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.

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Religious Freedom: Toward a Pluralist Understanding

Jaclyn Neo is an associate professor and the director of the Centre for Asian Legal Studies at University at the National University of Singapore. The following post is based on her remarks during the panel “Understanding Religious Freedom: Why Does It Matter?” at the ICLRS 31st Annual International Law and Religion Symposium, 7 October 2024.

Despite the long-established provenance and reach of religious freedom discourse, religious freedom remains an under-fulfilled promise in many contexts and has been under siege in others. Reports by international organizations, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations point to continuing violations of religious freedom worldwide. As a result, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief Heiner Bielefeldt has called religious freedom a “human right under pressure.”[1]

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