Human rights education as a framework for transmitting religion as cultural heritage

The child’s right to freedom of religion and belief and fundamental principles such as equality and non-discrimination constitute an international frame for religious education (RE). However, these rights might be challenged when RE is allocated a major role in transmitting the majority religion as national cultural heritage and national identity. This article will explore and discuss this issue. It is based on an analysis of the transmission of Christianity as cultural heritage in the national RE curriculum for primary and lower secondary schools in Denmark. The article argues that principles from human rights education could provide a basis for a more pluralistic, objective, and critical approach to RE, thus enabling the classroom to function as a community of disagreement.

Mediatised human rights education: the (challenging) role of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation

The purpose of this article is to analyse and discuss Selma and the Quest for the Perfect Faith, a TV series made by The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and promoted for use in schools, and the accompanying teaching material about freedom of religion made by Save the Children. We discuss the series and material critically from a human rights and a human rights education perspective, and evaluate their suitability for use in religious education. The article is informed by mediatisation theory and argues that freedom of religion is primarily operationalised in accordance with journalistic criteria for presenting religion, and that it does not sufficiently balance the rights of children and the liberty of parents. This is inconsistent with sound human rights education and highlights the need for critical awareness when operationalising educational material produced and distributed by media actors for use in the classroom.

Public Accommodations

The chapter examines potential issues posed by the wide variety of state public accommodation statutes in the context of sexual orientation and religious freedom. The historical approach to antidiscrimination will briefly be examined. A review of recent cases of discrimination due to the legalization of same-sex marriage are analyzed in the context of the arguments regarding freedom of speech and freedom of religion.

The doctrine of the margin of appreciation as a tool of relativisation of freedom of religion.

The objective of the paper is to determine the implications for the interpretation of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights resulting from the Court’s affording to national authorities the wide margin of appreciation when deciding whether in a given case there is a need to limit the exercise of freedom of religion. The use of the doctrine of margin of appreciation in such cases is justified both by the lack of an all-European consensus as to the proper model of relations between the state and religious communities and by divergences of views and traditions concerning the importance and impact of religion in the society. In consequence, the Court holds that restrictions on freedom of religion on grounds of the principle of secularism, which in some countries has a rank of a constitutional principle of the political system, are compatible with the Convention. This is the case eve where establishing a link between the restriction of this kind with any of the legitimate aims outlined in Article 9.2 of the Convention is highly disputable, if not impossible. Moreover, the excessive use of the doctrine of margin of appreciation in this context makes the protection level of freedom of religion contingent on prevailing ( not always rational and free from prejudice )views and attitudes towards some forms of manifestation of religious beliefs. This outcome, however, is difficult to reconcile with values underlying the Convention and the need for minority protection

What the World Christian Encyclopedia Tells Us about Freedom of Religion or Belief

The third edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia presents important findings regarding the current situation of Christians in the world, how it has been changing, and how it is expected to change. Some of the changes consider the limitations of the right to freedom of religion or belief in various parts of the world. This article discusses troubling trends in this area in the Middle East. The projections of the WCE-3 for 2050 should be seen as a warning for anyone working on the issue of the right to freedom of religion or belief, especially in the Middle East. [Formula: see text]

Religion and the European External Action Service

This contribution analyses the diplomacy of religion carried out by the European External Action Service (EEAS), and questions its autonomy and distinctiveness vis-à-vis other diplomacies. Several dimensions are studied: how foreign policy is dealing with the ‘return’ of religion in international affairs; the practices of the EEAS regarding religion against the general background of what Member States, third countries, and international organizations do in this respect; how the EEAS balances the interests of Member States, the requirements of the geopolitical contexts and field realities; the EEAS’s advocacy for specific causes such as the freedom of religion and belief (FoRB) and the establishment of religion as a standard diplomatic issue. The conclusion characterizes the EU’s external strategy on religion as the outcome of both its political and institutional logic and Europe’s societal secularization in a world that is still highly religious.

Religion, Belief, and the European Court of Human Rights

This chapter examines the interpretation of the right to freedom of religion or belief under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) by the European Court of Human Rights. The topic is examined with reference to legal bans on items of Islamic dress such as headscarves and face-veils. It is argued that both the structure of Article 9, and the way in which it has been interpreted, has resulted in weak levels of protection for applicants bringing such claims, and that the reasons for this lie deep in European history and politics. The Court’s approach may, arguably, be justifiable in that the protection it offers is subsidiary to that offered by states. Nevertheless, the scant hope that such applicants have raises questions as to the effectiveness of the Convention and threatens to undermine much of the laudable work that has been undertaken elsewhere by the Court.

Religion and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and its Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) have played an important role in reinforcing, distilling, and implementing the fundamental right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) in the OSCE region. The CSCE (later OSCE) has engaged in major norm-setting initiatives regarding FoRB. The ODIHR’s Advisory Panel/Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief emerged in 1997, and in ensuing years, produced legislative reviews, ‘Guidelines for Review of Legislation’ (2004); and the Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions or Beliefs in Public Schools (2007). The FoRB Programme at ODIHR followed through with ‘Guidelines on the Legal Personality’ (2014) and ‘Freedom of Religion or Belief and Security’ (2019). These documents are at the core of more extensive institutional promotion of FoRB.