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** Your daily media briefing - Tuesday 15 December
In the Media <[link removed]> is our daily collection of news and commentary related to secularism, available delivered to your inbox. You can also read the latest news <[link removed]> and opinion <[link removed]> and listen to our podcasts <[link removed]> on our website.
*= Registration may be required to read the article.
** Secularism in the media
* Hate crime bill 'still threat to freedom' despite climbdown <[link removed]>
Controversial hate crime proposals in Scotland are still a threat to free speech, opponents have warned – despite Humza Yousaf being forced to rewrite and drop large parts of the legislation.
The Herald
* Charity regulator closes linked Christian charities after £44k in 'love offering' payments made to individuals <[link removed]>
Three charities have been forced to close by the regulator in Northern Ireland after a "god-ordained" trustee made payments called "love offerings", and loaned himself £15,000 of charitable funds to cover personal car financing.
Third Sector*
* Gay 'conversion therapy': Man given electric shocks demands apology <[link removed]>
A gay man who went through months of electric shock "therapy" in a university psychology department 50 years ago has demanded an apology.
BBC
* False Covid vaccine claims ‘could hinder immunisation within Muslim communities’ <[link removed]>
Muslim medical professionals have expressed concerns that fewer people within ethnic minority communities will take up the Covid-19 jab.
Express & Star
* Deradicalisation doesn’t work, says terror watchdog <[link removed]>
Jihadists who are freed from prison should be closely supervised and given lie-detector tests because there is no evidence that deradicalisation programmes work, the terrorism watchdog has said.
The Times*
* Austria court overturns primary school headscarf ban <[link removed]>
Austria's constitutional court has struck down a law prohibiting primary school children from wearing specific religious head coverings.
BBC
* Belgian court reverses ban on houses of worship following Jewish petition <[link removed]>
A petition by several Orthodox Jews from Antwerp has prompted Belgium's highest court to end the government's ban on gatherings at houses of worship to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Belgium has the world's highest death rate per million inhabitants of the coronavirus.
Jewish News
* Argentina's lower house approves draft bill legalising abortion <[link removed]>
Lawmakers in Argentina's lower house on Friday passed a bill that would legalise abortion in most cases, responding to long-sought demands from women's rights activists.
France 24
* Bolivia approves first same-sex union following legal battle <[link removed]>
Bolivia's civil registry authorised for the first time a same sex civil union following a two-year legal battle, a decision activists in the Andean nation hope will pave the way for an overhaul of the country's marriage laws.
Reuters
* ‘On the first day of Christmas…teachers got a legal headache over blurring the line between church and state’ <[link removed]>
In the US, religious traditions pose a legal challenge in the classroom and concern over blurring the line of separation between church and state, says Charles J. Russo.
The Conversation
** In case you missed it...
* Religion is not a justification for discrimination <[link removed]>
A shadow minister was wrong to say religious registrars should be able to opt out of providing same-sex marriages. And her comments are a reminder that we don't need a ministerial office for faith, says Stephen Evans.
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