by Alessandro Amicarelli — The topic of my presentation can be viewed from several perspectives, including media ethics, religious liberty, and the treatment of minority faith communities in democratic societies. The topic is the case of Shincheonji in the United Kingdom, active under the name New Heaven New Earth – Shincheonji Church of Jesus. The core question here is not whether one agrees with Shincheonji’s theology, but whether public discourse about this organization has been guided by objectivity or by prejudice.

At the 4^th World Conference for Religious Dialogue and Cooperation, held in Skopje, North Macedonia, from 22 to 26 June 2026, religious scholars, practitioners, and civil society leaders gathered to reflect on the conference theme, “Religion as a Weapon of War: in the past, present and future.” The event was organized in partnership with the UNESCO Chair in Intercultural Studies and Research and the Center for Intercultural Studies and Research at the Faculty of Philosophy in Skopje.

by Massimo Introvigne — South Korea’s Minister of Justice, Jeong Seong-ho, has published an extraordinary Facebook post confirming what many feared. A ninety-five-year-old man, Shincheonji’s Chairman Lee Manhee, is being held in detention on accusations that involve no violence and no risk of escape. The alleged crime is a supposed violation of the principle of separation of religion and state.

Lee Man-hee, the leader of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, widely known as Chairman Lee, has been arrested today on accusations that many consider deeply disproportionate to the case at hand. Whatever the final legal outcome, the image itself is deeply concerning: an elderly faith leader facing detention on the basis of charges that appear, to many observers, laughable in a country long regarded as a democracy. As Massimo Introvigne’s analysis suggests, this moment should prompt reflection on how, at a time when religious freedom is already under sustained pressure, the case risks crossing a line that should never have been approached in the first place in a democratic society.