Professor Ulrich Schmiedel will deliver a lecture in Utrecht on how liberal theology and religion influence the discourse surrounding European borders and migration ethics. The event includes a study afternoon featuring theologians and activists to discuss the role of public theology in the current migration crisis.

The Hungarian Unitarian Church held celebrations in Torda and Kolozsvár to mark the 458th anniversary of the Edict of Torda, the first law to establish religious freedom. The events included ecumenical messages, the presentation of the János Zsigmond Award to Mihály Balázs, and the announcement of 2026 as a special memorial year.

Haxhi Dede Baba Edmond Brahimaj, the World Leader of the Bektashi, was elected as the Chairman of the Presidency Board of the Interreligious Council of Albania for 2026. During the council’s first meeting of the year, members approved a 2026-2028 strategic plan focused on strengthening interfaith dialogue, promoting peaceful coexistence, and increasing the social involvement of youth and women.

This NAUA Academy session from December 2025 features a presentation by Joyce Francis regarding the growing demographic of ‘Nones’—individuals who do not identify with any specific religion. The discussion focuses on whether this social shift acts as a challenge or an opportunity for Unitarian communities, examining new congregational models and evaluating if traditional Unitarian activities still resonate with the religiously unaffiliated.

Following two massive typhoons, including Typhoon Tino (Kalmaegi), that devastated the Philippines in early November, the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Philippines (UUCP) is leading recovery efforts for the worst natural disaster in its nearly 70-year history. Eleven UU congregations and scores of families, particularly on Negros Island, were severely impacted. The UUCP, whose members are mostly farmers and fisher folk, received emergency grants totaling $20,000 from the UUA and UUSC for immediate food and water relief. The article emphasizes the need for ongoing donations to rebuild damaged homes and churches, restore livelihoods, and support community education on climate change resilience.

The IARF is launching a new, global online “Free Religion Institute” offering lectures on inter-religious and worldview dialogue from various spiritual and expert perspectives. Prof. George Williams, IARF International Board Chair and a Hindu specialist, will coordinate the program and host a free, open Zoom session on June 10 (8 PM European time), duplicated for different time zones. Vrijzinnigen Nederland’s board has tentatively approved a subsidy for the institute, reinforcing its connection to IARF’s international platform. This initiative is seen as a crucial step towards fostering mutual respect, tolerance, and global cooperation in addressing contemporary challenges, encouraging members to actively participate in the institute’s courses or the upcoming IARF conference in Offenbach. More information is available on iarf.net or via [email protected] for the Dutch member group.

The IARF (International Association for Religious Freedom) EME Conference 2025, themed “Limits of Religious Freedom and Tolerance,” will take place from September 11-14 in Offenbach and Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Prompted by current global challenges, the conference will explore freedom of thought, conscience, and worldview from diverse liberal perspectives, emphasizing international dialogue for support and problem-solving. The event, which is hybrid (online and in-person), also celebrates the 180th anniversaries of the host communities and IARF’s 125th year. A pre-conference tour of German frei-reigiöse groups is scheduled for September 9-11. All are invited, including young people, to engage in interfaith exchange and experience unity in diversity. Further details and registration are available at iarf.net.

The General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches (GA) commends the passage of the ‘Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill’ through the House of Commons, now proceeding to the House of Lords. This advancement aligns with the GA’s 2013 motion in favor of assisted dying for terminally ill patients, reflecting Unitarian values of inherent worth, dignity, and freedom of conscience. The GA hopes these principles will guide the Bill’s implementation and ensure that individuals facing intolerable physical conditions have the right to seek a painless and dignified end to their lives.

This article commemorates the Transylvanian Unitarian victims of the repression following the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, who faced persecution, imprisonment, and forced labor for advocating spiritual and national freedom. Numerous Unitarian clergy, theology professors (including Dr. Lőrinczi Mihály and future Bishop Dr. Erdő János), and students were targeted by the regime. Sentences often ranged from several years to 25 years of hard labor (as experienced by Nyitrainé Deák Berta and Sándor Balázs). Rázmány Mór is identified as the first Unitarian victim of Communism, interned in 1952–53. Tragic fates included Pastor Gellérd Imre, who committed suicide due to harassment, and Moyses Márton, who self-immolated in 1970 in protest. The community is urged to preserve their memory and draw strength from their courage. An ecumenical memorial service is announced for October 23rd at the Unitarian Church in Cluj-Napoca.

Timothy Stacey has been appointed as the new endowed professor of Liberal Religiosity and Humanism at the University for Humanistics (UvH), effective November 1st. This chair, financed by the Foundation for the Promotion of Liberal Thought (SSVG), is dedicated to researching sources of meaning and values from liberal traditions to guide individuals and society in a secular and diverse world. Stacey, a religious scholar and anthropologist, will focus his research on symbolic strategies that help restore faith in freedom and democracy, emphasizing that the ‘religion of a free society’ originates among those striving for a better world.

This article reviews Rienk Klooster’s extensive reference work, “Het Modernisme in Friesland 1840-1940,” which chronicles the history of theological liberalism (vrijzinnigheid) in the Dutch province of Friesland. The book highlights unique figures and events, such as Louis Bähler, a controversial Christian anarchist minister inspired by Buddhism and Tolstoy; Jan Sevenster, who was jailed for his anti-militarist views expressed in the Conscientious Objection Manifesto of 1915; and Frits Reitsma, the ‘red minister’ who established a reed-weaving school to alleviate local poverty. The text emphasizes Friesland’s crucial role in the development of Dutch liberalism, noting it hosted the first department of the Association of Liberal Reformed Christians.

An interview and report on the launch of a new comprehensive photo-monograph, “To the Worship of the One God. The Congregations of the 450-Year-Old Hungarian Unitarian Church,” detailing 155 congregations across 506 pages and 736 photos. Editors highlight the book’s importance in providing a unified historical overview after nearly a century, showcasing the resilience, community strength, and capacity for renewal of the Unitarian Church through centuries of minority existence and hardship. They emphasize that the churches and religious artifacts are living parts of faith life, not just relics.

The Cato Institute announced the release of a new book edited by Mustafa Akyol titled ‘No Compulsion in Religion—No Exceptions.’ The volume features essays from global Muslim scholars arguing that religious freedom is an authentic Islamic ideal rooted in the Qur’an rather than a Western import. The book challenges coercive legal traditions regarding apostasy, blasphemy, and ritual observance, arguing that such interpretations often serve authoritarian political power rather than faith.

Interfaith Alliance has denounced the ‘Greater Than’ campaign, an anti-LGBTQ+ initiative seeking to overturn marriage equality. Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush characterized the campaign as an attack on religious freedom and human dignity, asserting that a majority of religious Americans support the right to marry.

India’s Supreme Court has agreed to review the constitutional validity of anti-religious conversion laws enacted by 12 states. The petitioner, the National Council of Churches in India (NCCI), argued these laws incentivize vigilante violence against minorities. The Solicitor General, representing the Centre, stated the government has responses and contested the petitioner’s claims. The court referenced past judgments concerning Article 25 of the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of conscience and the right to propagate religion, but not the right to convert others.

Russian police and military officers raided Council of Churches Baptists’ Sunday worship in Krasnodon on January 25th, threatening to stop all future services if the church does not register with Russian authorities. This is part of a pattern of raids on religious meetings (Baptist and Muslim) in Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk Regions between July and December 2025, often resulting in fines for “missionary activity.” Council of Churches Baptists intentionally avoid official registration. The article details specific raids, interrogations, and legal proceedings against pastors, highlighting the Russian occupation authorities’ severe violations of freedom of religion or belief, despite calls from the UN to respect these freedoms.

Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan initiated a reform of the Armenian Apostolic Church, seeking to remove Catholicos Garegin II and establish a state-led Coordinating Council. The government justifies this by accusing the Church leadership of involvement in politics, referencing the Church’s criticism of the government following the Nagorno-Karabakh defeat. The article argues this justification is legally untenable, as Armenian and international law permit religious institutions to engage in political discourse without violating the separation of Church and State principles. A secondary government narrative links some clergy to Russian intelligence (‘KGB agents’), which the author disputes given the Armenian Church’s unique, largely Western-educated, and historically independent ecclesiastical structure. Finally, the PM has publicly accused clergy of moral failings (adultery, violating celibacy), which the author contends fall under the Church’s internal, canonical jurisdiction, not the State’s purview, noting the suspicious timing of leaked private footage.

A couple in Indonesia’s Aceh province, the only region imposing Sharia law, was publicly caned 140 times each for having sex outside marriage and consuming alcohol. The woman fainted after enduring the punishment, which is considered one of the severest since Sharia was implemented in 2001. The punishment included 100 lashes for the sex offense and 40 for alcohol consumption. The couple was among six people flogged that day.

The Texas State Board of Education delayed voting on a proposed mandatory K-12 reading list due to widespread concern over its strong Christian religious focus and a lack of racial, ethnic, and gender diversity. Democrats and public speakers argued that emphasizing Christian texts like ‘The Parable of the Prodigal Son’ conflicts with the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Critics also noted the list underrepresents Hispanic and Black students, despite forming the majority of Texas students, favoring classical literature and political addresses. Proponents, mostly Republicans, defended the religious texts as historically significant and emphasized the quality of classical literature over author demographics. The list, which will be mandatory if adopted, allows parents to opt out of instruction, though students might still be tested on the material.

Seventy individuals who gathered in St. Petersburg from across Russia to pray for the health of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky were detained by Russian authorities, who labeled the organization a “radical sect.” The group, reportedly created in Ukraine and focused on spiritual development, also discussed the war and praised the Ukrainian armed forces. One leader is identified as Olga Dautova, a professor from the St. Petersburg Academy of Postgraduate Pedagogical Education. The prayer included specific requests for the protection of Zelensky, his team, and various Ukrainian regions.

A series of letters debating the legal status of male circumcision in the UK following a CPS document. Perspectives range from a rabbi calling for professional regulation to maintain tradition safely, to men who view the practice as nonconsensual mutilation and support its classification as child abuse.

The IRF Community, Africa Working Group, Jubilee Campaign and Coptic Solidarity have circulated a letter calling for the immediate release of Said Mansour Rezk Abdelrazek, a Christian convert arbitrarily detained in Cairo since July 15, 2025. The letter highlights the stark contradiction between Egypt’s constitutional guarantee of absolute freedom of belief and the persecution faced by citizens who leave Islam. It documents Mr. Abdelrazek’s years of harassment, torture, and wrongful imprisonment, and urges Egypt to honor its constitutional and international commitments by ensuring his release, granting him access to basic rights while detained, and protecting freedom of belief for all Egyptians.

Controversial Dutch faith healer Tom de Wal was arrested in Tilburg for preaching without the necessary permit after his original venue in Eindhoven canceled his services. De Wal, the founder of the Frontrunners foundation, has been a subject of concern for years due to his claims of healing terminal illnesses and alleged attempts to ‘cure’ homosexuality. While his organization claims to work alongside medical professionals, critics argue his practices create manipulative personality cults that can endanger vulnerable followers.

The article discusses the cancellation of an art exhibition by George Gavriel in Cyprus due to political pressure and threats, analyzing it through the lens of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The author critiques the European Court of Human Rights for inconsistent jurisprudence regarding offensive religious art, noting that the court often grants states too much leeway to restrict expression based on ‘religious feelings.’ The author argues that institutional retreat in the face of political outrage creates a chilling effect on artistic freedom and democratic pluralism.