Discriminatory State Practices Involving National Identity Documents with Impacts on Religious Freedom

Brandon Reece Taylorian is an associate lecturer and researcher at the University of Lancashire (UK).

Introduction

Government-issued identity (ID) documents are commonplace, from passports to birth and marriage certificates to national ID cards.[1] These documents play an important role in civil society, national security, and international travel. However, several states issue ID documents in ways that discriminate based on religion or belief, causing reasonable concerns for those monitoring conditions of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). This post summarizes discriminatory state practices in issuing national ID documents and their impacts on the freedoms of religious communities and individuals. Surveying such practices highlights the intersection of several FoRB violations, including withholding citizenship from members of disfavored religions and placing undue restraints on the economic and social mobility of members of religious minorities.

(more…)

Continue Reading Discriminatory State Practices Involving National Identity Documents with Impacts on Religious Freedom

Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Landscape

Alwi Shihab is a senior fellow at the Leimena Institute and is the Indonesian president’s special envoy to the Middle East and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. The following post is based on his remarks during the panel “Understanding Religious Freedom: Why Does It Matter?” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2024.

Religious freedom in Indonesia is a complex and nuanced issue. While Indonesia officially promotes religious diversity, and its constitution guarantees the right to worship, unfortunately, the reality on the ground is often more complicated.

(more…)

Continue Reading Indonesia’s Religious Freedom Landscape

Dignity, Deference, and Discrimination: Religious Freedom in America’s Prisons

Elyse Slabaugh received a JD in 2024 from the J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University. This post is based on an article published in the BYU Law Review.

Incarceration by its nature denies a prisoner participation in the larger human community. To deny the opportunity to affirm membership in a spiritual community, however, may extinguish an inmate’s last source of hope for dignity and redemption.[1]

The difficulties of prison administration create the potential for prisons to succumb to neglect, racism, and religious intolerance and for prison officials to curtail inmates’ rights not only when necessary, but also when merely convenient.[2]

(more…)

Continue Reading Dignity, Deference, and Discrimination: Religious Freedom in America’s Prisons