Law and Religion Headlines
Friday, 14 March 2025
When executors disagree on funeral arrangements: Patel
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
Pakistan: Defining a Muslim; the case of Pakistan and its Ahmadis
(Yasser Latif Hamdani, Canopy Forum on the Interactions of Law & Religion)
Clergy Act would give pastors second chance to join social security
(Tony Mator, Religion Unplugged)
CAIR welcomes expanded religious accommodations for incarcerated Muslims at Montgomery County Correctional Facility
(Council on American-Islamic Relations)
El Salvador: Religious sisters in El Salvador join church’s ‘Yes to life, no to mining’ campaign
(Rhina Guidos, OSV News)
Australia: Islamophobia is on the rise across Australia, new report finds
(Jason Om and Raveen Hunjan, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Latin American and Caribbean faith leaders come together in Brazil ahead of COP30
(World Council of Churches)
Death camp in Mexico: Church denounces ‘cruelty and human wretchedness’
(Catholic News Agency)
Nigeria: Presidency rattled, rebukes Catholic bishops over criticism on economy and insecurity, insists country is on the right path
(Catholic Information Service for Africa)
‘Assisted Dying’ Bill fails to protect the vulnerable, Bishop of London warns
(The Church of England)
RFI urges MD lawmakers to protect children, parents, and health care providers
(Religious Freedom Institute)
Khouri: Dangerous escalation threatens Palestinian rights and Christian presence in Palestine during a meeting with the head of the Russian Ecclesiastical Mission
(Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine)
Supreme Court faces plea to safeguard faith-based charter schools
(Becket)
Place to worship ‘integral’ to religious freedom
(Article 18)
Minneapolis cancels planned iftar, citing separation of church and state
(Estelle Timar-Wilcox, MPR News)
Japan and religion, the scandal of “Public Welfare.” 1. Betraying Japan’s international obligations
(Patricia Duval, Bitter Winter)
Law Society warns Cook Islands' religious rules 'against human rights'
(Caleb Fotheringham, Radio New Zealand)
No-one should be targeted because of their faith: UK statement at the UN General Assembly
(Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Archie Young, GOV.UK)
India: Book seizures in Indian-administered Kashmir spark fears of religious censorship
(Muheet Ul Islam, Middle East Eye)
Dozens of Syrian Druze make a rare visit to Israeli-controlled Golan Heights
(Alon Bernstein, Associated Press)
Labour Minister assures Jamaicans of their religious freedom
(Jamaica Information Service)
Indonesian cardinal calls for release of Trans person convicted of blasphemy against Christianity
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Indonesian Catholic minister proposes religious freedom law
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
In Adygea, court of appeal upholds verdict against Inver Siyukhov from Maykop — 6 years in penal colony
(Jehovah's Witnesses)
Wednesday, 12 March 2025
Opinion: Kumar, et al. v. Koester, et al.
(Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals)
California professors lose caste bias case at Ninth Circuit
(Khorri Atkinson, Bloomberg Law)
Czechia: 16 European scholars in religious studies say “Do not liquidate Jehovah’s Witnesses”
(Human Rights Without Frontiers International)
Church Reporter, Vol. 10, 21 January 2025
(Church Law Society Prague – Brno – Olomouc – Stříbro – České Budějovice – Mšeno)
Activists in Trinidad and Tobago push to include women’s occupations on Hindu marriage act
(Associated Press)
Philippines: Bill sets up legal framework for certifying religious groups
(Business World)
Indonesia: Trans woman’s prison sentence for ‘insulting’ Jesus must be quashed
(Amnesty International)
A new definition of antisemitism from Universities Australia is attracting criticism – two historians explain why
(Jan Lanicek and Ruth Balint, The Conversation)
Religious freedom in Italian schools is abused for political gain
(Chiara Lamberti, Christian Network Europe)
What defines religious persecution?
(YouTube Video, CAAP Network)
WEBINAR, 12 March 2025: Anglican Canon Law
(Ecclesiastical Law Society)
Conflicts within and between European and American churches over populism, shifts in foreign policy
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Religion Watch, ‘Volume 40 No. 4’
(Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion)
Torture and ill-treatment often intertwined with intolerance and discrimination on basis of religion or belief: UN expert
(Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, United Nations)
Global Interfaith Monitor No. 33
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Chile: New publication explores paths to social transformation
(Bahá’í World News Service)
Religions for Peace advocates for a nuclear-free world
(Religions for Peace)
South Africa: Covenantal pluralism in South Africa: Resources for harmony amidst diversity
(Helena van Coller, Institute for Global Engagement)
Are ministers, pastors or priests in the Free State, South Africa, and Lesotho employees?: Melaletsa
(David Scrooby, Law & Religion UK)
G20 Interfaith Forum: Pre-Meetings in South Africa, February 2025
(Katherine Marshall, G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
Myanmar resistance group admits responsibility for killing of Buddhist monk it accused of army ties
(d, Associated Press)
Ecclesiastical abstention doctrine leads to dismissal of church property Dispute
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Oklahoma Supreme Court stays for now Bible purchases for public schools
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Map shows US states where religion is disappearing fastest
(Jordan King, Newsweek)
Ukraine: Conscientious objectors prosecuted, jailed as "disobedient" soldiers
(Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service)
Uzbekistan: Parents face punishment for their children's religious education
(Felix Corley and Mushfig Bayram, Forum 18 News Service)
Kenya: President's church donation sparks Kenyan clashes
(Will Ross & Joseph Winter, BBC)
FIDELA (Foro Interreligioso de las Americas) Meetings 2025
(G20 Interfaith Forum Blog)
UK government cuts funding for Islamophobia monitor as anti-Muslim hate surges
(Middle East Monitor)
Met officers identify man who made threatening calls to mosque
(Metropolitan Police)
India: ‘Hope is resistance’: An interview with CSW’s India Researcher
(FoRB in Full: A blog by CSW)
India: Arunachal govt to seek views of all religious groups before framing rules of APFRA: CM
(The Print)
Indian state could introduce the death penalty for religious conversions
(Jonah McKeown, Catholic News Agency)
26 states, 66 members of Congress & faith groups urge Supreme Court to restore Pride book opt-outs
(Becket)
Canada: Quebec committee to probe state of secularism in province’s institutions
(René Bruemmer, Montreal Gazette)
Brazil: Worker forced to participate in prayer before work will be compensated (Portuguese)
(TRT24, Bom Dia Advogado)
Brazil: Bill bans use of Christian symbols in LGBTQIA+ parades (Portuguese)
(Agência Câmara, Bom Dia Advogado)
Pioneer of Christian-Jewish and interreligious encounter awarded the Federal Cross of Merit (German)
(Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland)
Tuesday, 11 March 2025
VIRTUAL EVENT, 11 March 2025 (12:30PM ET): The Genealogy of the Death Penalty for Apostasy and Blasphemy in Islam
(Islamic Law Speaker Series, Program in Islamic Law, Harvard Law School)
Monday, 10 March 2025
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Sends Letters to 60 Universities Under Investigation for Antisemitic Discrimination and Harassment
(U.S. Department of Education)
Oklahoma schools chief seeks donations to put Bibles in classrooms
(Sean Murphy, Associated Press)
Never to be silent: Stemming the tide of antisemitism in America
(Senate Committee on the Judiciary)
U.S. Justice Department launches investigation of University of California under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(U.S. Department of Justice)
The President and First Lady’s message on Ash Wednesday, 2025
(The White House)
Viktor Yelensky met with the State Secretary for Religious Affairs of Romania
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Putin thanks Russian Buddhists for supporting the war
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Virginia man convicted of hate crime for attempted church shooting
(U.S. Department of Justice)
Flurry of state legislature activity would promote religion in public schools
(Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty)
“Look in the mirror”: Chief Rabbi of Ukraine responds to Lavrov accusing Zelensky of Nazism
(Religious Information Service of Ukraine (RISU))
Hungary’s refusal to end religious discrimination and the politicization of human rights debates
(The European Times)
DRC: Churches in Eastern DRC forced to shelter fighters as violence escalates
(Vicky Abraham, Religion Unplugged)
UN establishes mechanism to investigate atrocities in Congo
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Religion Unplugged)
Filipino religious leaders call for peace in troubled region
(Union of Catholic Asian News)
Greek Orthodox Church in Jerusalem rebukes US secretary of state over backing of Israel’s war in Gaza
(Said Amori and Rania Abu Shamala, Anadolu Agency)
Israeli forces set fire to Nablus mosque, stop dawn prayers
(Middle East Monitor)
Faith in the public square: A conversation with Sen. James Lankford
(Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission)
Faith groups underscore moral imperative to eliminate nuclear weapons
(World Council of Churches)
Church Autonomy, Textualism, and Originalism: SCOTUS's Use of History to Give Definition to Church Autonomy Doctrine
(Carl H. Esbeck, SSRN)
Hate speech, positive obligations and free speech: The ECtHR’s expanding framework in Minasyan and Others v. Armenia (2025)
(Natalie Alkiviadou, Strasbourg Observers)
Iranian-Armenian pastor remains detained without charge or lawyer month after re-arrest
(Article 18)
Swiss politicians: more faith-filled than the people?
(Evangelical Focus)
China: CPPCC chief Wang Huning calls for ‘safe and orderly’ religious activities: report
(William Zheng, South China Morning Post)
India: Mass Christian protest in Arunachal over Anti-Conversion Law sparks debate on religious freedom
(Asia News Network)
New Silk Road? Malaysia-Kazakhstan’s next chapter in religious governance
(Shakila Yacob, Astana Times)
For human rights in Tibet to improve, solidarity and support from nations like Australia are critical
(Kyinzom Dhongdue and Daniela Gavshon, Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
US cancels $400 million in grants, contracts to Columbia University over antisemitism allegations
(Jonathan Allen, Reuters)
Op-ed: The real Gen Z religion story is about women
(Melissa Deckman, Religion News Service)
Losing DEI may cost more than you think–including faith
(Brian Grim, Patheos)
2023-24 Religious Landscape Study
(Pew Research Center)
Survey: US religious groups support LGBTQ+ rights, divide on medical care for trans minors
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
LGBTQ rights across all 50 states: key insights from PRRI's 2024 American Values Atlas
(PRRI)
Islamists activists protest Ash Wednesday Mass taking place at multipurpose center in Indonesia
(Nirmala Carvalho, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Thousands in Nepal want monarchy back as public frustration with politics grows
(Binaj Gurubacharya, Associated Press)
Supreme Court denies cert. in Title VII religious discrimination case
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Articles of interest - 10 March 2025
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Christian bioethics in a secular world: In search of ethical common ground
(Abigail Wilkinson Miller, Public Discourse: The Journal of the Witherspoon Institute)
Email Subscription
The International Center for Law and Religion Studies maintains a Law and Religion Headlines service covering news about freedom of religion or belief internationally. All interested may subscribe to this service, free of charge, using the link below.
Subscribe