bilginsoy, Associated Press)
Church dispute dismissed on ecclesiastical abstention grounds
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Articles of interest - 3 January 2022
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
‘Refusal to engage’: Gen Z sees gap in support of LGBTQ+ rights among faith groups
(Josh Packard and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Religion News Service)
At the end of a mixed political year: Love, hope and faith abide
(Diane Randall, Religion News Service)
Latin America: For Muslim migrants, religious prejudice compounds horrors of Latin American route
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Arab News)
In Lat Am, New Year opens with hopes for peace but realities of extortion
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Thousands join MAS-ICNA Convention at McCormick Place
(Syed Khalil Ullah, Daily Herald)
Italy: Southern Italian diocese temporarily bans naming of godparents
(Junno Arocho Esteves, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Germany: Churches in Germany need a change in outlook - opinion
(Christoph Strack, Deutsche Welle)
Belgium: Soccer fans filmed singing about killing Jews in Belgium
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Israel: Haredi leaders issue bold call to resist Israeli kashrut reform
(Aaron Rabinowitz, Haaretz)
Israeli chief rabbi threatens to freeze conversions amid proposed reforms
(Jordyn Haime, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Romanian Jews honor Chilean diplomat who saved over 1,200 during the Holocaust
(Marcel Gascón Barberá, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Portugal: Roman Abramovich’s use of Portuguese law for Sephardic Jews seeking citizenship draws scrutiny
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The light of female Islamic scholarship: Da’wah, difficulty, and determination
(Zainab bint Younus, Muslim Matters)
Religion news 2021: Which story was No. 1? Return of Taliban or Jan. 6 riot at U.S. Capitol?
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Old, nagging conflicts will continue to dominate religion news in the coming year
(Richard Ostling, GetReligion)
Australia: Coalition’s religious discrimination bill will erode rights of people with disability, advocates say
(Sarah Martin, The Guardian)
Australia: Clarifying “transgender hate speech”
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
Australia: Vicarious liability of Bishop for abuse committed by clergy
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
UK: COVID-19 legislation and guidance update, January (I)
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
UK: How East London’s oldest halal restaurant survived the pandemic
(Joseph Hammond, Religion News Service)
UK: Ecclesiastical court judgments – December
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Law and religion round-up – 2nd January
(Law & Religion UK)
Northern Ireland archbishop expresses ‘sadness and loss’ over partition anniversary
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
India: Bulli Bai: India app that put Muslim women up for sale is shut
(BBC News)
India: Action sought against India over atrocities against minorities
(Dawn)
AIMPLB’s ‘The Journal of Law & Religious Affairs’ released
(The Siasat Daily)
Kashmir: 12 dead in crowd surge at popular Hindu shrine in Kashmir
(Aijaz Hussain, Associated Press)
Canada: Quebec’s religious headgear ban is at odds with Canadian liberal norms. Why are politicians afraid to say so?
(J.J. McCullough, The Washington Post)
US-China showdown over religion may intensify
(Ben Joseph, Union of Catholic Asian News)
China: Megastatue of Buddha destroyed in Sichuan
(Lopsang Gurung, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
China: Special bimonthly FoRB newsletter (16-30.12.2021)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China: #BoycottBeijing 4 January, Brussels Program
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China opens embassy in Nicaragua for 1st time since 1990
(Associated Press)
China: Even Congress can agree that we need to stop Uyghur genocide. Why can’t Elon Musk?
(Omar Suleiman, RNS Column: Islam Beyond Phobia)
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