What do Constitutions say about religious freedom? More than you would think, and less than you would like!

Between 1990 and 2022, religious freedom has become more prevalent
in constitutions, even as constitutions exhibit notable stability.
- Roughly two thirds of the countries in the world now have a constitutional
clause that protects freedom of worship, observance, or to practice
religious rituals or rites.
- Thirteen countries, which all have a Muslim majority, constitutionally
base their laws on religion and/or significantly subject specific rights and
topic areas to religion.
- Constitutions include quite a variety of clauses related to religious
freedom, however, their impact on the ground is often limited.
- In the complex landscape of religious freedom, there is a puzzling
discrepancy between the lofty promises enshrined in constitutions and
the actual respect for religious freedom on the ground. Indeed, the
presence of constitutional protections of religious freedom poorly
predicts instances of religious discrimination, whether instigated by
governments (government religious discrimination, GRD) or non-state
actors (societal religious discrimination, SRD).
- Constitutional commitments to religious freedom are often just window
dressing, yet it is significant that countries continue to feel compelled to
enact them.
- The only constitutional clauses that do have some impact on religious
freedom are those related to the prohibition of religious hate speech as
well as safeguards for the right not to have a religion. This can be
explained by the fact that these clauses transcend symbolic affirmations
and mandate specific actions from states. They hold particular relevance
in the context of anti-religious forms of secularism, where their presence
serves as constitutional red flags for religious freedom.
- A comprehensive understanding of religious freedom requires a holistic
analysis of religious policy, extending beyond constitutional analysis. To
get a reliable picture of the religious freedom situation in a given country,
one needs to take a closer look at lower-level legislation, jurisprudence,
bureaucratic practices, and other legal measures in order to examine all
dimensions of religious policy.
- This comprehensive approach aligns with the objectives of the
International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF) in partnership with the
Religion and State Project at Bar-Ilan University (Israel) in developing the
Global Religious Freedom Index, a project that will take three years to
complete.