News from around the world. Curated by Mark McDowell. Posts do not constitute agreement or endorsement.
Law Matters Law Opinion The loyalty being asked of us are to Canada’s organizing constitutional principles. Share: The requirement to take an oath of allegiance to the sovereign remains a requirement for being called to the Bar in some provinces, including Alberta. Does it violate deeply held religious beliefs? Can…
Captain Sukhbir Toor, who with three other Sikhs sued the U.S. Marine Corps April 11, 2022. | Sikh Coalition A group of four Sikh men are seeking a religious exemption from the Marine Corps allowing them to keep the beards and turbans that they say are essential to the practice…
A challenge by two Ontario churches of public health restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic begins Monday, with their lawyers arguing the measures violate the right to freedom of religion and assembly under the Constitution. The proceedings from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in St. Thomas will be before Justice…
Lawyers for Waterloo’s Trinity Bible Chapel, Aylmer’s Church of God begin arguments in St. Thomas court Members of the Aylmer Church of God spent time inside their church building in defiance of Ontario’s emergency orders. Church of God is one of two churches involved in a constitutional challenge of the…
Earlier this year I wrote an article arguing that the local church is essential. No matter what the government says, God’s word makes it clear that believers are called to continue gathering together for fellowship (Hebrews 10:24-25). The government can tell Christians to stop stepping over the entrance of the…
The Supreme Court of Canada Building on May 12, 2021 (Jolson Lim/iPolitics) In a 9-0 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that there is no underlying legal contract when someone joins a voluntary organization, even if that organization has a constitution and by-law, and, even if that…
Erwin Chemerinsky. Photo by Jim Block. For the last two decades, the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently restricted the ability to sue out-of-state defendants without their consent. But in Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District , the court allowed an out-of-state company to be sued. The decision, handed…
Canadian Pastor James Coates with his family in this undated photo. A pastor in Canada who was arrested for refusing to adhere to COVID-19 worship restrictions will be released from jail after prosecutors dropped all but one of the charges against him. Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church in Edmonton,…
Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church near Edmonton. Photo by Screenshot Article content EDMONTON — An Alberta pastor, who has spent weeks in jail after holding church services in violation of public health rules, is expected to be released in the coming days, his lawyers say. James Coates is expected…
This article focuses on a specialized class of employment law and human rights issues where there an overlap exists between matters of creed or religion and the legal relationship. In heterogeneous societies, people will disagree, sometimes passionately and fundamentally, over socio-politics, economics, spirituality and other beliefs and conduct. Our societal…
Peter Youngren, founding pastor of Toronto International Celebration Church, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in a photo uploaded to Facebook on Nov. 2, 2020. A Canadian church has filed suit against a provincial government over a rule that prohibits gatherings of more than 10 people, arguing that it interferes with…
Fox News Flash top headlines for Dec. 7 A federal court in Canada has ruled that the self-titled "Church of Atheism" isn’t a religion and can’t be treated like one for tax purposes. The Court of Appeal upheld the refusal by the minister of national revenue to register the Church…
Photo Credit: Freedom From Religion Foundation WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court has vacated a lower court ruling finding a Florida cross monument unconstitutional and has instructed the court to review the case in light of its other ruling last week upholding a similar cross display. “The judgment is vacated,…
What happens when employers and employees no longer see eye to eye The Toronto Humane Society in Toronto. Google Street View By Shaun Bernstein and Stuart Rudner When we provide counsel to employers, we continually repeat one key phrase: “Your workplace, your rules.” Generally speaking, an employee’s refusal to carry…
Canada’s Quebec province on Thursday unveiled controversial draft legislation that would ban a significant section of public servants from wearing religious symbols such as a crucifix, yarmulke or hijab. The measure which applies to police, teachers and others in positions of authority is expected to become law by June with…
2018 was touted as the year the Supreme Court of Canada would consider how religious freedom should be valued as a right guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court rendered three highly anticipated decisions which received a great deal of press. Two of the decisions…
2018 was touted as the year the Supreme Court of Canada would consider how religious freedom should be valued as a right guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Supreme Court rendered three highly anticipated decisions which received a great deal of press. Two of the decisions…
Pakistani religious groups protest against a Supreme Court decision that acquitted Asia Bibi, who was accused of blasphemy, in Islamabad, Pakistan. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash) The citizens of Ireland voted recently, in a nationwide referendum, to remove a clause from their constitution that had made blasphemy a criminal offense. Ireland’s now-defunct…
One of the loudest voices calling for better protection of religious freedoms in recent years has been the Prime Minister Scott Morrison. But what exactly is religious freedom, and why are we having this debate now? Who follows what religion in Australia? Christianity remains the dominant religious group in […]…