Universal or Particular … or Both? The Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

The right to Freedom of Religion of Belief (FoRB) is a focus of increasing concern in academia and policy. A key disagreement is whether a universally recognized right to FoRB actually exists. This article explores this disagreement by considering global, universalist narratives and local, context-specific application of FoRB in India and Indonesia. We argue that the language of FoRB is not universal, but across different cultures, concepts and practices exist—such as honoring the traditions of others and living together in harmony—that are consistent with FoRB. Rather than insist on the language of FoRB, international actors should focus on these already existing practices.

Keywords:

• Freedom of Religion or Belief
• Human Rights
• Indonesia
• India

Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the work of Shireen Azam, one of the original members of the research team and co-author of the report for Mensen met een Missie (MM) on which this article draws for the discussion of findings and conclusions. We also thank Ton Groeneweg, Mieke Bakx and Stephanie Joubert from MM who provided crucial input and feedback on the project design, final report and this paper. Our thanks are due also to participants in the CiFORB workshop held in Boston on 12 May 2018, especially Elizabeth Promodrou, and to participants in the 13–15 May 2018 meeting of the Transatlantic Policy Network on Religion and Diplomacy, especially Judd Birdsall. We also thank Monica Toft and M. Christian Green for their comments, observations, and feedback that have helped strengthen this paper. All errors remain our own.

ORCID

Erin K. Wilson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4750-7362

Notes

1 These include, but are by no means limited to, the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, established in 2014, the Ruddock inquiry on religious freedom in Australia established in 2018, the establishment of the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation in 2014, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Religion or Belief, established in June 2012 (Berridge 2015) and the European Union’s Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of Freedom of Religion or Belief from 2013.

2 Thanks to Elizabeth Promodrou for highlighting this important point at the May 2018 CIFoRB symposium in Boston.

3 We are grateful to Steven Fisher for helping us to draw out this observation.

4 Castes and tribes listed for special treatment by state authorities are historically disadvantaged groups. Promoting political representation and enabling affirmative action are the main objectives. This directly relates to the question of how FoRB interlinks with the idea of collective rights as avenues for state intervention.

5 Menchik (2014, 598) notes that Pancasila is the ‘basis of Indonesian national ideology’, comprising 5 core principles: ‘belief in God, humanitarianism, national unity, social justice, and democracy’.

6 See also the essay by Ahmed Garba in this symposium on this point.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christoph Grüll

Christoph Grüll is a Ph.D. candidate with the Centre for Religion, Conflict, and Globalization at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen. He holds an MA in religious studies from the University of Groningen and a BA from the University of Hamburg. His research interests include religion, secularism and law, human rights and the role of civil society organizations in contestations, cosmopolitan and state-centric approaches to justice, and (forced) migration.

Erin K. Wilson

Erin K. Wilson is an Associate Professor of Politics and Religion, Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Groningen. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Her research is focused broadly on questions of religion, secularism, and global justice, with specific attention to forced migration, human rights, development, and climate change. Her books include After Secularism: Rethinking Religion in Global Politics, Justice Globalism, and The Refugee Crisis and Religion.