scholarly journals The Idea of Religious Minorities and Social Cohesion in India’s Constitution: Reflections on the Indian Experience

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 910
Author(s):  
Vikas K. Choudhary
Keyword(s):  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Indian Constitution ◽  
Indian Context ◽  
Indian Experience ◽  
Indian Secularism ◽  
Religion And State

India has many religious groups, of which Hindus are a majority, and Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Jains are minorities. India’s Constitution, adopted in 1950, departed from the existing norms of secularism in Europe and elsewhere, which suggested a strict separation of religion and state. Moreover, freedom of religion is a Fundamental Right guaranteed under the Indian Constitution. With its distinct model of secularism and special provisions for religious minorities, India’s social cohesion arrangement needs special attention. On one hand, the distinct understanding of secularism in the Indian context has led to the advancement of religious pluralism. At the same time, it has invited criticism for selective intervention in the affairs of religious communities from governments in power. The selective intervention has challenged the exclusivity of Indian secularism. This article evaluates the constitutional and theoretical ideas underlying provisions on religious minorities and freedom of religion enshrined in the Indian Constitution. It appraises the idea of religious minorities enshrined in the constitution through a discussion of the process that shaped the idea. The article reflects on the Indian experience of managing the rights of religious minorities and freedom of religion. By analysing a landmark judgement related to freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities, the article evaluates whether the Indian Constitution advances a model of social cohesion by balancing freedom of religion and the rights of religious minorities or remains ineffective in achieving the same.

“True Faith and Allegiance”—Religion and the FBI

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sylvester A. Johnson ◽  
Steven Weitzman
Keyword(s):  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religion And State

This chapter explains on how the FBI’s relationship with various American religious groups complicates the typical category of religion-and-state issues. It begins with the post-9/11 era then relates the long history of the FBI engaging with religion. The chapter explains how the bureau has practiced skepticism toward religion at times while also seeking an alliance with religion at other times. The chapter argues for the importance of situating the post-9/11 era within a longer history of the FBI’s interaction with America’s religious communities.

scholarly journals Religious interfaith work in Canada and South Africa with particular focus on the drafting of a South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms

2013 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iain T. Benson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
African Charter ◽  
The Creation ◽  
South African Constitution ◽  
Constitutional Protections

Constitutional protections for religious freedom (and related freedoms of conscience, belief and association and equality), once interpreted by courts and tribunals, apply in a precedential manner to future cases. They have an influence well beyond the particular community to which they first applied. For this reason, religious communities have increasingly banded together and sought to intervene or even, on occasion, to initiate legal actions asserting or defending their rights. This article reviews some of the principles around the freedom of religion as understood in South Africa and Canada to show how courts have understood the freedom of religion in its social context. In addition, interfaith cooperation is discussed with particular reference to the recent process which led to the formation of a Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms pursuant to Section 234 of the South African Constitution (which is attached to the article). This section, a unique provision in any constitution, allows for the creation of additional Charters to give greater specificity to the general language of the Constitution itself. As such, it is an encouragement to civil society to determine what it thinks are the important provisions that should be spelled out to give guidance to politicians and the judiciary. Awide variety of religious groups participated in the creation of the Charter. The Charter does not claim to be, nor could it be, exhaustive of such concerns but demonstrates that religions can cooperate across a host of issues in education, health care, employment and other issues. The next stage – passage into law, is still in the future but the first important hurdle has been crossed with the signing of the Charter in October of 2010. The Charter might be a template for other countries though changes would be necessary to deal with local issues.

The Prohibition of Ritual Slaughtering (Kosher Shechita and Halal) and Freedom of Religion of Minorities

2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo Lerner ◽  
Alfredo Mordechai Rabello
Keyword(s):  
Animal Rights ◽  
Legal Status ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Animal Suffering ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Significant Challenge ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Rights Discourse ◽  
The Right

The statutory prohibition against ritual slaughter, which does not stun the animal prior to slaughter, as required in most Western nations, poses a significant challenge for the international right to freedom of religion or belief in European nation-states. This prohibition is important not only in Europe, or because of the prohibition itself, but because it implicates the legal status of two minority religious communities in these nation-states, those of Judaism and Islam. Some animal rights advocates have objected to ritual slaughter without stunning because, in their view, it causes needless suffering by the animal, and they have been successful in getting their views enacted into law in a number of European countries. Indeed, some countries prohibit ritual slaughtering altogether, as we shall discuss below.This paper argues that the right to freedom of religion or belief requires nation-states to respect the rights of religious minorities that engage in ritual slaughter, even if they recognize the importance of avoiding unnecessary suffering of animals. Following a review of the legal status of animals in rights discourse generally, we will show why the prohibition of ritual slaughter needlessly results in discrimination against religious minorities, and why it is important that nation-states attempting to reduce animal suffering more clearly specify realistic alternatives for avoiding such suffering that are compatible with current religious mandates about animal slaughter. We will also consider whether the alternative of importing kosher orhalalmeat in place of ritual slaughtering, proposed by some nation-states as a method of alleviating the harm to religious minorities, is an effective and fair alternative.

scholarly journals Religious Minorities of Ukraine in Socio-Cultural and Legal Aspects

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
Mariana Tatarchuk
Keyword(s):  
Freedom Of Expression ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Freedom Of Conscience ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Freedom Of Action

With the tendency towards the increasing globalization of the world from the 1970s-1980s to multiculturalism and pluralism in all its manifestations, it is not surprising that religious, ethnic, national, linguistic and other contradictions and conflicts arise between representatives of certain social groups Religious and national contradictions are the most characteristic and become the most acute forms of resolution in polyethnic and polyconfessional countries in the case of belonging of the majority of the population to one national, religious and other group, while the rest form a minority according to one or another criterion. Increasingly, you can hear about political, economic, and cultural pressure on representatives of different social groups that are not so-called "majority". Therefore, there is a need to protect the rights of individuals to freedom of conscience, freedom of expression in various aspects of life, including freedom of religion, freedom of action of religious communities and organizations, including religious minorities.

Freedom from community: Individual rights, group life, state authority and religious freedom under the Indian Constitution

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 351-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
GAUTAM BHATIA
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Exclusion Principle ◽  
Individual Rights ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Indian Constitution ◽  
Indian History ◽  
Group Life ◽  
Innovative Solution ◽  
Point Of Departure

Abstract:The religious freedom clauses of the Indian Constitution attempt to mediate between the competing claims of individuals, religious groups and the state, in a manner that is born out of specific historical circumstances. This article examines the controversial questions of whether, and to what extent, the Constitution grants individuals (specifically, dissenters) rights against the religious communities to which they belong. Taking as its point of departure a landmark Supreme Court judgment that struck down an anti-excommunication law, the article argues that the Indian Constitution is committed to an ‘anti-exclusion principle’: that is, group rights and group integrity are guaranteed to the extent – and only to the extent – that religious groups do not block individuals’ access to the basic public goods required to sustain a dignified life. Moreover – and unlike most other Constitutions – an individual may vindicate this right directly against her community in a court of law, by invoking the Constitution. This remedy is justified both philosophically, and in the specific context of Indian history. In this manner, Indian constitutionalism offers a novel and innovative solution to the perennial problem of balancing individual rights to religious freedom against the claims of community.

2 Minority Identities in the Middle East: Religious Minorities

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Castellino Joshua ◽  
Cavanaugh Kathleen A
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Minority ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Baha'i Faith ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
Second Category ◽  
Minority Identities

In this chapter there are two primary categories to emerge with regard to the classification of minorities in the Middle East. The first comprises religious minorities, both early religious groups and more contemporary groups established during or after the nineteenth century. The second category comprises Muslim ethnic groups spread over two or more territories with a distinct cultural identity and language. This chapter details religious minority identities. Within the first section of this chapter, we examine non-Muslim religious communities including Jews, and a rather broad number of Christian communities, while accepting that some groups cross-cut this category. Section two examines Islamic minority communities including the ‘Alawis, Druze, Babism and the Baha’i Faith, and Ismaili communities.

scholarly journals Freedom of religion and worship places: visualization of religious pluralism at local level

2017 ◽  
pp. 125-136
Author(s):  
Gorka Urrutia Asua
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Religious Pluralism ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
The Public ◽  
European Cities ◽  
The Public Sphere

The visualization of religious pluralism in the public sphere is a growing phenomenon in all major European cities, and one of the elements that most clearly reflects it is the proliferation of worship places for religious minorities. In many cases, these situations have been quite conflictive, generating bases that make coexistence at local level more difficult. Attitudes coming from public opinion and the speeches by public administration representatives have clashed with the demands of religious communities. These tensions describe a situation where a greater effort should be made to accommodate basic demands related to a human right such as freedom of religion. This article, based on a particular case, pretends to identify the basic fundaments that should be taken into account when the management of religious pluralism is faced at the local level.Published online: 11 December 2017

scholarly journals Religion and State: Revisions Needed in Sri Lankan Constitutional Implications

2018 ◽  
pp. 134-141
Author(s):  
Nishandey Ratnam
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Political Culture ◽  
The State ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Sri Lankan ◽  
Indian Constitution ◽  
Constitutional Culture ◽  
History Of ◽  
Religion And State

The paper compares infl uence of religion in the Constitutional culture of Sri Lanka and India. The secular nature of both constitutions, the historic relationship between the State and religion, and religious rights is analyzed in detail. Sri Lankan Constitution has provisions of giving special recognition to the Buddhist religion while, the Indian Constitution declares itself as a secular state. However, both nations have similar societies with a lesser degree of secular political culture. An entrenched provision of the Sri Lankan Constitution stands against the good principles of constitutionalism, instrumental in transforming the constitutional culture. The benefi ts of the maintenance of public order and the wellbeing of all parts of the society for the nation by, allowing real freedom of religion and maintaining no partiality, secular government is yet to be recognized in the Constitutional making history of Sri Lanka and in India as well.

Part VII Rights—Substance and Content, Ch.49 Secularism and Religious Freedom

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sen Ronojoy
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Freedom Of Religion ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Indian Constitution ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Indian Secularism ◽  
Indian Supreme Court ◽  
The Right

This chapter examines tensions arising from the constitutional provisions with regard to secularism and freedom of religion in India. In particular, it considers Articles 25, 26, and 28 of the Indian Constitution and how the Indian Supreme Court has dealt with cases relating to these Articles. After providing an overview of the Essential Practices doctrine as used by the Supreme Court to distinguish between the secular and religious, especially in the case of Hinduism, the chapter considers the Court’s position on the right to teach religion in educational institutions. It argues that Indian secularism, as interpreted by the courts, has failed to entirely live up to what the framers of the Constitution envisioned it to be.

scholarly journals What is religious freedom and who has it?

2021 ◽  
pp. 003776862110123
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Religion And State

Religious freedom (RF) is important because it is posited to be a central element of liberal democracy and as having multiple additional benefits including increased security and economic prosperity. Yet, it is also a disputed concept and many liberal democracies restrict the freedoms of religious minorities. This study uses the Religion and State (RAS) dataset to examine the extent of RF in 183 countries based on six definitions of RF. The author examines whether religious minorities are restricted in a manner that the majority is not, regulation of the majority religion, and imposition of precepts of the majority religion on a country’s population. He finds that very few countries, including liberal democracies, meet any standard for RF, even when one allows for ‘loose’ standards where some violations of RF are allowed.

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