Temple of Heaven in Beijing, China by Maros (CC BY-SA 3.0) In this article, I will make some general arguments regarding the subject of law and religion in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and conclude with specific observations from my fieldwork over the last twenty years on China’s Protestant population. Grasping what “law” and…
The Arrival of Pilgrim Fathers by Antonio Gisbert (Public Domain) Protections for the religious freedom and internal affairs of religious organizations are largely a matter of judge-made First Amendment law. While the Supreme Court has acted to protect institutional religious freedom in important cases, many American jurisdictions take a narrow view of this right and…
Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces Patriot on Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). In an interview at the beginning of 2024, the far-right Russian ideologue, Alexander Dugin, sought to justify Russian military aggression as a mission of redemption. In fact, he likened Russia’s so-called “special military operation” to the Passion of Christ. He said, “Our…
Photo on Wikimedia by EOverbey (CC BY-SA 3.0). In 2013, Jane Doe 6 was a residential student at Liberty University, the country’s largest Baptist Christian university. One night, her boyfriend invited her to his house, gave her two glasses of wine, and she immediately became immobile from a date rape drug he put in her…
Image of European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France on Wikimedia by CherryX (CC BY-SA 3.0). The following essay reflects on the monograph, Cooperación del Estado con la religión en Europa, written in Spanish by Silva Meseguer Velasco. The work is part of the Roots of Law collection of the Aranzadi publishing house, directed…
A Field Sermon by Anna Ancher (CC0 1.0). Since Donald Trump’s appointment of conservative Supreme Court justices beginning in 2017, the Court released a series of rulings that have had a profound impact on the rights of historically marginalized groups, as well as environmental protection. Regarding immigration rights, the Court ruled in Trump v. Hawaii…
Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin in Bury, England. Photo by Michael Beckwith (CC BY 3.0). Religion is one of the five categories of protection—along with race, nationality, political opinion, and membership in a particular social group—designated by the international and domestic refugee regimes. Migrants who claim a “well-founded fear of persecution” on account…
Mount Rushmore, USA by Dean Franklin (CC BY 2.0). Rob Reiner’s recent movie, God & Country is, to be sure, a compelling presentation of the character and influence of white Christian nationalism and a powerful reminder of the dire threat the movement represents for American political and social life in this portentous presidential election year. …
Casa de la Libertad (Freedom House) in Sucre, Bolivia by Dan Lundberg (CC BY-SA 2.0). The Growing Sophistication of Religious Freedom Monitoring When considering research and political attention for religious freedom, we have really come a long way. For a long time, secularization theory was dominant in social sciences. Back in the nineteenth century, German…
Photo by Pexels on Pixabay (CCO). In a recent campaign speech, Donald Trump referred to immigrants as a “poisoning of our blood,” arguing that immigration weakens and overall contaminates American society. He presents a perspective on immigration that is not uncommon—one of suspicion and preemptive mistrust of foreigners. Even those who are tolerant of foreigners…