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News
This webpage offers a database of English-language news stories about secularism, beginning in January 2023. Users can search by date, country of origin, or topic. Top stories are featured at the top of the page.
All News
Title | Date | Journal | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
Tehran design event closed after online video triggers hardline backlash | 16/11/2025 | Iran International | This article examines the event cancellation at Tehran's design week after violation of the compulsory hijab requirement. |
Iran’s judiciary says enforcing the compulsory hijab is a top priority | 16/11/2025 | Iran International | This article examines how Iran's judiciary has reinforced the mandatory headscarf as a top priority in its enforcement agenda. |
Mexico Muslim women's legal fight to keep hijab in passport photos | 16/11/2025 | ABNA News | This article examines the legal challenge launched by Mexico Muslim women to retain her hijab in her passport photos. |
BNP to reinstate ‘faith in Allah’ in constitution if returns to power: Salahuddin | 15/11/2025 | UNB | This article examines how the BNP political party plans to reinstate Islam into the Bangladeshi Constitution to uphold fundamental principles of state policy. |
Vox Calls for Ban on Burka and Niqab in Valencia’s Public Spaces
| 15/11/2025 | Russpain | This article examines the calls to ban the burqa and the niqab in Spain to address security concerns. |
Iran Eases Social Restrictions While Deepening Crackdown on Dissent | 14/11/2025 | Sri Lanka Guardian | This article explains the challenges in achieving social freedom in Iran with the recent loosening of social restrictions including the mandatory hijab requirement. |
Quiet threat to Canadian unity is emerging; Bill 21 is not just a Quebec law - it's a test for Canada
| 14/11/2025 | The Vancouver Sun | This article explains how Bill 21 is perceived as a challenge to public policy and unity across Canadian provinces. |
Kolkata ISI students take out rallies put up posters on inclusiveness post hateful graffiti row | 14/11/2025 | The Week | This article examine the recent rallies to denounce hateful messages targetting religious practices at the Indian Statistical Institute. |
Iran's dual reality: As veil restrictions ease, political crackdown deepens | 13/11/2025 | Reuters | This article explains the recent removal on the mandatory hijab requirement in Iran. |
Secularism, forgotten key to Nigeria’s security | 12/11/2025 | The Nation Newspaper | This article describes how secularism was considered a key mechanism to protect Nigerian society. |
Malaysian religious affairs minister rejects false claims about closure of religious schools in two states | 11/11/2025 | AFP | This article explores how Malaysian religious affairs minister plans to maintain religious schools despite the rise of violent incidents. |
Supreme Court tentatively schedules landmark Quebec secularism case for March | 10/11/2025 | The Globe and Mail | The Supreme Court of Canada will hear a landmark case regarding Bill 21 and the potential limits on the Charter's notwithstanding clause. This hearing is considered one of the most significant cases in the Supreme Court that involves the notwithstanding clause, which is Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. |
Aussies rally to BAN the burqa after Pauline Hanson's divisive call | 10/11/2025 | MSN | This article examines how Austraians are calling on their federal government to enforce a burqa ban in light of security concerns in public. |
Ban on Niqab in public places, pillion riding as Section 144 imposed in Balochistan | 10/11/2025 | Pakistan Observer | This article highlights the new ban on the niqab in public places across Balochistan. The strict measure is enacted under Section 144 of the Criminal Code to address security concerns. |
Hizb resurfaces in Bangladesh, starts propaganda against India | 09/11/2025 | The Sunday Guardian | This article describes how Hizb, a banned Islamist group, is regaining visibility in Bangladesh. |
The Battle Iranian Women Are Winning | 08/11/2025 | The Atlantic | This article describes how the mandatory hijab requirement in Iran wil no longer be a valid law. |
US targets Nigeria’s sharia states with sanctions threats | 08/11/2025 | The African Report | this article examines how imposing the Islamic legal code in Nigeria has been marked as religious persecution. |
French MPs in uproar as schoolgirls wear hijabs to parliament | 07/11/2025 | The Times | This article explains how French politicians state that wearing religious symbols in the public gallery of the National Assembly breaches France's strict secular law. |
French politicians accused of Islamophobia amid row over schoolgirls’ parliament visit | 06/11/2025 | Arab News | This article examines the controversy surrounding France's secular law after a group of Muslim students visited the National Assembly wearing hijabs. |
Supreme Court soon to hear a religious freedom case that’s united both sides of the church-state divide | 06/11/2025 | The Conversation | This article examiens how the US Supreme Court will hear a case on religious freedom where an inmae of a minority religious group alleged that a warden violated is religious rights. |
National Religious Broadcasters set 2026 convention in Jerusalem | 05/11/2025 | The Jerusalem Post | This article examines the upcoming religious convention to be held in Jerusalem in 2026. |
Pakistan welcomes Indian Sikh pilgrims in first crossing since May conflict | 05/11/2025 | Al Jazeera | This article examines how Pakistan is welcoming Sikh pilgrims from India marketing the birth of Guru Nanak. |
Nearly 2,100 Indian Sikhs arrive in Pakistan for annual religious festivities | 04/11/2025 | Newsav | This article examines how the increase of Skih pilgrims in Pakistan. The country's respect for religious minorities and commitment to fostering cultural ties has been recognized through the annual commemoration. |
Quebec tightens secularism laws; bans face coverings and religious symbols for all educational staff | 03/11/2025 | The Canadian Jewish News | Quebec's secular laws are strengthening. The province has expanded its secular policies by adopting Bill 94, An Act to reinforce laicity in the education network, on October 30. This law bans face coverings and religious symbols for all educational staff. It also ends accommodation for religious holidays for students and school staff in all public schools across the province. |
Nigeria defends religious freedom amid US concerns over Christian safety | 02/11/2025 | The Times of India | This article explains how the government of Nigeria is defending religious freedom after US government's claim of existential threat to Christianity. |
Rise in use of Notwithstanding clause raises questions | 01/11/2025 | Red Deer Advocate | This article examines the challenges with the use of the notwithstanding clause by the Quebec government to pass Bill 21. |
Provinces threaten our Charter rights | 01/11/2025 | Toronto Star | This article describes the concerns with Bill 94 which extends the ban on religious symbols to all employees who interact with students as part of their work. The ban has been pereceived by critics to be impeding their Charter rights. |
It's time to admit our Charter rights are under attack. | 31/10/2025 | Toronto Star | This article describes concerns over Charter rights in light of the enactment of Bill 94 which strengthens the secular law in Quebec. |
Thesis: Estonian school leaves kids without tools for understanding religion | 30/10/2025 | ERR News | This article explains the limited knowledge provided to Estonian students regarding religion and society. |
Religious symbols ban: Quebec passes law to prevent students, staff from covering their faces | 30/10/2025 | Montreal City News | The Quebec government has enacted Bill 94 to enhance secularism in the Quebec school system. This Bill mandates that all staff and students remove religious face coverings, and it also imposes restrictions on food and accommodations for religious holidays. |
Quebec government adopts secularism bill forcing students to uncover faces | 30/10/2025 | City View Airdrie | This article examines how the Quebec government is strengthening secularism to prevent face covering in public schools. |
Bishop Eleganti condemns Vatican decision to provide Muslim prayer space | 29/10/2025 | The Catholic Herald | This article explains how Bishop Marian Eleganti has criticized the Vatican’s decision to provide prayer mats for Muslim scholars in the Vatican Apostolic Library. |
Dhaka University Turns Extreme Right in Bangladesh's Uncertain Politics | 28/10/2025 | Tempo English | This article explains the secularism and religion in Bangladesh universities. |
Kerala Govt Backs Muslim Girl’s Right to Wear Hijab in School, Calls Ban an ‘Invasion of Privacy’ | 27/10/2025 | Times Now News | This article describes how the Kerala government is supporting a Muslim student who was prohibited from wearing the Islamic headscarf to school. |
Iranian women flout law on mandatory veiling as police curtail arrests | 27/10/2025 | The Washington Post | This article examines how Iranian women are no longer following the mandatory veiling law in Iran. |
Swiss Govt Rejects Nationwide Ban On Hijab In Schools | 26/10/2025 | Sunday Trust | This article examines how Switzerland's federal council has ruled out a nationwide ban on the hijab in public schools. |
Why mandating Swedish values won't help integration | 25/10/2025 | The Local | This article examines the debate over mandating swedish values and religion. |
It’s not ‘anti-British’ to ban the burqa | 25/10/2025 | The Telegraph | This article examines the debate on the burqa ban in the United Kingdom. |
Quebec ban on religious symbols in daycares makes ‘them feel they no longer belong’: critics | 24/10/2025 | CTV News | The Quebec government's plan to pass Bill 94 is raising concerns among daycare workers. The Executive Director of the Quebec Association of Early Childhood Centers has expressed that the link between wearing religious symbols and their potential impact on children in daycare is not well understood. There are growing worries about the possibility of low-quality early childhood services as a result of Bill 94. |
Iran's defunct bans, from satellite dishes to the veil | 23/10/2025 | Iran International | This article highlights the growing religion influence in Iran. The morality patrol is now advancing the hijab requirement as a social necessity. |
Portugal Poised to Ban Niqab and Face Veil in Public Spaces | 23/10/2025 | ABNA News | The article descirbes how Portugual parliament is now banning the niqab and face veil in public spaces to reinforce secular values. |
Swiss Government Rejects Ban on Hijabs in Public Schools | 22/10/2025 | News AM | This article explains how the Swiss government rejected a ban preventing students from wearing hijabs in public schools. |
PM believes Portugal burqa ban is “correct” | 21/10/2025 | The Portugal News | This article examines how the Prime Minister agrees with the Portuguese Bill banning the burqa. |
Burqa ban would only harden Britain’s religious divisions | 21/10/2025 | UnHerd | This article examines the concerns over the burqa ban leading to greater religious divisions in Britain. |
Americans Increasingly See Religion as Gaining Influence in Public Life | 20/10/2025 | NTD News | This article examines how Americans are influenced by religion in their public life. |
Tarsem Jassar highlights Sikh history; says Diwali ‘belongs to everyone equally beyond religion' | 19/10/2025 | Times of India | This article examines the intersection of Sikh history and religious observances such as Diwali. |
Portugal approves Burqa and Niqab ban with heavy fines | 18/10/2025 | Daily Times | This article examines how violators of the burqa and niqab ban are subject to heavy fines in public places. |
Portuguese parliament approves ban on wearing face veils in public spaces | 18/10/2025 | Euro News | This article highlights how the Portuguese parliament has passed the ban on wearing face coverings in all public spaces. |
Portugal approves burqa ban | 17/10/2025 | The Portugal News | This article examines how Portugal approves the burqa ban over security concerns and women's rights. |
Kerala government giving tacit support to communal forces, says Church | 16/10/2025 | The Indian Express | This article examine the debate over the hijab controversy in Kochi, the Catholic Church. |
Austrian Muslim groups plan legal challenge if latest hijab ban becomes law | 15/10/2025 | Hyphen | This article examines how Muslim lawyers and educators in Austria plan to lauch a legal challenge to the legislation which will ban the wearing of hijab in public schools. |
No evidence Canadian schools banning pork from lunches as rumours spread | 15/10/2025 | Global News | This article describes the recent debate on banning pork from lunches in Canadian public schools. |
Iran bars jailed activist’s wife visits over hijab refusal, inmates say | 14/10/2025 | Iran International | This article examines how human right activists such as Reza Khandan was jailed for protesting against the hijab requirement. |
Kerala Education Department Orders Inquiry Into Hijab Ban At CBSE School | 13/10/2025 | Deccan Chronicle | This article examines how the Kerala Education Department orders an inquiry into the hijab ban at a CBSE school. |
Canadians less likely than Americans to see religion as a social good | 12/10/2025 | National Post | This article describes how Americans are more likely to perceive the influence of religion as a social good compared to Canadians. |
‘Those Who Insult Indian Culture Were Once Called Secular’: UP CM Yogi Adityanath Sparks Debate on Secularism | 11/10/2025 | The Logical Indian | This article describes the debate on Indian culture and secularism. |
Italy announces plans to impose burqa ban and other Islamophobic laws | 11/10/2025 | 5 Pillars | This article explains how Italy is planning to impose a burqa and hijab ban to reinforce secularism. |
Iran's Streets 'Transformed' As More Women Shun The Mandatory Hijab | 11/10/2025 | Radio Free Europe | This article explains how many women in Iran are protesting against the mandatory hijab requirement. |
Quebec's Secularism Law Continues to Challenge the Lives of Muslim Women who wear the hijab | 09/10/2025 | ABNA | This article explains the challenges for various religious communities including Muslim women with Quebec's secular law. |
Quebec tables draft constitution to affirm its 'distinct national character,' premier says | 09/10/2025 | CBC News | This article explains how Quebec is drafting its constitution to affirm a distinct national character aligning with secularism. |
Quebec bishops slam proposed public prayer ban | 08/10/2025 | Anglican Journal | This article explores how Quebec's bishops are contesting the province's proposed public prayer ban. |
Conservative premiers call on Ottawa to back down in Supreme Court case on notwithstanding clause | 07/10/2025 | The Globe and Mail | This article describes the Conservative premier call on Ottawa in the Supreme Court case. |
Five premiers urge Carney to withdraw court submission on notwithstanding clause | 07/10/2025 | St Albert Gazette | This article examines how certain premiers are calling for Ottawa to withdraw its call to impose limits on the use of the notwithstanding clause. |
How the Supreme Court Is Dismantling the Separation of Church and State | 06/10/2025 | American Progress | This article explains how the Supreme Court plans to dismantle the seperation between church and state across the United States. |
Pentagon beard ban sparks outrage among Sikhs | 05/10/2025 | Tribune India | This article explains how the recent beard ban for service members by Pentagon has sparked religious debate in India. |
‘Need for politics grounded in equality, social justice, fraternity and secularism’ | 05/10/2025 | The Hindu | This article describes how the federation of civil societies and the State of government advocate for secularism and social justice. |
Yogi Adityanath’s Language of Intimidation: A Threat to India’s Secular Constitution | 04/10/2025 | India Tomorrow | This article explores how the Yogi Adityanath is perceived as a threat to the country's constitution. |
What is the Supreme Court going to say about the notwithstanding clause? | 04/10/2025 | CBC News | This article explores the override of the notwithstanding clause by the government of Quebec. |
Ignoring Islamic hate preaching will lead to more violence | 03/10/2025 | UnHerd | This article describes the rise in anti-Islamism and anti-semitism in Manchester. |
Quebec bids farewell to Guy Rocher, the last pillar of the Quiet Revolution | 02/10/2025 | CTV News | This article examines the national funeral held at Université du Québec à Montréal for the late Guy Rocher. |
Legault outlines new economic vision in speech to legislature | 01/10/2025 | Global News | This article examines Premier Legault's vision on Quebec values and secularism. |
Quebec minister calls for people to ‘wake up’ to radical Islamism | 01/10/2025 | CTV News | This article examines how Québec Minister of Secularism, Jean-François Roberge, highlighted the Bedford School as an example of radical Islamism during question period at the Quebec National Assembly. |
Freedom of religion should unite Republicans and Democrats | 30/09/2025 | Washington Examiner | This article advances that the freedom of religion should unite Americans with different political beliefs. |
Conservative MEP launches petition to ban Islamic headscarves in European Parliament | 30/09/2025 | Politico | This article examines the controversy over banning the hijab for all members of the European Parliament. |
Attacks on rights intensify in Quebec. Where's the Liberal response? | 30/09/2025 | Montreal Gazette | This article examines the rights debate in Weuebc over secular values and the rights of religious minorities. |
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