Law and Religion Headlines
Wednesday, 20 May 2020
A 24-hour online vigil will name some of the people who have died of COVID-19
(Yonat Shimron, Religion News Service)
How do Buddhists handle coronavirus? The answer is not just meditation
(Pierce Salguero, Religion News Service Opinion)
Reform Jewish umbrella group cuts staff by 20% due to COVID-19
(Kathryn Post, Religion News Service)
Poll: US believers see message of change from God in virus
(Elana Schor, Religion News Service)
US health officials quietly release more reopening guidance
(Mike Stobbe, Associated Press)
Clergy, scientists grapple with thoughts of worship without congregational singing
(Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service)
Four young people of different faiths move into a home together, then a pandemic happens
(Alejandra Molina, Religion News Service)
COVID-19 delayed a United Methodist schism. But it has left LGBT members in limbo
(Nathan Romo, Religion News Service)
'Horrifying surge' in lockdown domestic violence as 'silent crisis' explodes
(RNS Press Release Distribution Service, Religion News Service)
Daily Highlight #64: What Do We Know About Online Religious Practice and How the COVID-19 Crisis Is Reshaping It?
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Distancing Religion online: Lessons from the pandemic prompted religious move online
(Heidi A. Campbell, Contending Modernities, University of Notre Dame)
DOJ says California is discriminating against places of worship in reopening plan
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Justice Department warns California coronavirus rules may violate religious freedoms
(Matthew Ormseth, Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times)
New York opens the door to small religious gatherings
(Karen Matthews, Marina Villeneuve And Michael Hill, Associated Press)
Masses in Italy are a go, but other sacraments still suffer restrictions
(Elise Ann Allen, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Catholic doctors say churches essential, offer ‘road map’ to safely reopen
(Pablo Kay, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
How religious leaders cope with COVID-19 (video from Cologne)
(Deutsche Welle)
Joy, fear and sorrow mix for Italian Jews returning to synagogue
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Moldovan Orthodox Church says Bill Gates, 5G dangerous for mankind
(Interfax-Religion)
Religious fundamentalists are making the pandemic worse
(Juan Cole, The Nation)
Praying in time of COVID-19: How world's largest mosques adapted
(Arwa Ibrahim, Al Jazeera)
Two Southern churches forced to reclose after leaders, congregants get coronavirus
(Aris Folley, The Hill)
The masked Samaritan
(Brian Kaylor, Word & Way)
Coronavirus: French court orders ban on worship to end
(BBC News)
French government ordered to lift coronavirus lockdown ban on religious meetings
(France 24)
Days after yeshiva raid, New York police disperse crowd at Brooklyn synagogue
(Shira Hanau, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Amsterdam’s Jewish quarter is getting ready to reopen, but some wonder if it will ever be the same
(Cnaan Liphshiz, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Orthodox leaders press for reopening guidance as parents say ‘underground yeshivas’ are already holding classes
(Shira Hanau, Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Tuesday, 19 May 2020
When religion sided with science: Medieval lessons for surviving COVID-19
(Phillip I. Lieberman, The Conversation)
Daily Highlight #63 | Gauging Levels and Directions in How Institutions Inspired by Faith Are Responding to the COVID-19 Crisis
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Oregon trial court enjoins enforcement of state's covid-19 orders in suit by churches
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
France's Council of State orders lifting of COVID-19 ban on worship services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
US says California order discriminates against churches
(Robert Jablon, Associated Press)
Four roommates of different faiths face a pandemic together
(Alejandra Molina, Associated Press)
Oregon high court keeps state virus restrictions in place
(Gillian Flaccus, Associated Press)
Nigerian religious leaders demand lifting of COVID-19 lockdown
(Cristina Krippahl, Deutsche Welle)
Conspiracy theories, COVID-19 and Christian faith
(Karen Booth, Juicy Ecumenism – The Institute on Religion & Democracy's Blog)
Conseil d’État orders easing of French ban on public worship
(Frank Cranmer, Law & Religion UK)
New York churches open COVID-19 testing sites in push to reach minority communities
(Carol Kuruvilla, Huff Post)
Quebec ponders making masks mandatory after banning the veil
(Tracey Lindeman, The Guardian)
Two churches reclose after faith leaders and congregants get coronavirus
(Lateshia Beachum, The Washington Post)
Monday, 18 May 2020
Religion Photos of the Week - 16 May 2020
(Kit Doyle, Religion News Service)
Law, Religion and Covid-19 Emergency – Ebook, Diresom Papers 1
(Edited by Pierluigi Consorti, DiReSoM: Diritto e Religione nelle Società Multiculturali/ Law and Religion in Multicultural Societies)
Ambassador Brownback warns about the COVID-19 related burdens faced by religious minorities
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Briefing with Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback on COVID-19 impact on religious minorities
(United States Department of State)
Evangelical leaders urge Congress to protect churches from coronavirus lawsuits
(Samuel Smith, The Christian Post)
Indian dioceses pray with pope, as well as Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims (videos)
(Nirmala Carvalho, Asia News)
Pope joins interfaith prayer for end to pandemic
(Cindy Wooden, The Tablet UK)
Coronavirus puts 4 million girls at risk of child marriage
(Emma Batha, Thomson Reuters Foundation News)
Do we need an International Commission of Inquiry for COVID-19? Part II
(Michael A Becker, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
Do we need an International Commission of Inquiry for COVID-19? Part I
(Michael A Becker, EJIL: Talk! Blog of the European Journal of International Law)
The hidden victims off Covid19: Human trafficking and modern day slavery
(Ewelina U. Ochab, Forbes)
Access to healthcare and social distance during COVID pandemic cannot stop at the prison gate
(Maïté De Rue, Strasbourg Observers)
Me and We: Individual rights, common good and coronavirus
(Ted Anthony, Associated Press, Real Clear Politics)
Daily Highlight #62: COVID-19 and Religious Freedom in Latin America
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Court is critical of church's litigation tactics in challenge to covid-19 order
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Louisiana limits on church services upheld
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Court strikes down North Carolina limits on worship services
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Federal judge blocks NC governor’s restrictions on religious services
(Virginia Bridges, The News & Observer)
British government task force to develop rules for reopening of houses of worship
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
New taskforce developing plan to reopen places of worship in the UK
(Stephen Greenhalgh and Robert Jenrick, Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government)
Pastor in Nepal re-arrested on new series of charges to keep him in jail, sources say
(Morning Star News)
Italy opens churches as virus rules dictate how to eat, pray
(Nicole Winfield, Associated Press)
As mosques reopen in West Africa, COVID-19 fears grow
(Krista Larson, Associated Press)
AP PHOTOS: Shrine in Japan offers solace to those at home
(Associated Press)
Brazilian Church ‘on the vanguard’ of fight against COVID-19 in São Paulo
(Eduardo Campos Lima, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
Montenegro: Coronavirus ban feeds clash between state and Serbian Orthodox Church
(Zoran Arbutina, Deutsche Welle)
Judge nixes Oregon governor’s coronavirus-related restrictions on religious gatherings
(Mairead McArdle, National Review)
Putin recommends Russian Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr at home
(Interfax-Religion)
Global religious groups say COVID-19 presents 'prophetic moment' for governments on healthcare
(Peter Kenny, Ecumenical News)
Sri Lankan officials stoke Covid-19 communal hate: 11 years after civil war’s end, no reconciliation efforts
(Meenakshi Ganguly, Human Rights Watch)
Repatriated Muslims say diet at Joburg quarantine site is anti-religion
(Tebogo Monama, IOL News)
French government ordered to lift ban on religious meetings
(Agence France-Presse)
Sunday, 17 May 2020
On the first Sunday congregations could reopen, a church called Hopeful Baptist lived up to its name
(Michelle Boorstein, The Washington Post)
Saturday, 16 May 2020
Daily Highlight #60: Advocating for People Forced to Move: The Vatican’s Voice
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
COVID-19 and common humanity
(Brian Bird, Convivium: Canada's Premier Hub for Faith in Common Life)
Futility in the face of pandemic
(Daniel Gilman, Convivium: Canada's Premier Hub for Faith in Common Life)
Shadow and light in the post-COVID Church
(Peter Stockland and Peter Menzies, Convivium: Canada's Premier Hub for Faith in Common Life)
Serb church priests freed from detention in Montenegro
(Associated Press)
Charges dropped against Florida pastor over stay-home order
(Associated Press)
Churches sue over North Carolina COVID-19 order
(Howard Friedman, Religion Clause)
Lawsuit filed to block Gov. Cooper’s order on churches
(Ken Lemon, WSOC TV)
UK taskforce on reopening places of worship
(David Pocklington, Law & Religion UK)
New emergency aid bill aims to cut most benefits to Catholic schools
(Dennis Sadowski, Catholic News Service)
Iran’s clerics have bungled their coronavirus response, stoking doubts about their rule
(Erin Cunningham, The Washington Post)
COVID-19 much more fatal for men, especially taking age into account
(Richard V. Reeves and Tiffany Ford, Brookings)
More women than men are dying of coronavirus in Massachussetts. Why is that?
(Rebecca Ostriker, The Boston Globe)
Friday, 15 May 2020
Berkley Forum COVID-19 Blogs
(Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs, Georgetown University)
Daily Highlight #59: Imams Who Oppose Pakistan's Coronavirus Orders
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Religious Liberty and the Corona Crisis before the German Constitutional Court
(Justin Collings, Talk About: Law and Religion - Blog of the International Center for Law and Religion Studies)
Giving back to those who serve: Caring for our faith leaders
(Melinda Moore, Glen Bloomstrom, Religion News Service)
Daily Highlight #54 Digital Divides, Knowledge, and Empowerment: The COVID-19 Crisis and Black Churches
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Thursday, 14 May 2020
USINDO's WEBINAR on Religion and COVID Pandemic (recorded May 7, 2020)
(YouTube Video, The U.S. - Indonesia Society (USINDO))
PaRD-WEBINAR on COVID-19: A test for our humanity (recorded 12 May 2020)
(Mohammed Abu-Nimer, Katherine Marshall, Olivia Wilkinson, Jørgen Thomsen, Rev. Kyoichi Sugino, Mercy Niwe, International Partership on Religion and Sustainable Development (PaRD))
When will we care about domestic violence?
(Caroline Fraser, The New York Review of Books)
Daily HIghlight #58: Interfaith Youth Mobilize against COVID-19 in Kenya
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Daily Highlight #57 | Masks and Niqabs: Face Coverings and Religious Freedom in France
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
BROADCAST, 14 May 2020: Inspiration & Hope: An Interfaith Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic
(The Parliament of the World's Religions, Facebook and YouTube)
Daily Highlight #56: Catholic Nursing Homes: Faith, Financial Struggles, and the COVID-19 Pandemic
(COVID-19: Exploring Faith Dimensions, Berkley Center, Joint Learning Initiative, WFDD)
Pope joins interreligious prayer, begging God to end pandemic
(Cindy Wooden, Crux: Taking the Catholic Pulse)
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