{"title":"Women’s Reproductive Rights and the Legacy of Religion in Ireland: The Eighth Amendment and Its Repeal","authors":"L. Hogan","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10021","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10021","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The changing religious landscape in Ireland is the context for this analysis of the implications of the insertion of the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution (which in 1983 inserted Article 40.3.3 into the Constitution to give the unborn an equal right to life with that of the mother) and its subsequent repeal in the 2018 referendum. It considers how women’s right to abortion (within the limits specified by the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act 2018) can be vindicated in the context of claims to freedom of religion or belief and in light of the continuing institutional power of the Catholic church in the provision of healthcare. The broader political implications of the changing religious landscape are also considered, as is the question of whether and how the relationship between religion and politics in Ireland can be re-conceptualised.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44237921","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Navigating the Tensions: Women’s Rights, Religion and Freedom of Religion or Belief","authors":"Nazila Ghanea","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10019","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Despite the normative integration between freedom of religion or belief (FORB) and women’s equality, these synergies are difficult to discern and there is a common misperception that women’s rights to equality and FORB are clashing rights. This is compounded by the extensive religiously phrased reservations by states upon ratification of international treaties that amplify this misperception that FORB serves to restrict women’s rights to equality. The advocacy groups supporting these rights, and also their normative sources in international human rights law instruments, are largely distinct. However, general non-discrimination provisions do address both, and General Comment no. 28 captures both rights holistically. The correctives to these misperceptions lie in reflecting upon the universality, indivisibility, interdependence, and interrelatedness of all human rights norms. They also lie in the realization that FORB is a right like any other. FORB is neither a right of “religion” as such nor an instrument for support of religiously phrased reservations and limitations on women’s rights to equality. This is particularly the case with harmful practices, as elaborated in the joint general recommendation/General Comment no. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and no. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child however, the core principles also extend to other infringements of women’s rights to equality. It is essential to (re)vitalize the synergies between FORB and women’s equality in order to advance each of these rights, to be able to address overlapping rights concerns, and to adequately acknowledge intersectional claims. Furthermore, the relevant advocacy groups and human rights mechanisms need to give further attention to this as a priority matter.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42458320","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Human Rights, Islam, and Debates around CEDAW","authors":"Roja Fazaeli, J. Hanisek","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10020","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The article explores the tensions between FORB claims and the advancement of women’s rights in Muslim majority state contexts. Forms of Muslim majority state reservations to CEDAW are analysed in critical and comparative fashion. Iran’s historical engagement with CEDAW is studied for insight into how a purported theoretical conflict between CEDAW and FORB may be better understood in terms of the domestic and international politics of gender and power.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44471970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: Women’s Religious Freedom and Freedom of Religion or Belief","authors":"Roja Fazaeli, M. Yıldırım","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10017","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47213322","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Religious Conscience or Religious Freedom? The Difference between Official Constitutional Norms and Actual Legal Restrictions in Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia","authors":"Amal Idrissi","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10018","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000This paper will consider the extent to which two competing norms—freedom of religion, on the one hand, and Islam as the religion of the state, on the other—are in tension with each other as seen through the lens of three Muslim-majority countries in the Maghreb. I examine this potential tension in four steps: first, the transformation of meaning of the Arabic word “hurriyya” (freedom) during and after the 19th century; second, the articulation of Islam as the religion of the state in the constitutions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia; third, the articulation of freedom of religion (whether freedom of worship or conscience) in the constitutional texts of these three countries, and finally, the question whether the laws and practices that implement these two constitutional norms are compatible or whether they in fact give priority to Islam as the state religion over the norm of freedom of religion. In Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, Islam plays an important role in the legal system, especially in family codes: the Moroccan Family Code (2004), the Algerian Family Code (2016), and the Tunisian Personal Status Code (1957). These are the remaining citadels most implicated with references to Islamic law, the interpretation of which has placed women in an unequal position.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-11-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41354000","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Behind the Veil: A Critical Analysis of European Veiling Laws, written by Neville Cox","authors":"Malthe Hilal-Harvald","doi":"10.1163/18710328-13021150","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-13021150","url":null,"abstract":"The religious rights of Muslims living in Europe is increasingly attracting the attention of scholars from various disciplines. Behind the Veil deepens the literature with its specific focus on the question of veiling and the way it is approached in European legislation and through the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The main argument of the book is that while the “primary reason for voluntarily wearing” the veil is “religious” (p. 35). European laws ban face veils by citing concerns about terrorism and threats against gender equality, open society and the rights of others. Cox emphasizes that these laws and their justifications are not consistent with the European human rights regime. He further “speculates” that the real reasons (hence the title of the book) for the ban are an attempt to respond to the ideological challenge of Islam and to reaffirm Europe’s moral high ground in a time of anxiety.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2021-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45906723","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Denmark","authors":"E. Lassen","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10008","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The article analyses legislative changes in the area of freedom of religion or belief in Denmark between 2014 and 2018. Recent legislation has placed pressure particularly on religious minorities to limit certain religious manifestations, and it is possible to trace a certain “juridification” of freedom of religion, by which the values underlying freedom of religion according to international standards are not always fully reflected. Additionally, there is a tendency to address societal concerns by means of legal interventions. The article argues that by making increased use of soft law developed by the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN, Danish lawmakers would be able to reach a more comprehensive understanding of freedom of religion or belief as well as include non-legal solutions to societal concerns. It further argues that while Denmark’s national (Lutheran) church possess the majority of constituents, nonetheless its privileged position may paradoxically strengthen freedom of religion for religious minorities.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18710328-bja10008","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46169248","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigations on the Use of Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Brazil","authors":"Thiago Alves Pinto, Rodrigo Vitorino Souza Alves","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10004","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 The present article analyses cases from top Brazilian courts and has received contributions from several scholars, practitioners, and public officials to better understand the use of limitations to freedom of religion or belief in the country. The Brazilian Constitution provides for the right to freedom of religion or belief as a fundamental right, and other domestic legislation regulate the right, including those implementing international human rights treaties that Brazil has ratified. These laws are easily accessible. Nevertheless, domestic courts seldom rely on such international instruments or the case-law of international bodies in their judgments. Therefore, although these instruments are in force in Brazil, domestic courts do not expressly use or refer to the clauses of permissible limitations of the relevant international and regional human rights instruments, creating a scenario with low levels of legal certainty for those seeking the protection of the right to freedom of religion or belief.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18710328-bja10004","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46899533","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Limitations Clauses, Evidence, and the Burden of Proof in the European Court of Human Rights","authors":"T. Jeremy Gunn","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 Courts and tribunals involved in evaluating whether states have applied limitations clauses appropriately should pay increased attention to the core underlying issues of the parties’ respective burdens of proof, the standards of proof, and identifying which parties are required to prove which assertions. The European Court of Human Rights has not articulated with sufficient clarity the rules of evidence that apply to its proceedings, thereby permitting ad hoc and inconsistent evaluations of issues pertaining to the freedom of religion or belief. The Court should take seriously its obligation to clarify its standards and thereafter apply them.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18710328-bja10007","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41594030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are Turkey’s Restrictions on Freedom of Religion or Belief Permissible?","authors":"M. Yıldırım","doi":"10.1163/18710328-bja10010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/18710328-bja10010","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000 This article constitutes a summary of the findings of an inquiry into the utilization of the restriction clause of freedom of religion or belief in the course of restriction of this right in Turkey. It demonstrates that FoRB is restricted in various ways by public authorities which rarely involve a systematic application of the FoRB restriction clause. Despite Turkey’s human rights obligations in the area of freedom of religion or belief and the high status conferred to international human rights law under Article 90 of the Turkish Constitution the impact of international provisions on the protection of FoRB in Turkey remains insufficient and inconsistent. The right to freedom of religion or belief has been restricted through measures based on “established practice”, decisions of public authorities based on laws and regulations not directly dealing with this right and court decisions that are not in full compliance with international law.","PeriodicalId":42092,"journal":{"name":"Religion & Human Rights","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.4,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1163/18710328-bja10010","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42353310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}