Measuring Religious Freedom in Perceptions

Olga Breskaya is Associate Professor of Sociology in the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education and Applied Psychology at the University of Padua.

This post is part of a series on the sociology of religious freedom.

Together with theoretical perspectives on and analyses of religion’s judicialization worldwide, A Sociology of Religious Freedom devotes a key section to the empirical study of religious freedom and the methods developed to investigate it. As a coauthor, along with Giuseppe Giordan and James T. Richardson, my appreciation for this section was reinforced during a recent discussion of our book, when a panelist, a constitutional lawyer, made an insightful remark:

You sociologists talk about the measures and degrees of religious freedom. For us judges, who deal with legal cases in courts, there is only one scale—either there is freedom, or there isn’t.

(more…)

Continue Reading Measuring Religious Freedom in Perceptions

Sociology of Religious Freedom

In 2025, the monograph “A Sociology of Religious Freedom” saw the light. In this series, Olga Breskaya, Giuseppe Giordan, and James T. Richardson, who co-authored the book, provide insights from their study. They define religious freedom as a multidimensional concept, located at the intersection of five areas of meaning: (a) the autonomy of individuals and religious groups, (b) the societal value of freedom of and from religion, (c) the normative principles of state-religion governance, (d) international human rights standards, and (e) the socio-legal impacts of the judicialization of religion. The combination of social and legal perspectives enriches both sociologists and lawyers with a better understanding of how religious freedom operates in times of secularization and the pluralization of Western societies.

Giordan’s posts  set up the theory of religious freedom and explain the aims of sociological studies of this human right. Borrowing from legal sociology, Richardson’s post focuses on the judicialization of religious freedom and the roles of American and European courts in shaping its scope and limits. Breskaya’s contribution discusses empirical methods of investigating religious freedom.

(more…)

Continue Reading Sociology of Religious Freedom

Why Religious Freedom Matters to Us

G.S. “Mack” McCarter III is founder and coordinator of Community Renewal International and an ordained minister of the Disciples of Christ denomination. The following post is based on his address at the ICLRS Religious Freedom Annual Review, 17 June 2025, at Brigham Young University.

Religious Freedom: An On-Ramp onto the Highway of God

I’ve been asked to speak about “Why Religious Freedom Matters to Me.” But in light of the conference, and with the organizers’ connivance, I simply have to change the title. And that is to move from me to we, and from I to us, because that really reflects the power of this conference.

So, why does religious freedom matter to us? And of course, we answer that religious freedom really is the regnant power that can change the direction of humanity and move us to a place talked about in Isaiah chapter 11—where peace, joy, and love can fill this entire globe and all of humanity; where the wolf lives with the lamb; where the bear eats hay with the cow; and where the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the Lord, even as the waters cover the sea.[1]

(more…)

Continue Reading Why Religious Freedom Matters to Us