ABSTRACT

Violations of religious freedom are called religious discrimination, religious persecution, religious intolerance, and religious repression. This chapter explores all of these terms and their implications for practical policy. In addition to the debate over meaning, there is a debate over desirability. Religious freedom is present in multiple political documents, including international treaties and conventions, and most of the world's constitutions, as well as the laws of many countries. It is important to note that most discussion of religious freedom focuses on government limitations on religious freedom and not societal limitations. Types of religious freedoms collectively demonstrate that the right to free exercise exists at three levels: the individual level, the group level, and the organizational level. Many of the actions which violate the right to free exercise are not perpetrated by governments but by individual citizens, and societal groups. Discrimination on the basis of religion focuses on religious identity rather than religious practices.