Some interesting law and religion news stories from around the web this week:

• The Minnesota Court of Appeals held on Monday that a court-ordered psychological evaluation as part of a parenting assessment in a custody dispute did not violate a Rastafarian’s religious freedom because the interest in the well-being of a child overrides religious objection.
• The Missouri Alliance for Freedom is asking next year’s General Assembly to pass legislation that it argues would protect Missourians’ religious freedom. It would “protect individuals, corporations, religious organizations and others who hold religious beliefs that do not comport with same-sex marriage proponents.”
• The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled Thursday that the Obama administration’s “accommodation” for nonprofit organizations who have religious objections to the government’s contraception mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
  • Read the Eighth Circuit’s decision here.
• The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio expressed what it claims to be “serious constitutional concerns” to Wadsworth City Council on Monday about an event scheduled this week to promote prayer in the community.
• Lawmakers in Nepal rejected an effort to declare the Himalayan nation a Hindu state, adopting a new constitution Sept. 14 defining Nepal as a secular republic but retaining a controversial anti-conversion clause. 
• After decades of conflicts with Cuba’s communist government, the Roman Catholic Church has quietly established itself as practically the only independent institution with any widespread influence on the island.
• Turkey’s tiny Protestant community has received recent threats believed to be from the Islamic State, but as in the past, state authorities have failed to take measures to protect the community.
• Rabbis, imams and other faith leaders working in the public sector in the UK will need special licenses, training and security-vetting under the Home Office’s new anti-extremism proposals.
• In Egypt, the Minister of Endowments, Mohamed Mokhtar Jumaa, decided to install surveillance cameras in mosques across the republic to protect them from terrorism and bombing attempts and to monitor the preaching of extremist ideas.