Law and Religion Headlines

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Wednesday, 3 September 2025

After Minneapolis shooting, security firms see influx of interest from faith groups
(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)

Why trade official's use of the term 'Brahmins' on Fox News sparked Hindu outrage
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)

Indonesian bishops blame ‘great disappointment’ in government for deadly protests
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

In Damascus’ former Jewish quarter, optimism about the Syrian Jewish future is hard to muster
(Theia Chatelle, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Inside FoRB and politics: Fernanda San Martin Carrasco on challenges and progress in religious freedom (Part II)
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)

The reasons given by the Ministry of the Interior for dissolving IESH, an imam training institute (French)
(Benoît Vitkine and Christophe Ayad, Le Monde)

Giving context for the G20 Interfaith Forum
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

South Korean clergy seek cancellation of proposed airport
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

How religion declines around the world
(Conrad Hackett, Pew Research Center)

Faith behind bars: Supreme Court urged to protect prisoners’ religious freedom
(Becket)

Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton encour­ages Texas schools to begin legal process of putting prayer back in the class­room and rec­om­mends the Lord’s Prayer for students
(Texas Attorney General)

NPP demands repeal of Arunachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act
(India Today)

More states guarantee students the right to religious instruction off campus
(Robbie Sequeira, Education Week)

CCLA condemns Quebec’s ban on prayer in public
(Canadian Civil Liberties Association)

Saint Catherine Monastery testament to Egypt’s commitment to preserving religious freedom, Egypt’s ambassador to Greece
(Egypt Today)

Papua New Guinea declares Christian identity in constitutional amendment
(Radio New Zealand)

Tuesday, 2 September 2025

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS, abstracts due 2 September 2025: “Now We Know that the Law is Good”: On Law and Virtue
(Center for Law and Human Person, Catholic University of America)

Monday, 1 September 2025

New translations of the Procedural History (1981 Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief)
(UN Audiovisual Library of International Law.)

Azerbaijan country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Marking 80 years since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
(Thomas Banchoff, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)

Logic Staffing to pay $217,500 in EEOC religious discrimination, retaliation lawsuit
(U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission)

Iraq reopens historic mosque in Mosul 8 years after Islamic State destruction
(Qassim Abdul-Zahra, Associated Press)

AI Apocalypse? Why language surrounding tech is sounding increasingly religious
(K, Associated Press)

Articles of interest - 1 September 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

State office violated Title VII by refusing to allow Jehovah's Witness to attach addendum to required employment oath
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Pharmacists sue for religious accommodation to avoid dispensing gender-affirming drugs
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Cakes are back in the courts: A California cake decorator asks Supreme Court to hear her case
(Mariya Manzhos, Deseret News)

Black faith leaders march on Wall Street to denounce anti-DEI campaign
(Fiona André, Religion News Service)

Beverly Hills school board narrowly votes to fly Israeli flags in effort to combat antisemitism
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Canada: Baseline Rd. stabbing considered a hate-motivated crime
(Ottawa Police Service)

Pope Leo is showing his Augustinian roots when speaking politics
(Christopher R. Altieri, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

What's driving young Nigerians into the arms of extremists?
(Muhammad Al-Amin and Lolade Adewuyi, Deutsche Welle)

DESS prepares lawsuit against Kyiv Metropolia of UOC MP to cease its activities as legal entity
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))

Occupied Ukraine: Russian-imposed punishments for meeting for worship, sharing faith
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

Occupied Ukraine: Criminal case against Jehovah's Witness "leader"
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)

Ecclesiastical court judgments – August
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)

Inside FoRB and politics: Fernanda San Martin Carrasco on challenges and progress in religious freedom (Part I)
(Willy Fautré, The European Times)

New Jersey town drops plan to condemn a church to build a park and pickleball courts
(Ilya Somin, The Volokh Conspiracy)

Russian Baptists continue to meet after building sealed
(Ken Camp, Baptist Standard)

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

Human rights without illusions/ escaping the moral trap of universalism
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest August 16-30
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Iran: Religious issues and persecution – Monthly Digest August 2025
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)

Supreme Court urged to stop state investigations into religious ministries
(Becket)

Australia: Leaders warn against NT religious freedom reforms
(The Australian)

India's powerful Hindu group chief urges three-child families as fertility rates fall
(Reuters)

With COP30 in Brazil, religious vigil calls for environmental awareness (Portuguese)
(Bruno de Freitas Moura, Agencia Brasil)

Is it discriminatory to recognize the Catholic Church's predominance throughout Argentine history? (Spanish)
(Sergio Rubin, Todo Noticias)

Friday, 29 August 2025

FBI director calls Minneapolis school shooting 'barbaric' domestic terrorism with anti-religious motives
(Greg Wehner, Fox News)

Why religious groups are pushing for psychedelics as sacrament
(Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation)

Balancing faith and inclusion in the federal workplace
(Michael J. Broyde, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)

Introductory comments at the YIF20 – Youth Interfaith Forum
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)

Crucial response: The significance of information inflow into North Korea
(Ju Il-Lyong, FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)

Beyond tolerance: re-centering religious freedom on the individual
(Wissam al-Saliby, Evangelical Focus)

A religious liberty crisis in Korea. 2. The Korean anti-cult movement
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)

Fighting fire with humanity: Syrian Arab Red Crescent responds as wildfires ravage villages
(International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies)

Supporting religious diversity on campus is a surprising consensus among faculty across the red-blue divide
(Matthew J. Mayhew, The Conversation)

Ahead of the Trend — August 2025
(The Association of Religion Data Archives)

HHS pressures West Virginia to implement religious exemptions from compulsory school vaccination law
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)

Christian nonprofit in Honduras battled gangs and corruption. Now it’s inspiring Chicago.
(Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)

Brothers arrested over felling of memorial tree to French Jewish murder victim
(Le Monde with AFP)

Pope Leo tells French politicians they cannot separate faith from their duties
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Are the Nones replacing religion with spirituality?
(Ryan Burge, Religion Unplugged)

Transgender student’s bathroom case comes to the Supreme Court on the emergency docket
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)

CEC marks Stockholm Ecumenical Week with call for God’s Peace
(Conference of European Churches)

Is Russia using this church in Sweden as a spying hub?
(Teri Schultz, Deutsche Welle)

Austria’s integration minister says 'voluntary integration is over'
(Necva Tastan Sevinc, Anadolu Agency)

Nepal crackdowns on foreigners accused of religious conversions
(Union of Catholic Asian News)

Texas Congressional candidate sparks controversy with Quran-burning video
(Ajibola Bodunrin, Fox 26)

Jehovah’s Witnesses successfully reregistered as a religious organization in Belarus
(Jehovah's Witnesses)

Midweek worship, music, and civic engagement increase numbers attending England’s cathedrals.
(The Church of England)

Court bars Ruto from building church at State House
(Annah Nanjala Wekesa, Kenya Times)

You can’t be forced to recite the pledge. Thank the Jehovah’s Witnesses
(Rachel Reed, Harvard Law School)

Muslim leaders say Quebec report on secularism is discriminatory
(CBC News)

Quebec plans to table bill banning prayer in public
(Matthew Lapierre, CBC News)

Sokoto Govt boosts Islamic development with welfare, religious initiatives
(Musa Ubandawaki, Vanguard Nigeria)

New York City Jewish educators say they’re leaving teacher union due to antisemitism
(Luke Tress, Times of Israel)

Falconer says UK government clear-eyed to threat posed by Tehran to UK Jews
(Lee Harpin, Jewish News)

Wednesday, 27 August 2025

The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine: Implications for the prosecution of religious leaders
(Michelle Coleman, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)

Fiji needs to stand together against attacks on religion, FCOSS urges
(Inoke Rabonu, Fiji Sun)

WEBINAR, 27 August 2025: Religion and Violence in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)

What a dispute over a Native American worship site means for U.S. religious liberty
(Daniel Payne, Catholic News Agency)

Turkmenistan country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

Australia accuses Iran of antisemitic arson attacks, expels ambassador
(Grace Moon and Mohamad El Chamaa, The Washington Post)

Let the Little Sisters of the Poor be faithful
(David Trimble and Nathan Berkeley, National Catholic Register)

Senate needs to confirm religious freedom ambassador before more Christians are tortured abroad
(Sean Nelson, The Federalist)

Religious freedom eradicated in Afghanistan
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)

High school student wins fight to display Bible verses in parking spot after school faces legal pressure
(Kristine Parks, Fox News)

What to know about the shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school
(R.J. Rico, Associated Press)

Paraguay is fighting to preserve Guaraní, a language of roots and soul
(María Teresa Hernández, Associated Press)

Men charged with hugging and kissing are among group publicly caned by Indonesian Islamic court
(Yayan Zamzami and Edna Tarigan, Associated Press)

Cameroon Bishop puts government on red alert ahead of election
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

British MP says Catholic Church has role to play for Palestine
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)

Historic synagogue vandalized in Chile with posters of Netanyahu with bullet hole on his head
(Juan Melamed, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Will federal security grants require synagogues to cooperate with ICE? Concerns are running high.
(Asaf Elia-Shalev, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Iranian Christians should not be detained while seeking asylum
(Matthew Capone, First Things)

Moroccan court denies bail for Ibtissam Lachgar, facing blasphemy charges
(Morocco World News)

Billy Graham Association launches UK religious liberty defense fund
(Diana Chandler, Religion Unplugged)

WCC publishes “HIV, Migration, and Forced Displacement: What Can the Churches Do?”
(World Council of Churches)

‘Hate speech’ case over Bible tweet dragged into 7th year as Finnish supreme court sets hearing date for 30th October
(ADF International)

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