ABSTRACT
Democratic constitutionalism will necessarily always be value-laden, whether the type of constitutionalism in question is Christian, Jewish, Islamic, or secular in its origins. In the case of a social pluralist constitutionalism, it all starts, as we have seen in previous chapters, with the recognition that society does not consist of autonomous individuals and the state alone, but that families and other institutions play a major part as well and that human rights are thus in part also communal in nature. The right to freedom of religion or belief may be regarded to be intended precisely as a guarantee for both individual citizens and faith-based organizations against such notions of absolute state sovereignty. From the principle of sphere sovereignty, which focuses specifically on the communal dimensions of the right to freedom of religion or belief, follow additional, more comprehensive, guidelines with respect to religious freedom.
