Freedom of religion in the Constitution of the Netherlands

Abstract

Freedom of religion is a fundamental right of significant importance. Religion or any other belief of similar nature is an integral part to the personality of every person. This being the case, freedom of religion has been aptly described by the European Court of Human Rights as one of the foundations of a democratic society. The impact of religion is a matter of the state-church relations model adopted in each case; a model largely based on social and historical factors. In this paper, the case of the Netherlands will be presented with reference to its constitutional system of protection of religious freedom.