Education and Freedom of Religion or Belief: An Essential Relationship
James D. Holt is an associate professor of religious education at the University of
Chester (England). This post is based on a presentation given at the ICLRS 32nd International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2025.
On my office shelves is a copy of the Rodin sculpture La Cathédrale, depicting two hands. I often begin presentations by asking people in the audience to try to recreate the image. What usually happens is that people try to do this by themselves but quickly find they can’t. In fact, it can’t be recreated without somebody else because it depicts two right hands. To me, the sculpture is symbolic of interfaith engagement—of the need for different, distinct entities to create engagement and relationship. But the sculpture also represents the relationship and engagement between education and freedom of religion or belief: You can’t have freedom of religion or belief without education, and you shouldn’t have education without freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).