Law and Religion Headlines

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Wednesday, 5 November 2025

Indonesia and the war of ideas against radical Islamism
(John Lenczowski, Providence)

Sanctuary as insular constitutionalism
(Bryan Ellrod, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

Christians work to feed the hungry amid ongoing government shutdown
(Cheryl Mann Bacon, Religion Unplugged)

Pakistan welcomes Indian Sikh pilgrims in first crossing since May conflict
(Al Jazeera)

Figeľ v. Slovakia: Freedom of religion in defense against the formalistic doctrine of victim status
(Ľalík Tomáš, Strasbourg Observers)

Al Qaeda affiliate JNIM seizes power in Mali — what does this mean for Africa?
(Andrew West, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Bulgarian Patriarch gives recommendations on teaching "Religion" in schools
(Union of Orthodox Journalists)

“Faith for Libraries” campaign will combat book censorship, defend religious freedom
(Interfaith Alliance)

Professor Robert Thurman pays tribute to His Holiness the Dalai Lama at a special Ghoton event in the UK Parliament
(Central Tibetan Administration)

Monday, 3 November 2025

Naming of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern is an important step to advance religious freedom
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

From dependence to dignity: How Islamic microfinance is revolutionising disaster preparedness in Bangladesh
(Islamic Relief Worldwide)

What to know as Nigeria rejects US military threat over alleged Christian killings
(Chinedu Asadu, Associated Press)

American Arab group sues over California’s new antisemitism law
(Janie Har, Associated Press)

Articles of interest - 3 November 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

9th Circuit: Oregon right to life group is a religious organization
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

9 dead, dozens injured in crowd surge at Hindu temple in southern India
(Rajesh Roy, Associated Press)

Muslim voters didn't cost Dems the 2024 election, a new poll says. But they may have found their voice
(Ulaa Kuziez, Religion News Service)

Church keeps working for the end of conflicts in Colombia
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Bolivia: Catholic leaders hopeful of improved relations with country’s president-elect
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Vance says he hopes his wife embraces Christianity, setting off backlash
(Amy Qin, The New York Times)

How Zohran Mamdani's campaign will change perceptions of Muslims
(Dilshad Ali, Religion News Service)

Zelensky signs decrees imposing sanctions against media outlets affiliated with UOC MP
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Belarus: KGB tried to use jailed priest to entrap nuncio?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

The Bishop’s vote in the Legislative Council of Tynwald
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)

How the recent presidential election reflects a shift from Ireland’s Catholic founding fathers
(Patrick J. Passmore, Catholic World Report)

At Cuba’s notorious garbage dump, locals find grace
(Jonathan Bühne, Religion Unplugged)

CAIR-Arizona welcomes sentencing of man who threatened mosque
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)

Challenges to religious freedom in South Africa: Three tests for a constitutional democracy
(Micheal Swain, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

Hardline Sri Lankan monk seeks protection from extremist threat
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Religions join to tackle rising suicides among South Korea’s elderly
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Sant’ Egidio “Daring Peace” meeting in Rome draws diverse faiths and cultures
(World Council of Churches)

30 Years of the Policoro Project at the European Parliament: countering youth unemployment through the contribution of the Church
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))

We await Italy’s recognition of Palestine: Al-Azhar grand imam to Italian president
(Ahram Online)

MPs urge minister to adopt definition of Islamophobia amid rise in hate crime
(Geneva Abdul, The Guardian)

Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest October 16-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Wisconsin DOJ suggests eliminating religious tax exemptions
(Anya van Wagtendonk, Wausau Pilot & Review)

Quebec tightens secularism laws; bans face coverings and religious symbols for all educational staff
(Joel Ceausu, Canadian Jewish News)

RPL lecture examines compassion in societal structures
(Religion and Public Life, Harvard Divinity School)

Promoting freedom of religion or belief: OSCE mission signs MoU with theological faculties
(Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)

Turkey, Muslim allies demand Palestinian self-rule in Gaza following Istanbul summit
(Times of Israel)

The West: Double standards and the resurgence of anti-Semitism (Spanish)
(Dr. Fishel Szlajen)

Saturday, 1 November 2025

CALL FOR PAPERS, abstracts due 1 November 2025: 6th Annual Symposium on Jurisprudence and Theology
(Australian National University)

CALL FOR PAPERS, abstracts due 1 November 2025: Faith, Values, and the Rule of Law
(Seton Hall Law School)

Friday, 31 October 2025

Religious freedom and exclusion in religious legal systems: Cases of Bahá’ís in Iran and Ahmadis in Pakistan
(Akif Tahiiev, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

VIRTUAL EVENT, 31 October 2025: Religious Freedom and Human Rights
(Cristian Badillo Gutiérrez, J. Reuben Clark Law Society)

Virtue economics
(Nathan Smith, Law & Liberty)

How the Russian Orthodox Church became a weapon of political warfare
(Kateryna Odarchenko, Foreign Policy Research Institute)

Arizona's church-state line is getting fuzzier. How politicians, activists blur the lines
(Taylor Seely, Arizona Republic)

Cambodia hosts Buddhist summit to strengthen religious ties
(Torn Vibol, Khmer Times)

King and Queen visit Neasden Temple on its 30th birthday
(BBC News)

Hundreds of Muslims protest church construction in Indonesia
(Christian Daily)

Berkeley County families challenge West Virginia vaccine law under new religious freedom act
(Tom Markland, The Journal)

Colorado teen wins legal battle to repaint school parking space with Christian design
(Kristine Parks, New York Post)

Pope at Audience: “the Church does not tolerate anti-Semitism"
(Isabella H. de Carvalho, Vatican News)

Work, pray, litigate? Trump pushes for more religious freedom in the workplace
(Jessica Guynn, USA Today)

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews protest military draft in Jerusalem
(Moshe Edri and Melanie Lidman, Associated Press)

Freedom of religion or belief in the Sahelian countries of Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Chad
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

When our sanctuaries are under fire
(Elan Babchuk, Simran Jeet Singh, Angela Redding, Deseret News)

Pope condemns antisemitism and vows to fight it as tensions rise over Israel’s war in Gaza
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)

GOP lawmakers urge Trump administration to back Falun Gong lawsuit against Cisco
(Dake Kang and Byron Tau, Associated Press)

Battle over congregations' disaffiliations dismissed on ecclesiastical abstention grounds
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Volume 6, 2025
(PDF download, Australian Journal of Law and Religion)

Law and Religion in the Far East: Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines in an Intercultural Perspective (Italian)
(Simone Baldetti, Giappichelli)

Faith leaders join Democrats to decry health care cuts, expiring SNAP benefits
(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)

After deadliest police killings in Brazil, Church leaders affirm sacredness of human life
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

"The Church keeps its voice to cry out": Catholics in Haiti amidst gang violence (French)
(Timothée David, La Croix International)

Amid youth resurgence, England’s Catholic Church marks milestone
(Angela Youngman, Religion Unplugged)

Attendance at Church of England churches rises for the fourth year in a row
(The Church of England)

Closing comments at IF20 South Africa
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

Criminal boundaries of being and Turkey’s future in Europe: Penalization of gender and “immoral” sexuality under Turkey’s 11th Judicial “Reform” Draft
(Bedirhan Erdem, EJIL:Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Reinforce, reform or rupture? The future of the European Convention on Human Rights
(Alice Donald, EJIL:Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Rethinking human rights treaty withdrawals: A process-based approach
(Başak Çali, EJIL:Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)

Brazilian church delegation visits Brussels to highlight the situation of indigenous communities in South America
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))

China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest October 15-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Vietnam’s government restructuring: Streamlining or strongarming?
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Wisconsin vs. Catholic Charities, Round II
(Becket)

Finland’s “Bible Tweet” case reaches Supreme Court in landmark free speech battle
(ADF International)

Jewish federations set up Hurricane Melissa relief fund
(Jewish Federations of North America
)

Islamic Relief launches appeal after Jamaica hurricane
(Islamic Relief Worldwide)

Faith-based disaster relief groups mobilize to respond to Hurricane Melissa
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

Thursday, 30 October 2025

EVENT, 30 October 2025 (5:30PM): 3rd Annual Las Vegas Summit on Religious Freedom and Human Dignity (Las Vegas, NV, USA)(Religious Freedom Alliance Council)
(UNLV, Las Vegas Alliance for Religious Freedom and Human Dignity)

EVENT, 30 October 2025: Alabama Religious Freedom Summit (Huntsville, AL, USA)
(Religious Freedom Alliance Council)

Wednesday, 29 October 2025

Moving toward anti-separation of religion and state: Frank Ravitch on the current U.S. Supreme Court
(Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

From trauma to transformation: How one man’s journey through dialogue sparked faith, healing and love
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)

Tree of Life rabbi and Mother Emanuel pastor: 7 years of a friendship forged in tragedy
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)

Sermons urge youth to take part in public affairs in Morocco after wave of protests
(Akram Oubachir, Associated Press)

The state of religious freedom worldwide: An inside look at the axis of upheaval’s religious persecution and how the U.S. can counteract it
(Knox Thames)

North Korea’s violations of religious freedom have surged since pandemic: Report
(Jooheon Kim, NK News)

Pope reaffirms dialogue with Jews as he marks 60th anniversary of a key document
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)

Religious exemption is on the line for Catholic Charities — and other religious groups — in Wisconsin
(Mariya Manzhos, Deseret News)

NY man who attacked Jews at 3 pro-Palestinian rallies sentenced to 17 months in prison
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Catholic statues thrust a Massachusetts city into a national religious liberty debate
(BrieAnna J. Frank and Peter Blandino, USA Today)

Alford, Budd demand full force American sanctions in response to CCP crackdown on religious freedom in China
(Mark Alford, U.S. House of Representatives)

China courts Taiwanese worshippers in religious charm offensive, study shows
(Yimou Lee, Reuters)

ADRA Europe conference focuses on inclusion for Roma and the homeless
(Adventist Review)

Congresswoman Tenney introduces resolution affirming Israel’s sovereignty over the Temple Mount and supporting religious freedom for all
(Claudia Tenney, U.S. House of Representatives)

Al-Sisi reaffirms Egypt’s commitment to religious freedom in meeting with World Council of Churches
(Daily News Egypt)

Texas judges who don’t perform gay weddings for faith reasons won’t face sanctions, high court says
(Toluwani Osibamowo, KERA News)

First Lady seeks unity between religious bodies, government
(Stanley Helon, Radio Nigeria)

Federal court asked to protect compassionate counseling for kids struggling with their biological sex
(Becket)

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