Freedom of religion
A fundamental human right protecting belief and practice.
Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the right not to profess any religion or belief or not to practice a religion, often called freedom from religion. Freedom of religion is considered by most nations to be a fundamental human right and is protected in all the most important international human rights conventions, such as the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- field
- Human rights principle
- known_for
- Protecting the freedom to manifest religion or belief, including the right not to practice any religion
- first_known_writer_to_use_term
- Tertullian (early Christian apologist)
- key_legal_cases
- Reynolds v. United States, Wisconsin v. Yoder, S.A.S. v. France
Lore & Background
In Antiquity, a syncretic point of view often allowed communities of traders to operate under their own customs. Cyrus the Great established the Achaemenid Empire ca. Freedom of religious worship was established in the Buddhist Maurya Empire of ancient India by Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BC, encapsulated in the Edicts of Ashoka. Genghis Khan was one of the first rulers who in the 13th century enacted a law explicitly guaranteeing religious freedom to everyone and every religion.
Reader's Guide
The concept of religious liberty includes, and some say requires, secular liberalism, and excludes authoritarian versions of secularism. Crucial in the consideration of religious liberty is the question of whether religious practices and religiously motivated actions that would otherwise violate secular law should be permitted due to the safeguarding of freedom of religion. This issue is addressed in numerous court cases, including the United States Supreme Court cases Reynolds v. United States and Wisconsin v. Yoder, and in the European law case of S.A.S. v. France. Symbols of religious freedom are seen in significant locations around the world, such as the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Bahá'í Gardens in Haifa, and Lutherstadt Wittenberg in Germany. In a historic setting, freedom to worship has often been limited through punitive taxation, repressive social legislation, and political disenfranchisement, as exemplified by the status of dhimmis under Islamic sharia law.
Did You Know?
- The early Christian apologist Tertullian was the first-known writer to employ the term 'freedom of religion' (libertas religionis) in the 24th chapter of his Apologeticum.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Freedom of religion in the Political Systems & Elections canon?
Freedom of religion (also called FoRB) is a foundational human rights principle that guarantees any individual or community the right to publicly or privately teach, practice, worship, and observe a religion or belief. It equally protects the right to reject or abandon any religion, a facet often labeled 'freedom from religion.'
What role does Freedom of religion play in political systems?
It functions as a core constitutional and international-law shield, ensuring that governments cannot compel worship, ban belief, or restrict religious observance in public or private life. Most nations enshrine it as a fundamental right, and it appears in major international human rights instruments such as the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Which key legal cases define Freedom of religion's story?
Three landmark rulings shape its canon: Reynolds v. United States (1878) set early limits on religious exemptions from generally applicable laws; Wisconsin v. Yoder (1972) affirmed Amish parents' right to withdraw children from public school for religious reasons; and S.A.S. v. France (2014) addressed the EU boundary on banning face coverings for religious observance.
Why is Freedom of religion considered important in the series?
It is treated as a baseline human right because it protects the innermost sphere of conscience—what a person believes or does not believe—against state coercion. Without it, governments could enforce a single creed or punish dissent, undermining other civil liberties as well.
Who is the first known writer credited with using the term 'freedom of religion'?
Tertullian, the early Christian apologist writing in the late second and early third centuries, is recognized as the first known author to articulate the concept in written form. His arguments laid the groundwork for later legal and philosophical traditions that formalized the principle into modern human-rights law.
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