Introduction: Freedom of Religion or Belief Across the Commonwealth

Abstract

This special edition of The Review of Faith & International Affairs traces how freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) has been addressed across the globe, from Asia to Europe, and from Africa to the Americas, with particular focus on the Commonwealth of Nations, a unique voluntary grouping of 53 sovereign states, most of which are former British colonies or dependencies. The articles in this collection are the product of a major initiative, the Commonwealth Initiative for Religious Freedom or Belief (CIFoRB), supported with funding generously provided by the Templeton World Charity Foundation. This research project investigates how parliamentarians and legislators have and might advance religious freedom across the Commonwealth.

Keywords:

• Religion
• religious freedom
• human rights
• parliaments
• United States
• International Religious Freedom Act
• Commonwealth

Additional information

Funding

Project underlying these articles funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Monica Duffy Toft

Monica Duffy Toft is a Professor of International Politics and Director of the Center for Strategic Studies at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University. Before joining Fletcher, Toft taught at Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. While at Harvard, she directed the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs and was the assistant director of the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies. She is also a Global Scholar of the Peace Institute, Oslo.