When religious freedom faces a new threat in media reports that obscure and distort reality
From the World
Pakistan: Court Challenges the Bias That Confines Minorities to Sanitation Work
The Islamabad High Court has condemned religion-based sanitation job ads, but the practice continues despite constitutional protections.
The Fear of the Jesuits in 17th-century Poland and Lithuania: The First “Cult” Panic
An exploration of anti-Jesuit polemics reveals a much older genealogy behind today’s campaigns against groups branded as outsiders, manipulators, or “cults.”
The Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan: An Executive Summary
Ahmadis in Pakistan face daily persecution, legally permitted by the Constitution and Penal Code—but it must never be accepted as normal.
Pakistan Christians Call for Justice for Catholic Laborer Found Hanged
Marqas Masih’s death in Sargodha was declared a suicide, but it increasingly appears to be a homicide.
France, Anti-Cult Association UNADFI Loses Again in Court
The Court of Appeal of Aix-en-Provence stated that its refusal to publish a right of reply from “Non à la Drogue, Oui à la Vie” was unlawful.
Quebec’s Secularism Laws Deepen, Raising New Fears for Religious Freedom Across Canada
A French-style set of laws imposing “laïcité” is now increasingly resisted, both in Quebec and in other provinces.
When Stigmatization Turns Violent: Two CGM Members Assaulted with a Hammer in Taiwan
The Kaohsiung attack, which left one seriously injured, occurred after warnings at the UN about the effects of media hate speech targeting the movement.
The Truth, Please, About Steven Hassan. 4. The “Cult” of “Hassanology”
Leading anti-cultist Dr. Cathleen A. Mann expressed her doubts that Hassan was an “expert on cults” and indeed “an expert in anything,” except “Hassanology.”
The Truth, Please, About Steven Hassan. 3. Is He Really an “Expert”?
Hassan’s “authority” does not come from academia but from his past as a “cult” member and a deprogrammer.