Localizing Justice: Law and Legality on the State’s Periphery in Kyrgyzstan

Natalia Alenkina is an associate professor at the American University of Central Asia. This post is based on a presentation given at the ICLRS 32nd Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2025.

The post is a part of the Religious Law and Human Rights series.

In societies where formal institutions are weak, justice often depends less on the codified enforcement of laws and more on the ability of communities to sustain trust, moral responsibility, and social inclusion. The courts of aksakals in Kyrgyzstan—community-based bodies composed of respected elders—embody this ongoing search for balance between legality and morality, state authority and community cohesion, and secular justice and religiously informed values.

(more…)

Continue Reading Localizing Justice: Law and Legality on the State’s Periphery in Kyrgyzstan

Measuring Religious Freedom Globally: Interview with Jonathan Fox

Religion and State Project founder and Bar-Ilan University professor Jonathan Fox explains how state policies concerning religion and religious freedom can be measured empirically. Fox discusses what prompts governments to discriminate against certain (or all) religions and why government support of religion is a popular tactic to control it. He also provides nuanced perspectives on the interplay of democratic and secular governments and religious freedom, drawing on legal decisions involving religious freedom and women’s rights, bodily integrity, and the humane treatment of animals.

(more…)

Continue Reading Measuring Religious Freedom Globally: Interview with Jonathan Fox

Protecting Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion: Ensuring a Future of Peace and Shared, Sacred Flourishing for All

Dr. Francis Kuria is secretary general of Religions for Peace International and its African affiliate, the African Council of Religious Leaders-Religions for Peace. He also serves as administrative chair of the international steering group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. This post is based on his keynote address at the ICLRS 32nd International Law and Religion Symposium, 6 October 2025.

Introduction

Now more than ever, we are confronted with internal divisions and heightened tensions, calling for a timely and necessary conversation on the protection of religious freedom. The tragic attack on 28 September on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc, Michigan, serves as a devastating reminder of the urgent need to persist in promoting religious freedom for all—a responsibility that we must not only address in theory but that requires our collective action on community, judicial, and legislative fronts.

(more…)

Continue Reading Protecting Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion: Ensuring a Future of Peace and Shared, Sacred Flourishing for All