Today the FBI released its 2018 Hate Crime Statistics. In 2018, 7,120 hate crime incidents were reported to the FBI by law enforcement authorities. These involved 8,496 offenses,  That was down from 7,175 incidents in 2017. Of 7,036 single-bias incidents, 20.2% (1,550 offenses) were motivated by religious bias.  57.8% of the religiously motivated incidents were anti-Jewish.  The next largest group of religiously motivated hate crimes were 14.5% which were anti-Muslim. 4.1% were anti-Sikh. 3.8%…

In A.A. v. Switzerland, (ECHR, Nov. 5, 2019) (full text of decision in French), the European Court of Human Rights held that Switzerland had violated Art. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) in its rejection of a claim for asylum by an Afghan national of Hazara ethnicity who was a Muslim convert to Christianity. As summarized by the Court’s press release: The Court noted that…

In A.A. v. Switzerland, (ECHR, Nov. 5, 2019) (full text of decision in French), the European Court of Human Rights held that Switzerland had violated Art. 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) in its rejection of a claim for asylum by an Afghan national of Hazara ethnicity who was a Muslim convert to Christianity. As summarized by the Court’s press release: The Court noted that…

According to WION, this Thursday brings the last major enthronement rite for Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito– spending the night with the sun goddess from whom some believe the Emperor is descended. This ceremony, known as the Daijosai has led to a suit by a group of 300 people who claim that the millions of dollars spent by the government on the ceremony violates the separation of church and state.…

According to WION, this Thursday brings the last major enthronement rite for Japan’s new Emperor Naruhito– spending the night with the sun goddess from whom some believe the Emperor is descended. This ceremony, known as the Daijosai has led to a suit by a group of 300 people who claim that the millions of dollars spent by the government on the ceremony violates the separation of church and state.…

Law & Religion UK reports that in Britain, the Civil Partnership (Opposite-sex Couples) Regulations 2019 were approved by the House of Commons on Oct. 31 and by the House of Lords on November 5.…

From SSRN: Doug Magendanz, The Fiasco of the Righteous: A Note on Justice, (October 21, 2019). Thomas Charles Berg, Life Patents, Religion, and Justice: A Summary of Themes, (From Patents on Life: Religious, Moral, and Social Justice Aspects of Biotechnology and Intellectual Property, (Thomas C. Berg, Roman Cholij, and Simon Ravenscroft eds., Cambridge University Press, 2019, Forthcoming)). Sohail Wahedi, The Constitutional Dynamics of Religious Manifestations, (2019, PhD thesis). George Letsas, Accommodating What …