scholarly journals Constructing the Problem of Religious Freedom: An Analysis of Australian Government Inquiries into Religious Freedom

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 583
Author(s):  
Elenie Poulos
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Indigenous Australians ◽  
Australian Government ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Western Democracy ◽  
Public Inquiry ◽  
Statutory Body ◽  
Post War

Australia is the only western democracy without a comprehensive human rights instrument and has only limited protection for religious freedom in its constitution. It was Australia’s growing religious diversity—the result of robust political support for multiculturalism and pro-immigration policies in the post-war period—that led to the first public inquiry into religious freedom by an Australian statutory body in 1984. Responding to evidence of discrimination against Indigenous Australians and minority religious groups, the report detailed the need for stronger legal protections. By 2019, Australia’s religious freedom ‘problem’ was focused almost solely on the extent to which religious organizations should be allowed to discriminate against LGBTIQ people. Using the What’s the Problem Represented To Be? approach to policy analysis, this paper explores the changing representation of the ‘problem’ of religious freedom by examining all public, parliamentary and statutory body reports of inquiries into religious freedom from 1984 to 2019. In their framing of the problem of religious freedom, these reports have contributed to a discourse of religious freedom which marginalizes the needs of both those who suffer discrimination because of their religion and those who suffer discrimination as a result of the religious beliefs of others.

scholarly journals Addressing Religious Diversity through Children’s Literature: An “English as a Foreign Language” Classroom in Israel

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rawia Hayik
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Middle Eastern ◽  
Practitioner Inquiry ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Reader Responses ◽  
Region I ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Efl Students

Conflicts between different religious groups occasionally arise in my Christian and Muslim Israeli-Arab EFL students’ school and area. In an attempt to increase students’ knowledge of and respect for other faiths in the region, I conducted practitioner inquiry research in my religiously diverse Middle-Eastern classroom. Grounded in critical literacy, I used a book set of religion-based literature alongside critical literacy engagements to effect some change in students’ tolerance towards other faiths. This article describes my journey of exploring students’ reader responses to religion-based texts and issues.

scholarly journals Special Solicitude: Religious Freedom at America’s Public Universities

Laws ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
William E. Thro
Keyword(s):  
First Amendment ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Religious Organizations ◽  
Equal Rights ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Expression ◽  
University Campuses ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
The Government

Rejecting the Obama Administration’s argument that the First Amendment requires identical treatment for religious organizations and secular organizations, the Supreme Court held such a “result is hard to square with the text of the First Amendment itself, which gives special solicitude to the rights of religious organizations.” (Hosanna-Tabor, 565 U.S. at 189). This “special solicitude” guarantees religious freedom from the government in all aspects of society, but particularly on public university campuses. At a minimum, religious expression and religious organizations must have equal rights with secular expression and secular organizations. In some instances, religious expression and religious expression may have greater rights. The Court’s 2020 decisions in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, and Our Lady of Guadalupe School v. Morrissey-Berru, reinforce and expand the “special solicitude” of religion. Indeed, Espinoza and Our Lady have profound implications for student religious groups at America’s public campuses. This article examines religious freedom at America’s public universities. This article has three parts. First, it offers an overview of religious freedom prior to Espinoza and Our Lady. Second, it briefly discusses those two cases. Third, it explores the implications of those decisions on America’s public campuses.

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Post-War Community Relations between Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka: A Muslim’s Perspective

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 42
Author(s):  
Ahmad Sunawari Long ◽  
Khaidzir Hj. Ismail ◽  
Kamarudin Salleh ◽  
Saadiah Kumin ◽  
Halizah Omar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Total Population ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Islam And Christianity ◽  
Post War ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Religious Aspects ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Community Relationship

Sri Lanka is a multi-ethnic, multi-religious country comprising four of the world’s major religions: Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Buddhists are the predominant ethnic group, constituting 70.19% of the total population, while Muslims make up the second largest minority in the country. There are many records in the history to prove well the cordial relationship between Buddhists and Muslims in Sri Lanka. However, in the past couple of years, particularly during the aftermath of the civil war, tension may be observed in the relationship between these two religious groups. This is due to a campaign undertaken by a several Buddhist nationalist groups whose intensions are to create a division among these respective societies. These groups have been carrying protests against Muslim social, cultural and religious aspects, including issuing Halal certification, slaughtering of cattle, conducting prayer services, etc. Moreover, they have disseminated misinterpretations about Muslims and Islam with derogatory speeches among the Buddhist public, for the purpose of accomplishing above division. Given the above backdrop, this paper attempts to determine the post-war relationship between Muslims and Buddhists in the country, including major interrupting factors, through analyzing Muslims’ point of views. According to the results, there is no remarkable fluctuation in the relationships between Muslims and Buddhists, and Muslims have posited that there are several social, cultural and religious practices them that act as significant barriers to maintaining a better community relationship with Buddhists, such as slaughtering of cattle for meals. Therefore, almost all of the Muslims have been demanding proper guidelines regarding the slaughtering of cattle, the Niqabs (face cover of Muslim women), and other factors related to interrupting a better interaction with the Buddhists for better cordiality, within the context of Sri Lanka.

scholarly journals The Right to Discriminate

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell Sandberg
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Human Sexuality ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Broadcast Media ◽  
High Profile ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
The Right

The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed a number of controversies surrounding the interaction between law and religion in the United Kingdom. In particular, tensions have emerged between laws protecting religious freedom and those which prohibit discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. In particular, Parliament has repeatedly examined the scope and ambit of exceptions afforded to religious groups which allow them to discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation when specific conditions are met. And these exceptions have reportedly led to tensions within both the Blair and Brown cabinets and rebukes from the Vatican and the European Commission, criticising the exceptions for being too narrow and too broad respectively. The exceptions have also been challenged by way of judicial review, have been applied or commented upon in a number of high-profile cases and have attracted comment in the print and broadcast media. A number of employees have brought claims asserting that new legal requirements promoting equality on grounds of sexual orientation are incompatible with their religious beliefs. This article seeks to explore the legal changes that have occurred in the first decade of the 21st century affecting religion and sexual orientation with particular reference to how courts and tribunals have dealt with clashes between the two. It discusses the extent to which English law allows religious groups and individuals to follow their own beliefs regarding human sexuality.

scholarly journals Tradisi Doa Berantai dan Inklusi Sosial Keagamaan di Desa Kepung Kabupaten Kediri

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
Asyhabuddin Asyhabuddin
Keyword(s):  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Religious Diversity ◽  
Social Groups ◽  
Active Participation ◽  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Religious Attitudes ◽  
Unique Method

This paper seeks to examine the tradition of chain prayer and religious social inclusion in Kepung Village, Kediri Regency. The idea of this paper came from the growing religious conflict. The inhabitants of Kepung village in Kediri, East Java district, have a unique method to build harmonious relations between religions amid the potential conflicts of religious diversity they have. The data were obtained by interviewing people in Kepung Village, Kediri Regency. That method is a tradition of chain prayer which is carried out as a series of village cleaning traditions every month of Sura in the Javanese calendar. This tradition fosters social religious inclusion because this tradition builds inclusive religious attitudes, inclusive religious policies, and guarantees access and active participation of religious social groups. In addition, this tradition also narrows ethnic distance because it can provide the expectations of minority religious groups, thus generating trust between religious groups.   Tulisan ini berusaha untuk mengkaji tentang tradisi doa berantai dan inklusi sosial keagamaan di Desa Kepung Kabupaten Kediri. Ide tulisan ini berasal dari semakin berkembangnya konflik keagamaan, warga desa Kepung di kabupaten Kediri Jawa Timur memiliki cara unik untuk membangun keharmonisan hubungan antar agama di tengah potensi konflik keragaman agama yang mereka miliki. Data-data diperoleh dengan wawancara kepada orang-orang di Desa Kepung Kabupaten Kediri. Cara itu adalah tradisi doa berantai yang dilakukan sebagai rangkaian dari tradisi bersih desa setiap bulan Sura dalam penanggalan Jawa. Tradisi ini memupuk inklusi sosial keagamaan karena tradisi ini membangun sikap keagamaan inklusif, kebijakan keagamaan inklusif dan menjamin akses dan partisipasi aktif kelompok minoritas keagamaan. Selain itu, tradisi ini juga mempersempit ethnic distance karena mampu memberikan ekspektasi kelompok keagamaan minoritas, sehingga memunculkan rasa percaya (trust) antar kelompok keagamaan yang ada.

scholarly journals DEMOKRASI DI INDONESIA Antara Pembatasan dan Kebebasan Beragama

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Abu Hafsin
Keyword(s):  
Judicial Review ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Ambiguous Words ◽  
Clear Explanation ◽  
Religious Teaching

<p>Democracy has been understood differently. Law no.1/PNPS/1965 which<br />is previously recognized as protection of religious followers is recognized as<br />limitation that denied principle of democracy recently. The polemic of religious<br />freedom ended with proposal of judicial review on law no.1/PNPS/1965 proposed</p><p>by some group of societies. This proposal, finally, is rejected by prime<br />court. This rejection can be corrected since UUD 1945 follows an expressive<br />relativism on religious freedom. Because of the existence of ambiguous words<br />in such law, revision is really needed so that there will be a clear explanation<br />related to who has the authority to determine whether certain religious teaching<br />is wrong or not. It is important to solve the problematic matters faced by government and certain religious groups.</p><p><strong>Keywords</strong> : demokrasi, relativisme</p>

Dissent and the State

2020 ◽  
pp. 313-333
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Rose
Keyword(s):  
Religious Freedom ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Groups

The relationships between persecution, toleration, dissent, and the state were often paradoxical. The chapter outlines justifications for and forms of persecution and toleration, echoing recent emphasis on how the two were entwined. It argues that, while dissenting identities often emerged in the circumstances of state persecution, dissenters could be as keen on capturing as on rejecting the state, understood in three different ways. First, as an apparatus of enforcement, the state relied on individuals who negotiated demands for persecution or toleration at every level, creating a fragile patchwork of religious freedom and restraint. Second, demands made for persecution of other religious groups by those who felt monarchs were being too tolerant turned obedient subjects into active citizens. Third, dissenters flexibly sought prerogative, parliamentary, or Protectoral aid. While historians have often asked whether the state possessed the power to persecute, they should also consider whether it wielded the authority to tolerate.

The Politics and Effects of Religious Grievance

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Muchlinski
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Group Identity ◽  
Religious Violence ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
The World ◽  
Common Group ◽  
Religious Resources

Despite international guarantees to respect religious freedom, governments around the world often impose substantial restrictions on the abilities of some religious groups to openly practice their faith. These regulations on religious freedom are often justified to promote social stability. However, research has demonstrated a positive correlation between restrictions on religious freedom and religious violence. This violence is often thought to be a result of grievances arising from the denial of a religious group’s right to openly practice its faith. These grievances encourage violence by (a) encouraging a sense of common group identity, (b) encouraging feelings of hostility toward groups imposing those regulations, and (c) facilitating the mobilization of religious resources for political violence.

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