Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 18 December 2020
Why the Supreme Court ruled against a Christian school fighting Kentucky’s closure order
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News)
LGBT conversion therapy: Religious leaders call for ban to 'abhorrent' practice
(Elliot Douglas, Deutsche Welle)
After ‘arduous’ process and multiple setbacks, Yeshiva University students to again hold an LGBTQ event on campus
(Hannah Dreyfus, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Malaysian Christian will soon hear court decision on her religious freedom case
(International Christian Concern)
Maldives COVID burial plan ‘will marginalise Sri Lankan Muslims’
(Rathindra Kuruwita and Zaheena Rasheed, Al Jazeera)
Religious protections in the midst of a pandemic: Two key arguments
(Asma T. Uddin, Religious Freedom Center, Freedom Forum Institute)
Pervasive surveillance tactics have haunted Muslim Americans for years
(Rowaida Abdelaziz, Huffington Post)
Four facts that will change relations between Christians and Jews in the next decade
(A. James Rudin, Religion News Service Opinion)
Woman Jehovah's Witness spends 14 months in prison without trial
(Memorial Civil Rights Center, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
Court sentences for mere membership in Jehovah's Witnesses congregation
(Kavkazskii Uzel, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
Tajikistan stops treating incitement of religious hatred as criminal offence
(Interfax-Religion)
Russia: Raids, investigations, torture
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
How would Democrats, journalists and bishops view a centrist abortion stance by Biden?
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Ties that bind Joe Biden and Cardinal Gregory: How will Catholic issues shape the news?
(Clemente Lisi, GetReligion)
Durham Diocese – Granville Gibson Report
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Swiss government gives Vatican's Swiss Guard funding boost for barracks renovation
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Polish Holocaust survivor’s family wins lawsuit for land illegally sold to church by rescuer’s son
(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Tax changes for religious organizations and clergy in a Biden presidency?
(Allen Calhoun, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Montenegro alters contentious religion law, satisfies Serbian Church
(Samir Kajosevic, Balkan Insight)
Biden DHS nominee has ‘refreshing’ meeting with faith groups about immigration, refugees
(Jack Jenkins, Emily McFarlan Miller, Religion News Service)
US Bishop Chairmen commend Trump Administration for enforcing conscience laws on abortion
(Zenit: The World Seen from Rome)
Supporters of hardliner Rizieq Shihab clash with Indonesia police
(Al Jazeera)
Gender equality: Families as basis for change (New Delhi)
(Bahá’í World News Service)
European government ministers and parliamentarians condemn denial of higher education to Baha’is in Iran
(Bahá’í International Community)
International support for Iran’s Baha’is highlights growing rights violations
(Bahá’í International Community)
Reflections on the 2020 G20 Interfaith Forum in Saudi Arabia at the Time of Handover
(W. Cole Durham, Jr., G20 Interfaith Forum)
Elevating Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to Ambassador-at-large demonstrates America’s commitment to fighting this enduring evil
(Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice)
Ontario abandons changes to the Marriage Act
(Deina Warren, Canadian Centre for Christian Charities)
'Love jihad': What a reported miscarriage says about India's anti-conversion law
(Geeta Pandey, BBC News)
Why India is evicting Muslims from forests in Kashmir and axing thousands of trees
(Zaffar Iqbal, Religion Unplugged)
India-Muslims marrying Hindu girls: Beaten by their own lawyers
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
India's minorities 'face increasing intolerance'
(Bijay Kumar Minj, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Would the Prophet Muhammad convert Hagia Sophia?
(The New York Times Opinion)
Boise State president pays pastor’s way to MWC title game, launches fund to support him
(Tad Walch, Deseret News)
Wednesday, 16 December 2020
WEBINAR, 16 December 2020 (10AM EST): Book Event: A World Free from Nuclear Weapons
(The Vatican Conference on Disarmament, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Jehovah's Witnesses: The world's most persecuted religion
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter: A Magazine on Religious Liberty and Human Rights in China)
France’s war on terror: Macron’s response has dangerous implications.
(Cole Stangler, Commonweal)
As protests roil France, Macron faces a wicked problem — and it could lead to his downfall
(Peter McPhee, The Conversation)
USCIRF: The global persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
(United States Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Boko Haram claims kidnapping of hundreds of Nigerian students
(Al Jazeera)
Boko Haram claims responsibility for kidnapping hundreds of boys in Nigeria
(Jason Burke and Isaac Abrak, The Guardian)
Boko Haram claims kidnapping of over 300 boys in Nigeria, marking an alarming move west
(Danielle Paquette, The Washington Post)
Catholic Archdiocese of Washington seeks restraining order against D.C. so churches can prepare for Christmas
(Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)
Catholic Church sues DC mayor over 'illegal' coronavirus restrictions as Christmas approaches
(Jerry Dunleavy, Washington Examiner)
Armenians displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh fear their medieval churches will be destroyed
(Christina Maranci, The Conversation)
Justices revive religious groups’ attempts to block COVID-related restrictions in Colorado, New Jersey
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)
Supreme Court rules in favor of Colorado church, bars state from restricting worship
(Mary Margaret Olohan, The Daily Signal)
Supreme Court rules against Colorado’s church gathering restrictions
(Kelsey Dallas, Deseret News Faith)
Statement from Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband on Supreme Court's order in favor of Colorado church that challenged COVID restrictions
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Minnesota town approves Asatru zoning request
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Supreme Court sends two cases on COVID limits back for reconsideration
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
The ICC concludes its preliminary examination in Crimea and Donbas: What’s next for the situation in Ukraine?
(Iryna Marchuk, Aloka Wanigasuriya, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Groundhog Day for Episcopalians: Brutal report says pews may be empty by 2050
(Terry Mattingly, OnReligion)
Legal sex/gender recognition beyond the binary: Human Rights Centre submits Third Party Intervention
(Mattias Decoster, Sarah Schoentjes, Strasbourg Observers)
Interfaith declaration seeks forgiveness for harm caused to LGBT people
(Ed Thornton, Church Times)
Declaring the sanctity of life and the dignity of all: Join us in calling for an end to violence and criminalisation against LGBT+ people and for a global ban on conversion therapy.
(Global Interfaith Commission on LGBT+ Lives)
Gujarat: MP wants law against interfaith marriages
(The Times of India)
Role of theology in the Global Development Agenda (SDGs) and human rights
(Rev. Dr. Lydia Mwaniki, Religions for Peace)
Prof. Azza Karam congratulates newly elected officials of the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL)
(Religions for Peace)
The growing divide within American evangelicalism
(Ryan Burge, Religion Unplugged)
Women in many countries face harassment for clothing deemed too religious – or too secular
(Virginia Villa, Pew Research Center Fact Tank)
Biotechnology research viewed with caution globally, but most support gene editing for babies to treat disease
(Cary Funk, Alec Tyson, Brian Kennedy, and Courtney Johnson, Pew Research Center)
Supreme Court continues to block state COVID-19 restrictions on religious gatherings
(Richard Wolf, USA Today)
Trump eases rules for religious social service providers
(Collin Binkley, Associated Press)
9th Circuit orders injunction against Nevada's COVID limits on churches
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court rules in favor of Lyon County church, stops state from imposing further capacity limits on churches
(Savanna Strott, Nevada Independent)
Religious Freedom in the Anglosphere: The History of a Foundational Liberty in the UK, the US, and Canada
(Cardus & RFI)
Bullying in churches- legal implications
(Neil Foster, Law and Religion Australia)
USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore adopts Jimmy Lai through the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Nigeria country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Weekly Highlight #136: Vaccination hopes and worries, marking Human Rights Day
(Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Uzbek authorities close 3 illegal Islamic schools in Tashkent
(Interfax-Religion)
Uzbekistan: Registration applications denied, officials refuse to explain why
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Russia: "A fresh bloody wound on his forehead"
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Teenagers win legal struggle to attend school in Vietnam
(ADF International)
Justice Department sues Vermont medical center over abortion
(Wilson Ring, Associated Press)
Rights groups condemn Hungarian ban on same-sex adoptions
(Associated Press)
IS widow convicted in Charlie Hebdo, kosher market attacks
(Lori Hinnant, Associated Press)
Church urges Scotland to not continue ‘home abortions’ after pandemic
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Christmas message from Cuba’s Bishops (‘Cubans want a better and more peaceful future’)
(Zenit: The World Seen from Rome)
Cuba’s bishops want ‘plurality and dialogue’ for Christmas
(Inés San Martín, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Disputed Kandinsky won't be returned to Jewish heirs
(Sarah Hucal, Deutsche Welle)
As chief rabbi, I can no longer remain silent about the plight of the Uighurs
(Ephraim Mirvis, The Guardian)
Substantial prison term imposed on Jehovah's Witness
(Olga Tarabanova, Nash Dom Novosibirsk, Russia Religion News (Stetson University))
Two young women suspected of offending religious sentiments in Russia's Murmansk Region
(Interfax-Religion)
Thinking with Ryan Burge: Like it or not, 'evangelicals' are not fading away in American life
(Terry Mattingly, GetReligion)
Fights over First Amendment rights will likely top religion-beat agenda in 2021 and beyond
(Richard Ostling, GetReligion)
Vaccines and religion
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Independent oversight of safeguarding: Church of England
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Welsh Government Coronavirus Control Plan – and stop press on UK rules for Christmas
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Biblical illiteracy is 'biggest problem' facing global evangelicalism
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Row erupts in Israel over missionaries allegedly using Jewish Agency facilities
(Jenni Frazer, Jewish News)
Israel’s perspective on Key legal and practical issues concerning the application of International Law to cyber operations
(Roy Schondorf, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Tzipi Hotovely: ‘I’ll be an ambassador for all Jews’
(Justin Cohen, Jewish News)
Hundreds of religious leaders call for end to L.G.B.T.Q. conversion therapy
(Christina Morales, The New York Times)
Lessons from 2020: Republicans should build a multi-ethnic and religious party of the working class
(Charles C. Camosy, Public Discourse: The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute)
Church of Almighty God refugees struggle for asylum status in democratic countries
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
KAICIID launches COVID-19 guide at virtual event featuring interfaith and public health experts
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
Tuesday, 15 December 2020
ONLINE EVENT, 15-17 December 2020: Ritual Reconstructed Revisited: continuity and signalling the future
(Bucks New University)
China: Special weekly FoRB newsletter (07-14.12.2020) from Bitter Winter
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
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