Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 21 May 2025
New Trump commission displays DC’s religious power grid
(Richard Ostling, Religion Unplugged)
Jewish law is clear: We must put religious and moral values ahead of military and tactical objectives
(Adam Zagoria-Moffet, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
In the Middle East, Kurdistan offers a hopeful model of religious freedom
(Samuel Brownback and Manus Churchill, The Hill)
Report shows despite DEI cuts, religious inclusion is improving at Fortune 500 companies
(Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)
The impact of the end-of-life law on future generations is little understood by the French people
(Joel Forster, Evangelical Focus)
Newly released video offers compelling walk on “Pathways to Just Peace”
(Conference of European Churches)
In Syria, a Shiite shrine and community navigate a changed landscape
(Mariam Fam, Associated Press)
New poll shows public deeply split in attitudes towards the Catholic Church
(Iona Institute)
British Church urges Labour Government to support lower-skilled immigrants
(Charles Collins, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Churches ‘picking up the pieces’ amid Northern Ireland’s public service crisis
(Chris Eyte, Christian Daily)
Law and religion roundup – 18th May
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
JD Vance on his faith and Trump’s most controversial policies
(Ross Douthat, The New York Times)
Comparative answers to contemporary challenge of legal authoritarianism: The cause of Kuwait
(Courtney Freer, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
CAIR calls French plan to ban hijab in public an ‘authoritarian attack on religious freedom’
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
Discriminatory state practices involving national identity documents with impacts on religious freedom
(Brandon Reece Taylorian, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Chinese religious leaders vow to promote sinicization policy
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Man indicted for desecrating the Quran in Prizren
(Euronews)
India-led interfaith initiative addresses ecological challenges through "nexus approach" webinars
(World Council of Churches)
Indian court asserts secularism to hold up anti-conversion law
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
P. v. Poland: Protecting teachers’ online free speech, overlooking homophobic prejudice
(Hanim Schnabel, Strasbourg Observers)
Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest May 01-15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Ukraine: An exceptional report about Russia’s destruction of churches
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
How much discrimination do Americans say groups face in the U.S.?
(Pew Research Center)
Assisted dying to begin in ACT, but regional government plan to include patients without capacity sparks concern
(Chris Eyte, Christian Daily)
Evangelicals raise concerns over religious freedom after Duterte Bloc surges in Philippine midterms
(International Christian Concern)
U.S. bishops encourage lawmakers to protect human life and dignity and uphold the common good in reconciliation legislation
(United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
South Korean Christian Zionists open country’s first Holocaust museum
(Zev Stub, Times of Israel)
Liberia: Senators reignite religious holiday debate
(David A. Yates, Daily Observer)
Mozambique’s Catholic Bishops call for national commitment to healing ahead of Golden Independence Jubilee
(João Vissesse, ACI Africa)
Welcoming the African Union as a G20 member: Opening plenary of the 2025 G20 Interfaith Forum Africa Conference
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Mennonites once again rejected from self-insuring their vehicles in Maine
(Kenneth Araullo, Insurance Business)
Presiding bishop defends decision not to resettle Afrikaners, calls church a ‘bulwark against injustice’
(David Paulsen, Episcopal News Service)
Tuesday, 20 May 2025
EVENT, 20-22 May 2025: Dare to Overcome, 6th National Faith @ Work Conference (Washington, DC, USA)
(Religious Freedom & Business Foundation)
EVENT, 20 May 2025: IRR Seminar: Cambridge insights on Islamophobia (Cambridge, England)
(Cambridge Interfaith Programme)
Monday, 19 May 2025
Pakistan enacts law to ensure religious minorities’ rights
(Anee Muskan, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Study finds Pakistani textbooks promote religious bias through excessive Islamic content, marginalize minorities
(A. S. John, Christian Daily)
Georgia: Freedom of religion or belief, equality and secularity – Monthly report April
(Tolerance and Diversity Institute)
Poland gave 17.5bn zloty in public funds to religious organisations in 2021-23, finds state auditor
(Notes from Poland)
Israeli government gives $563K matching grant to a ‘not kumbaya’ Orthodox interfaith group
(Judith Sudilovsky, eJewishPhilanthropy)
Call for EU ban on anti-LGBTQ 'conversion' gets 1 million signatures
(Agence France-Presse)
The fragile balance of press freedom and religious liberty: the harmful impact of the stigmatizing language
(Peter Zoehrer, Bitter Winter)
USCIRF expresses gratitude to outgoing Commissioner Susie Gelman
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
UKZN’s compulsory gender module undermines academic and religious freedom (video)
(YouTube Video, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA))
Africa’s faith communities: A driving force for sustainable development
(Religions for Peace)
Thousands of Bulgarians rally in Sofia to support introducing religion classes in schools
(Sofia News Agency)
Religion Watch, ‘Volume 40 No. 6’
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Student reading opt-outs on religious freedom grounds: What does the Supreme Court say?
(Kevin Goldberg, Freedom Forum)
King praises Church of Scotland parishes as “a beacon of light and hope”
(The Church of Scotland)
Daesh fighters must not escape justice in the UK
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 35
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Vol. 18 No. 1 (2025): Christian mission and FoRB
(International Journal for Religious Freedom)
Church service at Büchel Air Base: Nuclear deterrence criticized (German)
(Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)
Critics say Trump’s religion agenda will benefit conservative Christians the most
(Associated Press)
Articles of interest - 19 May 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Catholic bishops call for mutual respect, environmental justice in Africa-EU relations
(Fredrick Nzwili, Religion News Service)
US Supreme Court may broaden religious rights in looming rulings
(John Kruzel, Reuters)
Montana governor signs bill protecting student ‘released time’ for religious instruction
(Alliance Defending Freedom)
What happens when religious freedom clashes with personal protections in court?
(Austin Sarat, The Hill)
At Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass and beyond, Jewish leaders show hope in Jewish-Catholic relations
(Giovanna Dell'Orto, Associated Press)
Vance and Rubio meet with pope in push to reset relations with Vatican
(John Hudson, Anthony Faiola and Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)
At Vatican, Vance meets pope, discusses peace, religious freedom
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
First official visit of the Vatican to Argentina during the Pontificate of Leo XIV (Spanish)
(Infobae)
Canada: Religious neutrality of the State (French)
(Jean-Christophe Jasmin and Andreae Sennyah, Cardus)
Sunday, 18 May 2025
EVENT, 18-21 May 2025: Morocco Conference
(The African Consortium for Law and Religion Studies)
Friday, 16 May 2025
Conversion for convenience: manipulating personal law status in religious legal systems
(Akif Tahiiev, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Pope Leo XIV’s Pontificate: More continuity than change. Interview with Thomas Massaro
(Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Pope vows every effort to work for peace in regions where Christians persecuted, forced to flee
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
Will Pope Leo XIV change the Vatican's diplomacy on Ukraine and Russia?
(Claire Giangravé, Religion News Service)
Assisted dying bill: religious MPs were more likely to oppose law change in first round of voting
(David Jeffery, The Conversation)
Egypt’s new Fatwa Law: Bold step towards religious clarity, social stability
(Ibrahim Negm, Egyptian Gazette)
Bolivian bishops make unprecedented critical tone against the government before elections
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Understanding an important religious group in Syria
(Jane Arraf and Greg Dixon, NPR)
Deputy Knesset Speaker: 'Severe infringement' on Jewish religious freedom in Belgium
(Israel National News)
Assisted dying bill: religious MPs were more likely to oppose law change in first round of voting
(David Jeffrey, The Conversation)
USCIRF Welcomes the Holy See's Commitment to Advance Freedom of Religion or Belief for the Persecuted
(U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Desecrations, threats and silence: anti-Christian violence grips France
(Gavin Mortimer, Catholic Herald)
Australia: Faith leaders concede need for bipartisan deal for bill passing
(Rhiannon Down, The Australian)
Mass. top court says Rastafarian parents can bar vaccination of their child who is in temporary state custody
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism (Executive Order 51)
(City of New York)
European court says Greece wrongly refused to recognize Jewish community's title to property
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Why Kanye West's pro-Hitler song is illegal in Germany
(Sarah Hucal, Deutsche Welle)
Police raid homes of mohels in Antwerp, in investigation into possible illegal circumcisions
(Philissa Cramer, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Sufis vs. Jihadists in Mogadishu
(Armin Rosen, The Wall Street Journal)
Kazakhstan: released prisoner banned from attending mosque
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
The management and reuse of Catholic churches in Belgium, France, and Italy from a comparative perspective
(Davide Dimodugno, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Trump visits interfaith Abrahamic Family House, including synagogue, as he wraps up Middle East tour
(Times of Israel)
Jewish-led interfaith letter urges government rethink on immigration rhetoric
(Daniel Sugarman, Jewish News)
Peru: "No matarás": the country's bishops condemn the murder of a group of workers at the hands of criminal gangs
(Agenzia Fides)
India: Fact-finding teams expose violence against Christians in Indian state of Odisha
(Vishal Arora, Religion Unplugged)
Decades after massacres, Zimbabwe’s churches confront their role in forgiveness and justice
(Calvin Manika, Religion Unplugged)
Malaysian court stops Muslim man’s return to Christian faith
(Joseph Masilamany, Union of Catholic Asian News)
China: Religious persecution and issues – Bimonthly Digest May 01 – 15
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Russia: A Jehovah’s Witness was sentenced to five and a half years in prison
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Church of England Bishops join senior faith leaders in urging Prime Minister to rethink migration rhetoric
(The Church of England)
RFI leads training session on religious freedom law and policy for U.S. Army War College
(Religious Freedom Institute)
The international community must not allow the Nigerian government to fail Leah Sharibu any longer
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Video: How common are spiritual beliefs in the U.S.?
(Pew Research Center)
Brazil: Bembé do Mercado, the largest street candomblé in the world, celebrates respect for religious freedom (Portuguese)
(Agencia Gov)
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