Today, pluralism is increasingly the norm and can be seen as a permanent characteristic of modernity. As seen in world events, religion has not become irrelevant but more diverse, giving rise to a complex web of religion and belief minorities, together with intra-plural majorities. Nations seek ways to implement the ideal of freedom of religion, but as this book shows, whether East or West, in the global North or the South, there is no simple formalism for accommodating religious diversity. Different faith communities have competing needs and demands for the same social space, with tensions inevitably arising. This book highlights responses from liberal democracies which enshrine secularism into their constitutions to other constitutions where religion and ethnic identity are enshrined to prioritise their ethno-religious majority. Western and Asian countries encounter different obstacles and challenges. With analysis from 19 international scholars, the book explores different obstacles and responses to accommodation of religious minorities in a range of jurisdictions. In a globalised world, it will be invaluable for comparative legal scholars, for law and religion scholars, researchers and students, and decision-makers, e.g., governments, non-governmental organisations, and for those who seek to better understand the challenges of our time.
Part 1: Contemporary Issues Regarding Freedom of Religion and Accommodation of Religious Diversity 1. Governance of Religious Diversity across the World: An Introduction 2. Freedom from Religion: Multiculturalism and the Rights of Women and Children 3. Religious Freedom, Freedom of Expression and Religious Hate Speech 4. Religious Freedom and International Protection of Places of Worship 5. Religious Freedom or Multiculturalism? Quebec and Karnataka as Case Studies Part 2: Changing Nature of Freedom of Religion in the West 6. Religious Freedom and Accommodation of Religious Laws: Responses by the European Court of Human Rights 7. The Rights of Religious or Belief Minorities and Their Members in Prison: The European Space 8. Limiting the Freedom of Religion in the Name of Animals: Un-stunned Ritual Slaughter and the European Courts 9. Could the European Court of Human Rights ever Recognise Conscientious Objection to Mandatory Vaccination? 10. Paganism, Witchcraft and the Satanic Panic in Great Britain and Northern Ireland 11. Religion, Belief, and LGBTQIA+ rights in England and Wales: A response to some ongoing tensions Part 3: Freedom of Religion and Accommodation of Religious Diversity in Asia 12. Religion and State Legitimacy in Thailand and Myanmar 13. Religious Minorities in Brunei and Malaysia 14. Freedom of Religion and Religious Minorities in Indonesia: The Local Beliefs Case 15. Muslim Religious Minorities in India and Citizenship Amendment Act 16. The Accommodation of Islamic Inheritance Law in ‘Secular’ India 17. State Regulation and Promotion of New Religious Movements within the two ‘Spiritual Vacuums’ of Japan and China
Md Jahid Hossain Bhuiyan is Professor at the Department of Law, Independent University, Bangladesh. Ann Black is Professor of Law, TC Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland, Australia.
