Are You Aware? International Religious Freedom

This is part IV in our “Freedom of Religion” Awareness Wednesday series. Read the other posts in the series here.

For Americans and many others, religious freedom today often seems polarized, partisan, and bewilderingly complex. Church leaders have repeatedly emphasized the importance of religious freedom, but in some cases, religious freedom claims seem part of partisan battles or encroach on rights for others.

How can we make sense of religious freedom? Why do Church leaders stress its importance? How can we understand the role of religious freedom among other important human rights?

One helpful way to make sense of religious freedom is to look at the international norms that protect it. Debates over religious freedom usually arise in individual countries and are contested at the edges of the culture, history, and traditions of that country. But sometimes it’s helpful to step back and see what overarching principles have been accepted by countries the world over.

The main provisions in international law dealing with religious freedom are remarkably consistent. First proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted over 70 years ago in the wake of the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust, the U.N. General Assembly stated that everyone has the right to “freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” International norms further explain that this right includes the freedom “either alone or in community with others” to engage in outward expressions of religion or other belief, subject to specific limitations. In this post, I’ll discuss some of the key features of international religious freedom law and will quote from Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which forms part of the so-called “International Bill of Rights.”

Religious freedom protects the religion and belief rights of all

“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” This includes protections for “theistic, non-theistic and atheistic beliefs, as well as the right not to profess any religion or belief.” New religions, traditional religions, believers, unbelievers, citizens, and non-citizens are all protected by freedom of religion or belief. Discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief is prohibited.

Religious freedom is not necessarily equivalent to American-style separation of church and state. The right to freedom of religion or belief can be protected in countries with a variety of church-state systems, from more separatist systems like France to accommodationist systems like the U.S., more cooperative states like Germany, and even in states with an established religion, like the United Kingdom. Different challenges arise in each, but the core right to freedom of religion or belief can still be protected.

Religious freedom protects individuals and belief communities

International norms recognize that freedom of religion and belief are not exclusively individual rights. Freedom of religion or belief can be exercised “either alone or in community with others.” This protects not only the rights of religious and belief communities but also the rights of groups like Mormon Women for Ethical Government, where shared religious beliefs provide motivation and grounding for a group’s participation in civil society. Religious freedom protects the rights of MWEG and others to ground and articulate their public policy arguments in their religious faith if they choose.

The core aspect of communal religious rights is often referred to as “religious autonomy,” or the right of religious organizations to have autonomy in their internal affairs. Governments have no authority over religious groups’ decisions about leadership, structure, membership, doctrines, or selection of teachers and spokespeople. Religious groups may teach their beliefs and establish religious educational institutions, which also enjoy broad autonomy rights.

Religious freedom protects the right to live out one’s beliefs in the public square

Religious freedom is not just the right to worship or adhere to a private belief. International norms also protect “manifestations” of religion “in worship, observance, practice, or teaching.” These may include religious dress, the ability to celebrate religious holidays, the ability to share religious beliefs, have religious educational institutions, and participate in religious rituals, to name a few.

Religious freedom is not unlimited

I am aware of no country that permits unlimited religious freedom. International law, like other law, permits certain government restrictions on religious practice. In the U.S., depending on the context, the government may have broad or sharply limited ability to limit religious freedom. Laws restricting religious practices in the U.S. are assessed as to whether they are generally applicable neutral laws (where the government has a broad ability to limit religious freedom) or whether they embody a compelling state interest that is narrowly tailored to the case at hand (reducing the government’s ability to limit religious freedom).

International law takes a slightly different approach and generally asks three questions of government actions that limit religious freedom: (1) whether they are embodied in a sufficiently specific and non-retroactive law; (2) whether they are designed to promote one of a limited set of acceptable goals, such as public safety, order, health, or morals, or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others; and (3) whether the restrictions are necessary in a democratic society and proportionate to the goal sought.

For example, COVID-related restrictions on worship or religious gatherings could be upheld if (1) they were embodied in a specific legal rule, (2) designed to promote public safety, and (3) were necessary and proportionate. As you can guess, the necessary and proportionate requirement is the one that is the main source of legal challenges.

It is important to note that the law restricts when governments can limit religious freedom. Sometimes we get the question the wrong way around and ask whether religious groups can do x or y. The question in a country committed to international human rights and the rule of law isn’t how much religions are permitted to do, but whether there is a law against what they are doing (usually the case if they are doing something criminal or harmful), and whether that law is permissible in the framework of a constitutional or international commitment to human rights, including freedom of religion or belief.

Religious freedom can be combined with protections of other rights

International human rights are designed to work in harmony with each other. Freedom of religion or belief is no exception. As mentioned in the last section, religious freedom can be limited to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of others. While reasonable individuals can disagree as to where the balance should be when rights conflict, what is often overlooked is that fundamental rights tend to come in bundles. Empirical research shows that implementation of religious freedom worldwide is highly correlated with the achievement of other core rights and values, such as political liberties, freedom of the press, increased educational status and economic well-being of women, increased national security, and LGBT rights.

I’ve been privileged to work in the field of international religious freedom for over 20 years and have seen firsthand the human and social costs from the failure of governments to protect the right to freedom of religion or belief, along with other rights. Religious freedom is not protected because it is a partisan issue or because religious people are inherently better than nonreligious ones. Religious individuals are flawed, as are all of us in a fallen world, but religious freedom is crucial because it permits us all to exercise moral agency on matters of eternal significance and respond to the light and truth we have been given. We can’t come to Christ through his church and covenants or follow his light in our lives without the freedom to learn of his truths, choose among various beliefs and unbelief, and act based on the light we have received. Protecting the freedom of religion or belief of all allows us to echo God’s love for and confidence in all of us.