Some interesting law & religion stories from around the web this week:
- On Thursday, a United Nations panel questioned the Vatican on its handling of decades of reports of clergy sex abuse.
- Egyptian voters overwhelmingly passed a new constitution that deletes Islamic language written into the basic law approved a year ago and strengthens the power of the army, the police, and the judiciary
- Egypt’s Christians rallied behind the new constitution which bans political parties based on religion, gives women equal rights, and protects the status of minority Christians
- The United States Justice Department will significantly expand its definition of racial profiling to prohibit federal agents from considering religion, national origin, gender, and sexual orientation in their investigations
- A federal appeals court ruled that three University of Notre Dame students, who want the school’s health insurance to cover birth control, can intervene on the side of the federal government in a university-filed lawsuit that challenges parts of the Affordable Care Act
- A bill that would ban the use of Nazi symbols passed its preliminary reading in the Israeli Knesset over objections that it would pose constitutional problems
- On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case involving an Arizona law that would implement a ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The decision leaves in place the judgment of the federal appeals court striking down the law
- The Supreme Court expressed doubt about a Massachusetts law that mandates a 35-foot buffer zone around abortion clinics. The transcript of the oral argument is here
- According to a new Pew Research Center Report, violence and discrimination against religious groups by governments and rival faiths have reached new highs in all regions of the world except the Americas
- A federal judge in Oklahoma ruled that the state’s constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage violated the federal constitution
- The American Atheists have filed an action in federal court against the Oklahoma State Capitol Preservation Commission challenging the 10 Commandments monument erected in 2012 on the Oklahoma State Capitol grounds
- Britain has granted asylum to a Muslim-raised Afghan man who came to Britain as a teen and lost his faith. He argued that because he is an atheist, he might face a death sentence if forced to return to his native country