Oceanian Perspectives on Human Dignity

From 23 to 25 April 2024, the ICLRS, along with BYU–Hawaii and the BYU–Hawaii Religious Freedom and Human Dignity Initiative, cosponsored the second annual conference dedicated to Asia-Pacific perspectives on human dignity. Held at BYU–Hawaii in Laie, Oahu, Hawaii, the 2024 conference, “Oceanian Perspectives on Human Dignity,” featured insights on human dignity from scholars, students, government leaders, religious leaders, and civil society actors from various Oceanian countries. One purpose of the conference was to inform government leaders, policymakers, civil society leaders, and other decision-makers, as they seek to find new and better ways to address the unique challenges of Pacific communities.

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Webinar: Ukraine’s Law Banning the Russian Orthodox Church and Affiliated Organizations: Politics, Law, and Theology

The webinar was hosted by the ICLRS Blog “Talk About: Law and Religion” and Orthodox Christianity Studies Center—Fordham University on October 29, 2024. Webinar panelists discussed political, legal, social, and theological aspects of Ukraine’s recent law No 3894 banning the Russian Orthodox Church and religious organizations affiliated with the ROC.

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Institutions as Agents of Persecution and Inclusion of Minority Faiths

Brett G. Scharffs is Rex E. Lee chair and professor of law at J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, and is director of the Law School’s International Center for Law and Religion Studies. The following post is based on his remarks at the AMAR Windsor Dialogue conference held at Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, England, 24–25 June 2024. It was published as part of the Talk About blog feature “Marking the 10th Anniversary of the Yazidi Genocide.”

My engagement with the AMAR International Charitable Foundation began as a participant in the 2018 Windsor Dialogue conference held in Baghdad, where I and others discussed the experience of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and their journey “from persecution to inclusion.”[1] The hope was that the Latter-day Saints’ journey might have salience, relevance, and resonance with the Yazidi community. I later discussed the Latter-day Saints’ journey at a 2022 Notre Dame University Symposium, “Re-Thinking the Law to Protect Religious Minorities,” and published a related essay in Notre Dame Law Review Reflection.

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