Tithing not a necessary expense in computing installment payments to IRS

20130305 Howard Freidman, Religion Clause In Thompson v. Commissioner, (USTC, March 4, 2013), the U.S. Tax Court faced the question of the extent to which a taxpayer entering an installment agreement for the payment of back taxes should be allowed to continue to tithe to the Mormon Church.  George Thompson, who...

Prisoner free exercise cases – Installment #2 for the week – March 18, 2015

20150318 0 Howard Friedman, Religion Clause In Hall v. Martin, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29585 (WD MI, March 11, 2015), a Michigan federal district court adopted a magistrate’s recommendation (2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 30572, Feb. 18, 2015) and denied summary judgment to a Messianic Jewish inmate who was suing because he was...

Prisoner free exercise cases – Installment 2 for the week – March 31, 2015

20150331 0 Howard Friedman, Religion Clause In Epps v. Grannis, (9th Cir., March 27, 2015), the 9th Circuit upheld the district court’s dismissal of a Muslim inmate’s complaints regarding lack of a kosher diet, the prison’s package policy, lack of a Muslim chaplain, failure to allow him to worship in a group setting...

Prisoner free exercise cases – installment #2 for the week – March 2, 2015

20150302 0 Howard Friedman, Religion Clause In Jack-Bey v. Tribley, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23161 (WD MI, Feb. 26, 2015), a Michigan federal district court refused to dismiss a claim by an inmate who was a member of the Moorish Science Temple of America that the 1st Amendment protects his right...

Law and Religion Headlines Europe

...Greek bishop convicted over comments attacking gays (Associated Press) A tale of two sanctuary churches: Congregants in Ohio and the Netherlands find ‘instant connection’ (Tania Karas, PRI) Temples to Goddesses found at site of male-only Olympic games (Philippe Bohstrom, Haaretz) BBC ‘Year of Beliefs’ to shine light on faith and...

Astrid Ríos

...humanos y la familia en programas de radio, televisión, charlas y capacitaciones a nivel nacional. En instancias internacionales ha representado al Estado de Guatemala ante la Comisión de la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer (Naciones Unidas) y en la Asamblea General de la Organización de los Estados Americanos,...

Religious Persecution in the World Today: Diagnoses, Prognoses, Treatments, Cures

...the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in many parts of the world there are severe instances of religious persecution – not just discrimination, marginalisation or hostility, but mass atrocities, including murder, torture, bodily harm, rape and sexual violence, slavery and forced labor, forced displacement, forced conversion, and...

Webinar Episode 13: Canada, United States, and United Kingdom Perspectives

...several actions the United Kingdom has used to respond to such instances. Nadine Maenza then shares thoughts on the pandemic and religious freedom from the view of the United States. Her comments shed light on multiple global examples of ways COVID-19 has exacerbated existing issues of freedom of religion or...

Briefing on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security: New Policy Guidance from the OSCE

...Manchin, USCIRF Vice Chair. In the OSCE region, freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) is violated by some governments who use the pretext of national security to justify repression. For example, in Russia’s Tatarstan region, cameras are installed in mosques to transmit videos of worshippers during their prayers to state...

“Never Again”: What Can Be Done to Prevent and Address Religious Persecution

...many parts of the world there are severe instances of religious persecution – not just discrimination, marginalization or hostility, but mass atrocities, including murder, torture, bodily harm, rape and sexual violence, slavery and forced labor, forced displacement, forced conversion, and atrocities that may be classified as crimes against humanity, war...