Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 4 April 2025
Amy Coney Barrett might go against Supreme Court Justices in religion case
(Sean O'Driscoll, Newsweek)
Georgia governor signs ‘religious freedom’ bill, vowing the state still is ‘no place for hate’
(Maya Homan, The Georgia Recorder)
Russian Jehovah's Witness jailed for managing extremist 'cells'
(Mark Trevelyan, Reuters)
South Africa: Timothy Omotoso verdict (video)
(YouTube Video, Freedom of Religion South Africa (FOR SA))
India’s parliament passes bill that would change Muslim land endowments
(Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq, Associated Press)
Seventeen evangelical churches in Barcelona face threat of closure
(Daniel Hofkamp, Evangelical Focus)
Report: Attacks on Catholics increasingly common and tolerated in Europe and Latin America
(David Ramos, Catholic News Agency)
Thursday, 3 April 2025
HYBRID EVENT, 3 April 2025: 11th Annual Symposium on the Role of Religion and Faith-Based Organizations in International Affairs (New York, NY, USA)
(World Council of Churches)
Wednesday, 2 April 2025
Governor Stitt issues executive order to make Oklahoma the strongest defender of religious liberty in the nation
(Office of Governor J. Kevin Stitt)
Georgia House passes religious freedom bill with 2 days left in legislative season
(Scott Flynn, WSB-TV News)
Texas Senate passes bill that would allow teachers to pray, engage in religious speech in public schools
(Andrew Schneider, Houston Public Media)
EVENT, 2 April 2025 (16:00 GMT): Dialogue in Times of Distress: Interfaith (Cambridge, UK)
(James Sunderland, Woolf Institute)
EVENT, 2 April 2024 (8AM GMT+1): Faith & AI: Religious Organizations in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Brussels, Belgium)
(EU and International Affairs Office of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints)
VIRTUAL EVENT, 3 April - 1 May: Sustainable Peacemaking: Restorative Practices in Faith Communities
(International Center for Religion & Diplomacy)
India’s parliament set to debate controversial law on Muslim endowments
(Aijaz Hussain and Sheikh Saaliq, Associated Press)
Defamation suit by Russian Orthodox Church priest dismissed under church autonomy doctrine
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
America the secular? What a changing religious landscape means for US politics
(David Campbell and Geoffrey C. Layman, The Conversation)
India: How does India's Sadhan village continue to resist religious polarization?
(Priyadarshini Sen, Religion News Service)
Cardinal to Catholics – urge your MP to vote against the deeply flawed and under-scrutinised Bill on assisted suicide
(Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales)
UK army vet appeals conviction for praying silently near abortion facility
(Grant Atkinson, Alliance Defending Freedom)
CEC supports dialogue on healing wounded memories in the digital age
(Conference of European Churches)
Argentina: A society that gives space to God, that seeks to be guided by him is a society that is a sign of hope
(Agenzia Fides)
Indonesia: Muslims apologize for flags in Christian province
(Ryan Dagur, Union of Catholic Asian News)
Korea: WCC urges swift deliberations from Constitutional Court of Korea to restore confidence in rule of law
(World Council of Churches)
Russia: Religious issues and persecution: Bimonthly Digest March 16-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
France: Miviludes convicted again for defamation in its annual reports
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Myanmar: Earthquake intensifies plight of religious minorities in Myanmar
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
Myanmar: An attack on St. Patrick’s Cathedral the day before St. Patrick’s Day is yet another indicator of the remorselessness of the Myanmar military
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
Ethiopia: Strengthening the peacebuilding role of religious institutions in Ethiopia
(Yirga Abebe Damtie, The Wilson Center)
China: Religious issues and persecution – Bimonthly Digest March 16-31
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
China adds new restrictions on foreigners’ religious activities
(Anglican Ink)
UC Berkeley antisemitism lawsuit can proceed, judge rules
(Jonathan Stempel, Reuters)
April 2025 newsletter
(The Association of Religion Data Archives)
Brazil: Why does Brazil have religious holidays if it is a secular state? (Portuguese)
(BBC News Brasil)
Orthodox Christian institutions plundered in Turkish Muslim-nationalist campaign
(Uzay Bulut, The European Conservative)
Judge dismisses gender bias suit by woman who lost bid to be top pastor of famed Black church
(David Crary, Associated Press)
Tuesday, 1 April 2025
EVENT, 1-2 April 2025: Israel at a Crossroads: Navigating Religion, Democracy, and Justice (New York City, NY, USA)
(Jewish Theological Seminary)
Monday, 31 March 2025
The Study of Muslim Family Norms in Contemporary Europe: A Systematic Scoping Review
(Martin Eidrup, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
Managing Religious Diversity in Spanish and Italian Prison Systems: A Contrast Analysis of National and European Standards
(Núria Reguart-Segarra and Victoria Camarero-Suárez, Oxford Journal of Law and Religion)
BIC Brussels: Statement calls for new European approach to societal unity
(Bahá’í World News Service)
IGE and Vietnam partners mark 20 years of progress in religion and rule of law
(Institute for Global Engagement)
Catholic Charities defends mission to serve at Supreme Court
(Becket Law)
Supreme Court likely to embrace expanded tax exemption for religious charities
(Amy Howe, SCOTUSblog)
Supreme Court seems likely to side with Catholic Charities in religious-rights case
(Lindsay Whitehurst, Associated Press)
The Supreme Court is taking on 3 cases that could help reshape American Jewish life
(Michael A. Helfand, Forward)
Essay series: Religion, The Missing Dimension of Statecraft at 30—Lessons and Legacies
(Debora Tonelli, Judd Birdsall, Douglas Johnston, Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Destructive paths of the foreign aid tornado: reflecting on morality and practice
(Katherine Marshall, Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Afghanistan: The Taliban leader says there is no need for Western laws in Afghanistan
(Associated Press)
11th Circuit: Jail's requirement for religious verification to get kosher diet is not substantial burden
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Articles of interest - 31 March 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Cameroon’s bishops urge electoral reform ahead of 2025 presidential election
(Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Faith communities working in partnership can pave the road forward
(Phil Rosenberg and Sayed Razawi, Jewish News)
Law and religion roundup – 30th March
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Who is Hind Kabawat: Human rights activist and Arab Christian joins Syria’s new cabinet
(Selin Hacialioglu, Türkiye Today)
Kenya’s houses of worship under scrutiny for ‘disruptive’ sound levels
(Joseph Maina, Religion Unplugged)
CEC General Secretary joins COMECE Assembly to strengthen dialogue for Europe’s future
(Conference of European Churches)
Justice for victims on the seas: Human trafficking in the fishing industry
(JoAnne Wadsworth, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Korean Catholics protest delay in Yoon’s impeachment ruling
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Iran police disperse pro-hijab protest amid security concerns
(Maziar Motamedi, Al Jazeera)
Pezeshkian hopes for greater Muslim unity in Eid al-Fitr message
(Islamic Republic News Agency)
Iran: Religious issues and persecution – Monthly Digest March 2025
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Brazil: Eduardo Paes revokes recognition of practices of African origin in the SUS [health system] (Portuguese)
(Diana Rogers, CNN Brasil)
Arkansas faith leaders oppose government-sponsored religion in public school classrooms
(Lauren Lamb, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship)
Turkey democracy crisis: where religion, power and repression intersect
(Deniz Torcu, The Conversation)
Around the web - 31 March 2025
(Law and Religion Forum, St. John's Law School Center for Law & Religion)
Saturday, 29 March 2025
A symbol of faith or culture? Brazil’s constitutional dilemma
(Bruno Santos Cunha and Renato Costa, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Francis I: Public theologian
(Greg Marcar, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Top human rights court deems Evangelical church’s appeal inadmissible
(ADF International)
Russian attack on an evangelical church in Kyiv kills a father and his little daughter
(Evangelical Focus)
Russia: Second jail term for discussing faith during first term
(Victoria Arnold, Forum 18 News Service)
Jewish Law and International Law: Sovereignty and Exogenous Authority in a Transnational World
(Michael J. Broyde and Yehonatan Elazar-De Mota, Oxford University Press)
Satanist leader’s attempt to hold Black Mass in Kansas Statehouse sparks chaos and 4 arrests
(John Hanna, Associated Press)
Israel’s antisemitism conference draws Europe’s far-right leaders to Jerusalem
(Julia Frankel and Leo Correa, Associated Press)
Ten Commandments monument will return to Kentucky State Capitol
(First Liberty)
Opinion: Johnson v. Jefferson Parish Sheriff Office (Rastafarian RLUIPA case)
(Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals)
Despite Church efforts, Uruguay will likely approve euthanasia in near future
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
In UK and Australia, lawmakers are trying to curb protests outside of synagogues
(Grace Gilson, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
French Muslim group condemns media, political harassment of women wearing veil
(Middle East Monitor)
French far-right leader decries antisemitism and Islamism at contentious Israeli government conference
(Ben Sales, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Catholic population in Germany drops below 20 million for the first time
(Catholic News Agency)
Constitutions address religious freedom, but not as much as desired
(Dennis Petri and Jonathan Fox, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Advocates urge US to call out nations who violate religious liberty
(Diana Chandler, Religion Unplugged)
Trump vows to work towards peace at White House Iftar as Gaza is bombed
(Middle East Eye)
Context, content, and the ‘threshold of severity’: ECtHR’s jurisprudence on satire vs hate
(Sarthak Gupta, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Fear spreads among Muslim Americans as Trump travel ban looms
(Karissa Waddick and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA Today)
Explainer: Supreme Court to hear faith-based tax-exemption case
(Tim Mackall, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission)
Africa-Europe forum calls on churches to enhance protection of migrants
(World Council of Churches)
EU bishops issue ‘Looking to Europe with Hope’ declaration during plenary Assembly in Rome
(The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE))
South Sudan: President Kiir in meeting with church leaders, vows unwavering commitment to peace, stability in country
(Paschal Norbert, Catholic Information Service for Africa)
Overt and incremental attacks on religious freedom in Latin America
(Rick Plasterer, Juicy Ecumenism, Institute on Religion and Democracy)
Israel: 4 facts about religious switching within Judaism
(Kirsten Lesage and Maria Smerkovich, Pew Research Center)
Will the Supreme Court safeguard the church's mission?
(Jerome Edward Listecki, Real Clear Religion)
China: Hui Christian pastor sentenced to nine months in prison
(CSW: Everyone Free to Believe)
A battle over religion and schools in Oklahoma could decide the future of the First Amendment
(Lawrence Hurley, NBC News)
Türk: Islamophobia weakens our societies and damages everyone
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
Zambia: UN expert on freedom of religion or belief to visit Zambia
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
USCIRF's portrayal of Bangladesh's religious freedom situation based on misinformation: Govt
(The Business Standard)
Head of Japan's Unification Church vows to fight loss of legal protections
(Irene Wang and Rocky Swift, Reuters)
Friday, 28 March 2025
EVENT, 28 March 2025 (12PM CT): The Politics of Religious Freedom: American Jews and the Legal Mobilization of Christian Rhetoric (Minneapolis, MN, USA)
(Center for Jewish Studies, University of Minnesota)
Thursday, 27 March 2025
VIRTUAL EVENT, 27 March 2025 (12PM ET): Trump and the Future of America’s Strategic Religious Engagement
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
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