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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Our First Freedom: How Firm a Foundation

Katrina Lantos Swett is president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, cochair of the International Religious Freedom Summit, and former chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. The following post is based on her remarks during the panel “Understanding Religious Freedom: Why Does It Matter?” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2024.

At its core, religious freedom matters because it speaks to and honors that which makes humans utterly unique among all creation. We are the only inhabitants of this world who are uniquely hardwired to ask questions about the meaning of life: Who are we? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Where are we going? This unique and profound singularity of humans is the key to what gives meaning, purpose, and dignity to our lives. Socrates famously said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.”[1] Because this singular curiosity is so intrinsic to what it means to be human, protecting the quest to answer these questions and then, importantly, being allowed to live one’s life in accordance with the answers one receives truly is foundational to the whole human rights project. So many other fundamental rights flow from this wellspring right: freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of association—the most basic parental rights that are protected in the Universal Declaration. All of these flow from this wellspring right of freedom of conscience and belief. So religious freedom is important, first and foremost, because it is intrinsic to our identity and our dignity as human beings.

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When Gender and Nationality Are Enough for Asylum: Commentary on the AH & FN Judgment of the EU Court of Justice

Francisca Pérez-Madrid is Professor of Law and Religion at the University of Barcelona.[1]

On 4 October 2024, in the case of AH (C-608/22) & FN (C-609/22) v. Bundesamt für Fremdenwesen und Asyl, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) confirmed that gender and nationality may constitute sufficient criteria for an EU member state to grant asylum to a particular group of women. The applicants, Afghan nationals “AH” and “FN,” sought refugee status in Austria, citing the persecution of women under Afghanistan’s Taliban regime. Austria denied them refugee status, granting subsidiary protection[2] instead, based on anticipated economic and social hardship if they were to return to Afghanistan. Austrian authorities expressed doubts regarding AH’s credibility and concluded that FN did not face a genuine risk of persecution.

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