The response of states to demands for free exercise of religion or belief varies greatly across the world. In some places, religions come as close as imaginable to autonomous existences with little interference from government. In other cases religion finds itself grinding out a meagre living, if at all, under the jealously watchful eye of the state. This book provides a legal and normative overview of the variety of responses to minority religions available to states. Exploring case studies ranging from Islamic regions such as Indonesia, Pakistan, and the wider Middle East, to Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Russia, Canada, and the Baltics, contributors include international scholars and experts in law, sociology, religious studies, and political science. This book offers invaluable perspectives on how minority religions are currently being received, reviewed, challenged, or ignored in different parts of the world.
Biography
David M. Kirkham is Senior Fellow for Comparative Law and International Policy, International Center for Law and Religion Studies, Brigham Young University Law School.
’Increasing religious diversity in nations around the world has yielded more minority religions in many countries. This timely and important book brings together seventeen respected experts who chronicle the varied host nation responses to the appearance of minority religions in their midst.’ David G. Bromley, Virginia Commonwealth University, USA ’...a timely and important contribution with a strong rationale...offers thoughtful and solid coverage of various regions of the world...’ Journal of Church and State 'This volume poses a great number of important current questions that are particularly relevant for scholars of religion today, at a time when many utopian communities are in the centre of public attention.' Fieldwork in Religion