On March 24, the Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic welcomed Kelsey Zorzi, senior counsel and director of advocacy for global religious freedom at ADF International, for a presentation on high-stakes religious freedom cases around the world. Zorzi examined ADF International’s global docket and the role of human rights advocates in shaping religious freedom protections worldwide. The event drew many students, faculty, and members of the law school community. Kimberlie Orr, international legal fellow for the Clinic, moderated the discussion.
Zorzi began by situating contemporary cases within the broader framework of international human rights law. She traced the development of religious freedom protections from the United Nations’ 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the later International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), emphasizing how the latter acknowledges limitations, such as interests in public safety, order, health, and morals, that governments increasingly invoke to justify restrictions on religious exercise.
“Those limitations were meant to be narrow exceptions,” Zorzi said. “But today, we’re seeing them used as pretexts to suppress religious freedom in ways the law itself does not allow.”
Zorzi then walked through several pending cases, each illustrating how these limitations are being tested in different legal systems.
She first highlighted the case of a young Sufi musician sentenced to death under state-level blasphemy laws in Nigeria after sharing song lyrics in a private message. Although his sentence was overturned on appeal, his case is now before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, where advocates are challenging the constitutionality of blasphemy laws affecting millions. The case, Zorzi noted, could have sweeping implications not only within Nigeria but across other countries that maintain similar laws.
“These are cases where the outcome will determine whether tens of millions of people can peacefully express their beliefs,” Zorzi said, “or whether those expressions will be criminalized.”
Zorzi then described the prosecution in Algeria of a Christian pastor for “illegal worship” after authorities sealed his church and dozens of others across the country. Despite repeated attempts to comply with state licensing requirements, churches have been systematically denied approval, leaving them vulnerable to closure. The case now before Algeria’s highest court challenges what Zorzi characterized as a coordinated effort to suppress a growing religious minority.
Zorzi also discussed a series of cases in Turkey involving foreign missionaries who were barred from reentering the country under national security designations typically reserved for terrorists. Many had lived in Turkey for decades, raising families and serving local communities. After exhausting domestic remedies, advocates brought the cases to the European Court of Human Rights, which recently agreed to hear 20 of them jointly.
“This is the court signaling that it sees a pattern,” she said. “A systematic issue of discrimination that merits review.”
Finally, Zorzi turned to Europe, where she outlined a case before the Supreme Court of Finland involving a member of parliament prosecuted under hate speech laws for posting a Bible verse on her personal social media account. Although she was acquitted at trial, the prosecutor has appealed, raising broader concerns about the limitations on religious expression in democratic societies.
Across these diverse contexts, Zorzi emphasized a common thread: the increased use of broadly defined legal limitations to justify restrictions on religious practices, including worship, evangelism, and speech.
“These cases are not just about individual defendants,” she said. “They’re about the principles that will govern religious freedom for entire societies.”
Zorzi also highlighted the role of legal strategy and advocacy in advancing these cases. Over the past decade, ADF International has developed networks of local attorneys around the world to identify and litigate cases from their earliest stages. In parallel, the organization engages in international advocacy at institutions such as the United Nations and the European Parliament to apply pressure and raise awareness.
Reflecting on the discussion, Orr underscored the importance of exposing students to the real-world stakes of international advocacy. “These cases show students not only how legal doctrine operates across jurisdictions, but how strategic litigation can shape the lived reality of religious freedom for communities around the world.”
Zorzi concluded by encouraging students to recognize the broader impact of their legal training. “Every one of these cases was strategically identified and pursued by lawyers who understood what was at stake,” she said. “This profession places you at the intersection of law and conscience, of rights and responsibility. Any profession that allows you to stand in that space is not just important—it is deeply and profoundly worthy of your time and talents.”
About the Notre Dame Law School Religious Liberty Clinic
The Lindsay and Matt Moroun Religious Liberty Clinic is a teaching law practice that educates, forms, and prepares Notre Dame law students to become the rising generation of religious liberty leaders by training students in the practice of the law as they defend religious freedom for all people.
Under the guidance of Law School faculty and staff, students work on a broad variety of legal matters to promote religious freedom on behalf of individuals and organizations of all beliefs—both domestically and abroad. The Clinic represents clients from all faith traditions to promote not only the freedom for people to hold religious beliefs but also their fundamental right to express those beliefs and to live according to them. Learn more about the work of the Clinic here.