Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 26 September 2025
Border disputes: Religious adjudication along the private-public nexus
(Ori Aronson, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Congress takes encouraging, bipartisan steps on international religious freedom
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Sydney Anglicans defend ‘freedom to pray’
(The Melbourne Anglican)
European pre-conference prepares for World Conference on Faith and Order
(Conference of European Churches)
'We have arrived': Mammoth deity statues announce Hindus' rising status in the West
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Critics say Hong Kong Cardinal is whitewashing China’s religious persecution
(Edward Pentin, National Catholic Register)
China's persecution of religious leaders
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Halal concerns drive vaccine hesitancy as Indonesia fights measles outbreak
(Edna Tarigan and Dita Alangkara, Associated Press)
The paradox of pluralism: How college shapes students’ views of other religions
(Ilana Horwitz and Jenny Small, The Conversation)
Holy war: How Russia recruited Orthodox priests to sway Moldova’s voters
(Reuters)
Church leaders bring Christ-centered leadership to public service
(Kenzie James, Religion Unplugged)
Improving criminal justice outcomes against corporations using forced labor
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
300th day without an EU Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief!
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)
How to tune into freedom of religion or belief during party conference season – and have your say
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
New bill would punish Nigeria for religious freedom violations
(Diana Chandler, Religion Unplugged)
Seeking growth, Buddhist Bhutan experiments with ‘mindful capitalism’
(Sushmita Pathak, Christian Science Monitor)
Faith leaders unite in Nairobi to end FGM and child marriage across Eastern and Southern Africa
(UNICEF)
Ahead of the Trend Newsletter - 25 September
(The Association of Religion Data Archives)
Canceling church's Sunday lease on school gym violated 1st Amendment
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Addressing religious intolerance: the challenges, opportunities and needs of religious or belief communities
(Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe)
Standing up for everyone, standing by the vulnerable: An interview with Brett Scharffs and Elizabeth Clark
(Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Christians in Bangladesh fear rise of Islamist groups
(Stephen Uttom Rozario, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
EVENT, 24 September 2025: Religious Freedom and Human Dignity: How Multi-faith Partnerships Strengthen Communities (Cleveland, TN, USA)
(Religious Freedom Alliance Council)
EVENT, 24 September 2025: Successful Charitable Outreach in the Face of Natural and Social Disaster (Dallas, TX, USA)
(Dallas Museum of Art, World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth)
Analysis: Trump Administration intensifies religious liberty agenda with a Christian focus
(Richard Ostling, Religion Unplugged)
Survey reveals Americans' contradictory beliefs about God and church
(Aaron Earls, Religion Unplugged)
Religious people are happier than non-religious people
(Ryan Burge, Graphs about Religion)
West Virginia: Judge says he can't 'change the law' by making religious freedoms affect vaccine law
(Brad McElhinny, Panhandle News Network)
Appeals court strikes down Louisiana’s problematic Ten Commandments law
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
New issue brief: rooting out unconstitutional restrictions against religion in education
(City Journal, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research)
14 more Texas districts sued over Ten Commandments
(Jeff Brumley, Baptist News)
From Georgia, Bishop Malkhaz Songulashvili calls for renewed commitment to justice, fairness, and truth
(Conference of European Churches)
Religious leaders condemn wars in Gaza and Ukraine and stress interfaith dialogue in Astana congress
(Galiya Khassenkhanova, Euro News)
Faith in Action Community: Turning Shared Values into Collective Impact (World Economic Forum)
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
Christianophobia and anti-Christian hatred in Europe
(FSSPX)
Opinion: Religious freedom for psychedelic users? Not without Indigenous truth.
(Christine McCleave, Religion News Service)
Thessaloniki’s Armenian minority and Jewish past are bound by a shared history of genocide
(Larry Luxner, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Pope Leo XIV strikes a diplomatic — and distinctively American — path for the Papacy
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
Top Indian court mulls if Christian marriage nullifies caste benefits
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
EU: Parliament deeply concerned about Russia’s interference through Orthodox clergy in EU neighbourhood
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Significance of the Strasbourg human rights case law beyond Europe – The impact of the ECHR jurisprudence on Asian Apex Courts
(Akiko Ejima, Strasbourg Observers)
Philippine churches demand accountability amid widespread corruption
(World Council of Churches)
CAIR-Arizona welcomes guilty plea for threats targeting mosque
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
Strengthening Europe’s mission: EU bishops to convene in Brussels
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Church leaders, groups urge Filipinos to join September 21 rallies
(Ronald O. Reyes, Sun Star)
HRC60: Oral statement during ID on High Commissioner's report on human rights in the DPRK
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
What Americans get wrong about the “hate speech” debate
(William C. Duncan, Sutherland Institute)
Monday, 22 September 2025
Mahmoud v. Taylor: Even when the current Supreme Court gets it right the supermajority’s bias is on display
(Frank S. Ravitch, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Justice Alito, in Rome, says religious liberty is under siege
(Motoko Rich and Abbie VanSickle, The New York Times)
Bishops welcome recognition of Palestinian state
(The Church of England)
‘Link faith with community’: UK cathedrals spark a public art renaissance
(Angela Youngman, Religion Unplugged)
What the Qur'an really says about Jews, Judaism and the Bible
(YouTube Video, Woolf Institute)
Presidential message on Rosh Hashanah
(The White House)
School's policy on disclosure of students' social transitioning violated due process, but not parents' free exercise rights
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Trump officials praise Charlie Kirk’s faith and his mark on the conservative movement
(Jonathan J. Cooper, Eugene Garcia, Aamer Madhani and Meg Kinnard, Associated Press)
DOJ drops forced labor case against largest Hindu temple in America
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Lima mayor ousted from front-row seat at papal audience
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
In Uman, annual Rosh Hashanah pilgrimage is clouded by arrests of yeshiva students in Israel
(Theia Chatelle, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
At Kirk service, an extraordinary fusion of government and Christianity
(Elizabeth Dias, The New York Times)
Algeria’s tense dance between heritage and religious freedom
(Joseph Hammond, Religion Unplugged)
Belarusian hierarch of Moscow Patriarchate claims 'global elite' aims to destroy Ukrainian Orthodox Church
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Trump administration urges Supreme Court to prevent transgender people from choosing sex markers on passports
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)
French Muslims on alert after severed pig heads found at nine mosques
(Phineas Rueckert, Al Jazeera)
France formally recognises Palestinian state
(Fiona Nimoni, BBC)
French ex-mayor sentenced for anti-Muslim incitement in Réunion
(ABNA)
Lithuania loses another Jehovah’s Witness case of conscientious objection in Strasbourg
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)
Freedom of communal prayer in the primary sources of Islamic law and under the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan
(Lutforahman Saeed, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Churches in Europe reflect on Christian citizenship in times of change
(Conference of European Churches)
Nicaraguan bishop denounces ‘real problem’ of region’s dictatorships and cartels
(Walter Sánchez Silva, Catholic News Agency)
The Jewish-Muslim Fraternity Project
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Al-Aqsa preacher Skeikh Sarandah barred by Israel police from entering mosque after his brief arrest
(Middle East Monitor)
UN chief sounds alarm over worsening crisis in Sudan’s El Fasher
(United Nations)
Thailand urged to drop charges against conscientious objector
(Alex Kwok, Jurist)
Religiocide in Korea: The attempted assassination of a faith
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Leadership crisis roils St. Catherine’s Monastery amid Egyptian court dispute
(Paul Marshall, Religious Freedom Institute)
Becket to Supreme Court: Redefining sex threatens religious freedom
(Becket)
More Texas school districts sued over display of Ten Commandments in classrooms
(Bianca Seward, Houston Public Media)
Quebec’s war on religion
(Linda Besner, Maclean's)
Uzbekistan’s administrative penalties for peaceful religious activity
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Stop abusing religion for personal gain, Indonesian minister says
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Articles of interest - 22 September 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
What is hate speech, and is it protected by the Constitution?
(Sutherland Institute)
Friday, 19 September 2025
A missed chance to defend core freedoms: ECHR rejects worship ban case
(Ján Figeľ, The European Conservative)
Pakistan country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Organization ordaining ministers online loses challenge to Tennessee officials
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Orthodox patriarch defends recognition of an independent Ukrainian church
(Peter Smith, Associated Press)
Why faiths must lead on climate
(Jennie Rosenn, Fletcher Harper, Saffet Catovic, Religion News Service)
For the first time, a law school has a space just for Hindus
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Student debt rule change is a stealth attack on First Amendment
(Jim Wallis, Religion News Service)
China tightens digital grip on clergy with sweeping new rules
(Clemente Lisi, Religion Unplugged)
For many US Jews, High Holy Days will be a mix of anxiety and determination
(David Crary, Associated Press)
Manila archbishop appeals for peace as Church backs anti-corruption protests
(Joseph San Mateo, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
New initiative against antisemitism in Germany launches
(Bernd Riegert, Deutsche Welle)
‘Jews are banned from entering here!’ sign in German shop window spurs international backlash
(Toby Axelrod, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Ukraine should adopt a state-church partnership model
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Azerbaijan: State restricts who can worship and where
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
The problem of “religion”
(Richard Garnett, SCOTUSblog)
Assisted dying – House of Lords
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Canada introduces legislation to combat hate crimes, intimidation, and obstruction
(Government of Canada)
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