Law and Religion Headlines
Monday, 7 July 2025
Iran: Religious persecution and issues – Monthly Digest June 2025
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
USCIRF reiterates calls for special coordinator for Tibetan issues
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Supreme Court protects religious freedom in Maryland
(Ismail Royer, Dallas Morning News)
Religious, rights groups, EU lawmakers condemn China’s meddling in Dalai Lama reincarnation
(Tibetan Review)
The threat of ISIS in a fragmentated Syria
(Atlantische Commissie)
Shiite neighborhoods in Damascus commemorate Ashoura quietly after Assad’s ouster
(Abdelrahman Shaheen and Omar Sanadiki, Associated Press)
Section 1981 suit can move ahead against defendants who disrupted Jewish religious celebration
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Articles of interest - 7 July 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Nashville's Christian music stars join activists in push to save PEPFAR
(Bob Smietana, Religion News Service)
Catholic leaders in Cameroon call on President Biya to not seek re-election
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Trump Faith Office cites Psalm 34:18, urges Americans to pray as Texans refuse to give up hope of more rescues
(Anugrah Kumar, The Christian Post)
Inflammatory sermons and charity trusteeship: Nottingham Islam Information Point
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Charity Commission statutory inquiry of PCC
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
Law and religion roundup – 6th July
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
CEC engages in European discussions on ethical use of AI and public communication
(Conference of European Churches)
Macron moves to shut down suspected Muslim Brotherhood institutions in France
(Sunniva Rose, The National Law Review)
WCC has key involvement in 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council
(World Council of Churches)
HRC59: Oral statement during ID on the High Commissioner's report on technical cooperation in Colombia
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
HRC59: Oral statement during oral update with the Independent Expert on the Central African Republic
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Many Canadians remain ignorant of expansion in euthanasia laws, says evangelical body
(Chris Eyte, Christian Daily)
HÜDA PAR pushes for tougher laws to protect sacred Islamic values
(İlke Haber Ajansı)
Kenya: Muslim leaders reject Supreme Court ruling on children
(Ghetto Radio)
Anglicans support efforts to improve human rights in Iraq
(Anglican Communion News Service)
Vietnam: UN rights review should call for urgent reform
(Human Rights Watch)
Bahrain 'model of religious freedom and coexistence'
(News of Bahrain)
Israel: Ultra-Orthodox conscription threatens Netanyahu’s coalition
(AFP, Barron's)
Israeli leaders demand Australian action on antisemitism
(Bruce Hill, Australian Jewish News)
European Muslim leaders visit Israel to promote peace, condemn extremism amid rising antisemitism
(Ailin Vilches Arguello, Algemeiner)
Brazil: The implementation of POP and the fight for religious freedom (Portuguese)
(Correio Braziliense)
Friday, 4 July 2025
Australian PM vows 'full force of law' after arson attack at synagogue
(Paulina Kola, BBC)
Free speech victory in Australia for Billboard Chris as “X” post censorship overturned
(ADF International)
Lawsuit claims new Oklahoma education standards violate religious freedoms
(Nuria Martinez, OU Daily)
Texas families sue to block law requiring Ten Commandments in every public-school classroom
(ACLU)
Virginia agrees not to fully enforce state law banning conversion therapy for LGBTQ minors
(Olivia Diaz, Associated Press)
Lawsuit challenges Texas law requiring 10 Commandments in classrooms
(Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill)
Honoring America’s independence by upholding equal human dignity and religious liberty
(David Trimble, Religious Freedom Institute)
Transportation secretary delivers Christian sermon and insults nonbelievers
(Freedom From Religion Foundation)
SCOTUS backs student reading opt-outs on religious freedom Grounds: First Amendment analysis
(Kevin Goldberg, Freedom Forum)
Dalai Lama, god-king for Tibetan Buddhists, will have a successor. That decision is consequential
(Sheikh Saaliq, Associated Press)
BBC visits heart of Tibetan resistance as showdown looms between Dalai Lama and China
(Laura Bicker, BBC)
Why AI needs religion & spirituality
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
‘Foreigners for both nations’: India pushing Muslims ‘back’ to Bangladesh
(Arshad Ahmed and Mahibul Hoque, Al Jazeera)
Indian govt seeks report on anti-Christian violence in Odisha
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Religious freedom and U.S. policy in post-Assad Syria
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Russia country update
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
WHO study links vaccine refusal in Kazakhstan to institutional distrust over religious beliefs
(Aibarshyn Akhmetkali, Astana Times)
The Islamic Republic’s power centers
(Council on Foreign Relations)
The Baha’i faith is small, far-flung, and faced with repression in parts of the Middle East
(David Crary, Associated Press)
Supreme Court to consider reviving evangelist’s lawsuit over restrictions in small Mississippi town
(Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press)
A Muslim mayor in New York City?
(Mariya Manzhos, Deseret News)
A betrayal or politics as usual? A state rep’s endorsement of Zohran Mamdani roils Orthodox rabbis on the Upper West Side
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
We must protect America as the last, best hope for freedom
(Kristen Waggoner, National Review)
Russian religious propaganda network uncovered in Bulgaria, investigators warn
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Tajikistan: Denial of "qualified medical care" led to Ismaili leader's prison death?
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Russia: Buddhist leader given longest known anti-war jail term
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
America’s founders and the Quran: A forgotten legacy of religious freedom
(Tom Verde, Religion Unplugged)
State-sponsored Islamophobia in France encourages violence
(Farid Hafez, Al Jazeera)
Multicultural societies at the center: The ICCS Conference in Singapore
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Pakistan court paves way for official recognition of Christian convert
(Kamran Chaudhry, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Another assault on religious liberty in Rwanda
(Massimo Introvigne, Bitter Winter)
Czechia: Media are not courts: the case of the dismissal of Prof. Hlavinka under media pressure
(Willy Fautré, Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Even in secular Czechia, Jan Hus remains popular as ever
(Jitka Evanova, Christian Network Europe)
Why the European Court of Human Rights should adopt an animus-based approach to xenophobic discrimination
(Moritz Baumgärtel, Strasbourg Observers)
Cuba: Increased restrictions on churches in run up to anniversary of protests
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Kenya: Muslims demand state house mosque construction after Ruto defends Ksh 1.2B church project
(Mercy Sowek, Kenyans)
Three shootings at Utah Hare Krishna temple raise concerns about hate, safety
(Richa Karmarkar, Religion News Service)
Evangelicals at the UN call for a new religious freedom law for Italy
(Evangelical Focus)
Ukraine strips Orthodox leader of citizenship, alleging links to Moscow
(David I. Klein, Religion News Service)
Wednesday, 2 July 2025
WEBINAR, 2 July 2025: Religious Freedom in Ukraine
(Università degli Studi di Messina, ICLARS)
Greenland’s Pentecostal revival overtakes rival faiths
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Spiritual Lawfare: The Use and Misuse of Litigation in the Context of Human Rights, Religious Freedom, and Competing Human Rights
(Jayne Ozanne, Javier García Oliva, Helen Hall, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Covenantal pluralism in contemporary Russia: Patriotism, power, and pluralism
(Jekatyerina Dunajeva, Karrie Koesel, Institute for Global Engagement)
Cultural and religious pluralism as a literary frame (video)
(Georgetown University)
Pastor films as masked federal agents arrest Iranian Christian asylum-seekers in LA
(Fiona André, Religion News Service)
Pew study finds Trump gained with Catholics, nonwhite Protestants in 2024
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
Church joins partners in Southern Africa to tackle human trafficking
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Christian Zionism, antisemitism & Christian realism
(Mark Tooley, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
New York’s latest assault on human dignity
(Daniel J. Trippie, Public Discourse: The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute)
KAICIID highlights inclusive dialogue practices at OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting III in Vienna
(KAICIID Dialogue Centre)
DHS awards $94 million in grants to help protect 512 Jewish faith-based organizations from targeted violence and terrorism
(Department of Homeland Security)
Does religious tolerance remain a distant dream in Taiwan?
(Sonia Sarkar, Religion Unplugged)
CAIR sues Meta for discriminatory treatment of Muslim employee over pro-Palestine, anti-genocide advocacy
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
WCC calls for churches to act on threats to public health
(World Council of Churches)
2024 Annual Report
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
Kenya: Catholic Bishops decry ‘moral crisis’ in country, demand justice, dignity, and leadership rooted in integrity
(Paschal Norbert, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Can First Amendment "History and Tradition" Protect Both Sides in Polarized America?
(Thomas C. Berg, SSRN)
New leadership elected to advance freedom of religion or belief at UN Geneva
(NGO Committee on FoRB)
2024 Annual Report: Conscientious Objection to Military Service in Europe
(European Bureau for Conscientious Objection)
Globally, 1 in 10 adults under 55 have left their childhood religion
(Yunping Tong, Pew Research Center)
Dispute over St. Catherine’s Monastery may jeopardize Egyptian-Greek rapprochement
(Religious Freedom Institute)
‘Evangelicals are bucking the trend’: Evangelical churches in Switzerland defy national decline in faith according to government report
(Chris Eyte, Christian Daily)
Faith groups say House Republicans' probe into immigration work violates their religious freedom
(Jack Jenkins, Religion News Service)
When church attendance influences political views — and when it doesn’t
(Ryan Burge, Religion Unplugged)
Experts at UN Human Rights Council: Tibetan rights, religion and culture threatened amid China’s interference in Dalai Lama succession
(International Campaign for Tibet)
India: Zumba in Kerala’s schools draws fire from Muslim groups; government stands firm on anti-drug push
(The Hindu)
'Being Jewish in France today means being alone'
(Le Monde)
Iran increases pressure on Jewish community after war
(Iran Wire)
The Wall Street Journal: The small country of Bhutan bets on Bitcoin mining
(Chain Catcher)
BBC says it should have pulled Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury livestream over ‘antisemitic’ chants
(Sylvia Hui, Associated Press)
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