Some interesting law and religion news stories from around the web this week:
- A Chinese Christian pastor who opposed an “anti-church” demolition campaign that saw hundreds of places of worship partially or completely destroyed has been jailed for one year on charges supporters claim are trumped up.
- As Italian priests began their Lenten ritual of canvassing their parishes with holy water to offer Easter blessings to shops, offices, and individual homes, a group of parents and teachers objected to the blessing of schools in their district.
- CLR’s Prof. DeGirolami discusses, here.
- An Ohio appeals court affirmed the drug possession and trafficking conviction of a man who argued that the trial court violated the Establishment Clause by requiring the parties and the jury to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
- After extensive negotiations, Sunnis and Shiites are now uniting to drive ISIS out of Tikrit, one of the largest cities in Iraq. Some question whether the long-term impact of this cooperation will be positive.
- The ACLU reports that a federal district court in San Francisco ordered the FBI to disclose details of its surveillance programs targeting Arab, Middle Eastern, and Muslim communities and disallowed the FBI’s attempt to use a “law enforcement exemption” in the Freedom of Information Act to shield the information.
- A prestigious London Catholic school is challenging an order from a government agency to change its admissions criteria, which consider applicants’ faith, because it fears that complying will damage its Christian identity.
- Indiana governor Mike Pence signed religious freedom bill, modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), into law. Opponents complain that the new law will permit discrimination against homosexuals.
- The Freedom From Religion Foundation alleges that public universities’ NCAA basketball teams have committed violations by having team chaplains, whether paid or volunteer.
- Cameroon is trying to prevent the spread of religious extremism by arresting imams and their followers accused of promoting radical ideologies and collaborating with Nigeria’s Boko Haram militants.
- First Things reports that the Washington, D.C. City Council violated Catholic schools’ right to free exercise of religion in the “Human Rights Amendment of 2014.”