Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 22 March 2021
Pakistan's minorities demand anti-forced conversion law
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Life in U.S. religious congregations slowly edges back toward normal
(Pew Research Center: Religion & Public Life)
New COVID-19 legislation and guidance to 27 March
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Law and religion round-up – 21st March
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
US bishops denounce violence against Asian Americans
(Lucy Grindon, Union of Catholic Asian News)
COVID-19: MHCLG update on singing and weddings
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Pakistan foils bid to attack French embassy over blasphemy
(Zahid Hussain, Union of Catholic Asian News)
The unheard Ahmadis of Pakistan
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Poll: 4 in 10 US Christians plan to attend in-person Easter services
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
End-of-pandemic hopes rise, just in time for pagan holiday Ostara
(Antonio Pagliarulo, Religion News Service)
Tanzania’s first female president takes office, breaking new ground for women in hijab
(Joseph Hammond, Religion News Service)
Utah finds itself at the center of a new legal battle over Israel marriage rights
(Lauren Bennett, KSL)
Pope decries shame of racism, like ‘virus’ lurking in wait
(Associated Press)
US Air Force pulls firing range near a Scottish Buddhist monastery
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
Don’t get fooled again by religious-freedom restrictions
(Lathan Watts, Real Clear Religion)
Meet Bushra Amiwala: The US’ youngest elected Muslim officeholder
(Joseph Hammond, Religion News Service)
Spanish authorities should amend the Criminal Code to strengthen existing safeguards of the right to freedom of expression
(Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe)
Novgorod church returned to Catholics amid new limits to religious freedom
(Asia News)
With Beth Moore’s exit, more evangelical women are challenging strict gender norms
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
Pakistani convert seeks protections at Europe’s top court
(ADF International)
Muslims in fear over Sri Lanka's proposed burqa ban
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
State court rules Christian college professors are not ministers
(Joe Carter, The Gospel Coalition)
Accused Atlanta gunman’s church expels him, as local Korean church leaders mourn, call for action
(Jonathan Krohn, Drew Harwell, and Michelle Ye Hee Lee, The Washington Post)
WEBINAR, 22 March 2021 (12:30PM EDT): Lunch Series on Religion and Nationalism: Syria
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Saturday, 20 March 2021
VIRTUAL CONFERENCE, 20 March 2021 (10AM GMT): The Solemnization of Matrimony: past, present and future
(Rebecca Probert, Nick Hopkins, Russell Sandberg, Sandra Miller, Ecclesiastical Law Society)
Friday, 19 March 2021
Statement on hate crimes against Asian Americans and the Atlanta shooting
(Parliament of the World's Religions)
Atlanta faith leaders grieved over mass shooting at Asian-owned spas
(Hamil R. Harris, Religion Unplugged)
Religion, race, and the Atlanta murders
(Ed Stetzer, The Exchange)
Who gets to decide what is racism, hate? Atlanta shootings renew debate over white violence, privilege
(Marc Ramirez, USA Today)
Christian leaders wrestle with Atlanta shooting suspect’s Southern Baptist ties
(Sarah Pulliam Bailey and Teo Armus, The Washington Post)
Race, religion draw focus after killings of eight, including six Asian women
(Bobby Ross Jr., Religion Unplugged)
Church Reporter, Vol. 6, 9 March 2021 - Newsletter for the English speaking members and friends of the Church Law Society
(Jiří Rajmund Tretera and Záboj Horák, eds., Church Law Society Prague – Brno – Olomouc – Stříbro)
Photos of the week: Orthodox Lent, Kashmiri Muslims
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)
Nine-in-ten Black ‘nones’ believe in God, but fewer pray or attend services
(Kiana Cox, Pew Research Center Fact Tank)
Episcopalians rally support for LGBTQ community after Vatican refuses same-sex blessings
(David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)
Jesuits pledge $100 million for descendants of enslaved people the Catholic order once owned
(Marisa Iati, The Washington Post)
Religious leaders launch peace initiative in Isiolo amid simmering tension
(Sylvia Ombuya and Bruno Mutunga, Kenya's Watching)
Fauci and Collins join interfaith leaders at cathedral vaccine ‘confidence event’
(Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)
UN leaders speak out against Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred
(Dunya News)
Yellen says poor nations need COVID-19 aid
(Jordan Williams, The Hill)
How to throw a party in a pandemic: Pastoral reflections on sharing good news in difficult times
(Vince Amlin, Sightings: The Martin Marty Center, University of Chicago Divinity School)
North Korea and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region: Grim parallels in two of the most repressive parts of the world
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
4 highlights from Senate hearing on liberals' equality act
(Virginia Allen, The Daily Signal)
Ugandan NGOs, many faith-based, at risk of closing after government suspends EU funds
(John Semakula, Religion Unplugged)
How sacred sites act as living archives in a Ugandan community
(Dominic D.B. Makwa, The Conversation)
Researchers have grown ‘human embryos’ from skin cells. What does that mean, and is it ethical?
(Megan Munsie and Helen Abud, The Conversation)
Same-sex spouse fights government denial of death benefits in test for Biden administration
(Ann E. Marimow, The Washington Post)
USCIRF releases country update on Azerbaijan
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
White House looks to religion to build faith in vaccines
(William Goldschlag, Newsday)
Immigration law change proposals would allow Japan to eject refugee status applicants
(The Mainichi)
First Amendment tablet finds new home in Philadelphia
(Gene Policinski, Religious Freedom Center, Freedom Forum Institute)
Church's appeal of bank's interpleader is dismissed
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Injunction governing competing factions' access to church building upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Reasonable steps to preventing workplace harassment
(Frank Jarvis, Equality and Human Rights Commission)
SCOTUS: Americans can hold government accountable for violating religious freedom
(Kristen Waggoner, Real Clear Religion)
Alberta pastor jailed for holding services during COVID, expected to be released in days, lawyers say
(Tyler Dawson, National Post)
Nergal: the extreme metal musician fighting Poland's blasphemy laws
(Michael Hann, The Guardian)
Federal Court upholds California’s COVID-related restrictions on singing, chanting in religious worship
(Don Byrd, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
The four “sons” of Myanmar united in anti-military nationalism (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(By: Chosein Yamahata, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Buddhist morality in Myanmar: Religious nationalism and solidarity after the coup (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(Mon Mon Myat, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
A coup can’t destroy an ideology: The future of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(Andrea Malji, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Myanmar Buddhism under perpetual siege: Reactions to the coup on Facebook (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(Esther Tenberg, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Myanmar’s coup has led many to rethink their previous exclusion of the Rohingya (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(Ronan Lee, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Symbols in the street: Community self-defense in Burma (Responding to: Buddhism, ethnicity, and nationalism in the Myanmar coup)
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Pakistan: A rising women’s movement confronts a new backlash: To build justice and peace in a nation vital to security, feminism needs a religious message.
(Aleena Khan, United States Institute of Peace)
Hundreds of Christian families face eviction from their homes in Pakistan
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Catholic bishops meet with U.S. Treasury head to discuss COVID economic crisis
(John Lavenburg, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Christianity’s role in thwarting conspiracies — and why it isn’t working now
(Kennedy Lee, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Memorial to Holocaust victims unveiled at Israeli embassy in Moscow
(Interfax-Religion)
Local news? Tricycle's Western Buddhism essay shows how religions adapt to new environs
(Ira Rifkin, GetReligion)
Registration of marriages – latest GRO advice for authorised persons
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Registration of marriages – GRO advice for clergy
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Series of online events held by students to promote coexistence
(Jewish News)
Religion retains hold on Australian politics in 'soft theocracy'
(Max Wallace, Independent Australia)
New laws strengthen protections around freedom of speech in Australian universities
(Rebecca Zhu, The Epoch Times)
9th Circuit: Football coach's post-game prayers violate Establishment Clause
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
High school football coach who prayed after games loses appeal -U.S. appeals court
(Jonathan Stempel, Reuters)
Opinion: After Atlanta-area shooting, Christians must rethink purity culture that puts the blame on women
(Katelyn Beaty, The Washington Post Opinion)
Racism is behind anti-Asian American violence, even when it’s not a hate crime
(Pawan Dhingra, The Conversation)
Fairfax County parents and interfaith communities demand school closures for major religious holidays
(Ayesha Khan, Fox5)
Workshop on ‘interfaith harmony’: ‘No concept of religious minorities in democratic dispensation'
(Imdad Soomro, The News International)
For nature's sake: A moral compass for the SDGs
(Arthur Lyon Dahl, Viewpoints: A blog of the G20 Interfaith Forum)
A New Yorker documentary in virtual reality: Reeducated inside Xinjiang’s secret detention camps.
(Sam Wolson, The New Yorker)
China scrubs evidence of Xinjiang clampdown amid ‘genocide’ debate
(Eva Dou and Lily Kuo, The Washington Post)
China accuses outspoken scholar on Xinjiang of fabrication
(Sam McNeil, Associated Press)
US Congress re-introduces bipartisan bill to stop organ harvesting in China
(Marco Respinti, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
Global religious leaders and Director General of WHO stress urgency in vaccine equity in high-level dialogue
(Religions for Peace)
Address of His Holiness Sri Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji at the High Level Dialogue on Multi-Religious Response to Covid-19
(His Holiness Sri Sri Sugunendra Theertha Swamiji, Religions for Peace)
Myanmar coup: The international shockwaves have just begun: The military’s power grab is fueling refugee flows, border conflict, transnational crime and threats to investment.
(Jason Tower, United States Institute of Peace)
Faith leaders get COVID-19 shots to show trust in vaccines at White House event
(Hamil R. Harris, Religion Unplugged)
Senate hearing on Equality Act shows division among faith groups
(Meagan Clark, Religion Unplugged)
Court rejects claims of discrimination against Yemeni family members of US citizens
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
New York's repeal of religious exemption from vaccination requirement is upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
8th Circuit: street preacher did not show entitlement to preliminary injunction
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Turkmenistan: 8 conscientious objectors jailed in 2021, UN special procedures ignored
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Russia intensifies persecution for reading the Bible in occupied Crimea
(Halya Coynash, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group)
Russia: Special bimonthly newsletter on freedom of religion or belief (01-15.03.2021)
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Belgium: The Ghent Jehovah’s Witnesses decision: dangers for religious liberty
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Muslims, students protest Indian PM’s visit to Bangladesh
(Julhas Alam, Associated Press)
Indonesian Muslim body clears AstraZeneca use in emergency
(Niniek Karmini, Associated Press)
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