Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1163/22124810-20240002
Esther Erlings
When governments are structurally unable to provide social services, or when disaster strikes, relief organisations tend to step in. This is also the case in South and East Asia. Such organisations may be faith-based, leading to the emergence of what Asians colloquially call “rice Christians”: persons who (allegedly) convert to a religion in order to access services, or out of loyalty to the aid-supplying organisation. Such converts may continue to practice their traditional religions and beliefs. This raises the question whether rights to religion or belief are still available to “rice Christians” when governments, e.g., seek to redevelop a sacred site that formed part of their original belief system. The present article addresses that question, drawing upon the concept of multiple religious belonging (‘mrb’) and a 2017 decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in which the court accepted that individuals may adhere to multiple religions, especially where conversion happened within a missionary context and the now-claimed belief is Indigenous or traditional. It argues in favour of recognition of mrb within the context of freedom of religion, which would mean that also “rice Christians” can continue to rely on original belief systems to protect their practices and places.
{"title":"Of Welfare, Sacred Places, and “Rice Christians”: Freedom of Religion and Multiple Religious Belonging","authors":"Esther Erlings","doi":"10.1163/22124810-20240002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-20240002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000When governments are structurally unable to provide social services, or when disaster strikes, relief organisations tend to step in. This is also the case in South and East Asia. Such organisations may be faith-based, leading to the emergence of what Asians colloquially call “rice Christians”: persons who (allegedly) convert to a religion in order to access services, or out of loyalty to the aid-supplying organisation. Such converts may continue to practice their traditional religions and beliefs. This raises the question whether rights to religion or belief are still available to “rice Christians” when governments, e.g., seek to redevelop a sacred site that formed part of their original belief system. The present article addresses that question, drawing upon the concept of multiple religious belonging (‘mrb’) and a 2017 decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in which the court accepted that individuals may adhere to multiple religions, especially where conversion happened within a missionary context and the now-claimed belief is Indigenous or traditional. It argues in favour of recognition of mrb within the context of freedom of religion, which would mean that also “rice Christians” can continue to rely on original belief systems to protect their practices and places.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"10 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139851258","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}
Pub Date : 2024-02-08DOI: 10.1163/22124810-20240002
Esther Erlings
When governments are structurally unable to provide social services, or when disaster strikes, relief organisations tend to step in. This is also the case in South and East Asia. Such organisations may be faith-based, leading to the emergence of what Asians colloquially call “rice Christians”: persons who (allegedly) convert to a religion in order to access services, or out of loyalty to the aid-supplying organisation. Such converts may continue to practice their traditional religions and beliefs. This raises the question whether rights to religion or belief are still available to “rice Christians” when governments, e.g., seek to redevelop a sacred site that formed part of their original belief system. The present article addresses that question, drawing upon the concept of multiple religious belonging (‘mrb’) and a 2017 decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in which the court accepted that individuals may adhere to multiple religions, especially where conversion happened within a missionary context and the now-claimed belief is Indigenous or traditional. It argues in favour of recognition of mrb within the context of freedom of religion, which would mean that also “rice Christians” can continue to rely on original belief systems to protect their practices and places.
{"title":"Of Welfare, Sacred Places, and “Rice Christians”: Freedom of Religion and Multiple Religious Belonging","authors":"Esther Erlings","doi":"10.1163/22124810-20240002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-20240002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000When governments are structurally unable to provide social services, or when disaster strikes, relief organisations tend to step in. This is also the case in South and East Asia. Such organisations may be faith-based, leading to the emergence of what Asians colloquially call “rice Christians”: persons who (allegedly) convert to a religion in order to access services, or out of loyalty to the aid-supplying organisation. Such converts may continue to practice their traditional religions and beliefs. This raises the question whether rights to religion or belief are still available to “rice Christians” when governments, e.g., seek to redevelop a sacred site that formed part of their original belief system. The present article addresses that question, drawing upon the concept of multiple religious belonging (‘mrb’) and a 2017 decision of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights in which the court accepted that individuals may adhere to multiple religions, especially where conversion happened within a missionary context and the now-claimed belief is Indigenous or traditional. It argues in favour of recognition of mrb within the context of freedom of religion, which would mean that also “rice Christians” can continue to rely on original belief systems to protect their practices and places.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":" 11","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139791197","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}
Pub Date : 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1163/22124810-20240001
Filip Rigel, Petra Tlčimuková
The study presents a critical view of the church registration processes in the Czech Republic from a sociological jurisprudence perspective. First, it reviews the main issues as they appear in the current debate on the relationship between the state and religion. Next, it addresses the socio-cultural specifics of the relationship between state and religion in the Czech Republic and describes the current legal settings. The analytical part focuses on the judicial review of church registration processes between 2010 and 2022. Finally, the authors review individual cases and their legal outcomes to gain insight into the key problematic issues. The authors argue that (a) the national legal setting creates an unequal environment for the organizations that have been assessed in the study, and that (b) consequently, the state often exceeds its authority in the church registration process.
{"title":"The Church Registration Processes in the Czech Republic: Current Situation from the Perspective of Sociological Jurisprudence","authors":"Filip Rigel, Petra Tlčimuková","doi":"10.1163/22124810-20240001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-20240001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The study presents a critical view of the church registration processes in the Czech Republic from a sociological jurisprudence perspective. First, it reviews the main issues as they appear in the current debate on the relationship between the state and religion. Next, it addresses the socio-cultural specifics of the relationship between state and religion in the Czech Republic and describes the current legal settings. The analytical part focuses on the judicial review of church registration processes between 2010 and 2022. Finally, the authors review individual cases and their legal outcomes to gain insight into the key problematic issues. The authors argue that (a) the national legal setting creates an unequal environment for the organizations that have been assessed in the study, and that (b) consequently, the state often exceeds its authority in the church registration process.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"59 6","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139808920","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}
Pub Date : 2024-02-02DOI: 10.1163/22124810-20240001
Filip Rigel, Petra Tlčimuková
The study presents a critical view of the church registration processes in the Czech Republic from a sociological jurisprudence perspective. First, it reviews the main issues as they appear in the current debate on the relationship between the state and religion. Next, it addresses the socio-cultural specifics of the relationship between state and religion in the Czech Republic and describes the current legal settings. The analytical part focuses on the judicial review of church registration processes between 2010 and 2022. Finally, the authors review individual cases and their legal outcomes to gain insight into the key problematic issues. The authors argue that (a) the national legal setting creates an unequal environment for the organizations that have been assessed in the study, and that (b) consequently, the state often exceeds its authority in the church registration process.
{"title":"The Church Registration Processes in the Czech Republic: Current Situation from the Perspective of Sociological Jurisprudence","authors":"Filip Rigel, Petra Tlčimuková","doi":"10.1163/22124810-20240001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-20240001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The study presents a critical view of the church registration processes in the Czech Republic from a sociological jurisprudence perspective. First, it reviews the main issues as they appear in the current debate on the relationship between the state and religion. Next, it addresses the socio-cultural specifics of the relationship between state and religion in the Czech Republic and describes the current legal settings. The analytical part focuses on the judicial review of church registration processes between 2010 and 2022. Finally, the authors review individual cases and their legal outcomes to gain insight into the key problematic issues. The authors argue that (a) the national legal setting creates an unequal environment for the organizations that have been assessed in the study, and that (b) consequently, the state often exceeds its authority in the church registration process.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"36 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139869200","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010002
Navin Sinha, Mitul Dutta
Should judges engage in theological deliberations? This question has often been asked in the context of religious claims before the courts in India. Following the hijab ban by the Karnataka government, the subsequent decision of the Karnataka High Court (khc) upholding it, and a split verdict by the Supreme Court of India (sci), the question is doing the rounds once again. The present article attempts to critically analyze the decisions of the khc and the sci on the hijab controversy. The analysis draws on the claim of Justice Dhulia that the courts are not the proper forum to engage in theological deliberations, and judicial interference is warranted only when the limits set by the Constitution are violated. In alignment with the claims of Justice Dhulia, the present article argues that in matters concerning government interference in religious practices, the focus of the reviewing court should be more on the legitimacy of the restriction rather than the religious validity of the practice. The author agrees with Justice Dhulia that in matters concerning the right to religion, proportionality is objectively the better standard of judicial review, as it dissuades the court from inquiring into the religious and cultural practices of the parties.
{"title":"The Hijab Ban Verdict: A Case Note on Aishat Shifat v. The State of Karnataka","authors":"Navin Sinha, Mitul Dutta","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010002","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Should judges engage in theological deliberations? This question has often been asked in the context of religious claims before the courts in India. Following the hijab ban by the Karnataka government, the subsequent decision of the Karnataka High Court (khc) upholding it, and a split verdict by the Supreme Court of India (sci), the question is doing the rounds once again. The present article attempts to critically analyze the decisions of the khc and the sci on the hijab controversy. The analysis draws on the claim of Justice Dhulia that the courts are not the proper forum to engage in theological deliberations, and judicial interference is warranted only when the limits set by the Constitution are violated. In alignment with the claims of Justice Dhulia, the present article argues that in matters concerning government interference in religious practices, the focus of the reviewing court should be more on the legitimacy of the restriction rather than the religious validity of the practice. The author agrees with Justice Dhulia that in matters concerning the right to religion, proportionality is objectively the better standard of judicial review, as it dissuades the court from inquiring into the religious and cultural practices of the parties.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"74 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138979008","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010007
Amos A. Israel-Vleeschhouwer
Internalization of costs of religious preferences fits the religious self-perception and ideology of many religious communities and is in their long-term interest. It also strengthens the external value of religious communities, norms, and institutions for the wider society. Many forces press religious communities to reduce the costs of religious preferences. Within a community, costs are reduced by limiting the available choices or shifted to its weaker members; outside the community, costs are shifted to other groups or the state. Incentives influence the allocation of costs, which in turn shape internal communal choices and the religious vitality and sustainability of the community. The allocation of costs also affects the external relations of communities. This article suggests that the allocation of costs is yet another aspect of religious and ideological communities in liberal states that deserves investigation at the constitutional, legal, and regulatory levels.
{"title":"Choices and Allocation of Costs for Religious Preferences and Practices: Insights from an Israeli Test Case","authors":"Amos A. Israel-Vleeschhouwer","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010007","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000Internalization of costs of religious preferences fits the religious self-perception and ideology of many religious communities and is in their long-term interest. It also strengthens the external value of religious communities, norms, and institutions for the wider society.\u0000Many forces press religious communities to reduce the costs of religious preferences. Within a community, costs are reduced by limiting the available choices or shifted to its weaker members; outside the community, costs are shifted to other groups or the state. Incentives influence the allocation of costs, which in turn shape internal communal choices and the religious vitality and sustainability of the community. The allocation of costs also affects the external relations of communities. This article suggests that the allocation of costs is yet another aspect of religious and ideological communities in liberal states that deserves investigation at the constitutional, legal, and regulatory levels.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"8 7","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138980868","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010009
Amos A. Israel-Vleeschhouwer
{"title":"Within the Law, Outside of Justice: Polygamy, Gendered Citizenship, and Colonialism in Israeli Law, written by Rawia Aburabia","authors":"Amos A. Israel-Vleeschhouwer","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"1 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138980391","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010001
Ahmad Rofii
The references to God in the preamble to the Indonesian Constitution raise a fundamental question, “do these references mean that the Constitution should be religious?” This paper aims to propose a new interpretation to the references to God in the preamble. Particularly, it suggests reinterpretation of the trajectory of the phrase “belief in One and Only God” in the making of the 1945 Constitution and during the amendment process, and of its legal significance. This article will also examine the implication of those references for the legitimacy of the state implementation of Islamic law. By analyzing the Constitutional Court’s decisions in the Religious Court Jurisdiction case, this article further investigates the implication of the constitutional interpretation of this phrase for the constitutionality of Islamic law. It argues that the preamble which is secular in nature provides the paradigm for enabling and limiting the institutionalization of religion, including Islamic law.
{"title":"Constitutional Limits of Islamic Law: God in the Preamble to the Indonesian Constitution","authors":"Ahmad Rofii","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010001","url":null,"abstract":"\u0000The references to God in the preamble to the Indonesian Constitution raise a fundamental question, “do these references mean that the Constitution should be religious?” This paper aims to propose a new interpretation to the references to God in the preamble. Particularly, it suggests reinterpretation of the trajectory of the phrase “belief in One and Only God” in the making of the 1945 Constitution and during the amendment process, and of its legal significance. This article will also examine the implication of those references for the legitimacy of the state implementation of Islamic law. By analyzing the Constitutional Court’s decisions in the Religious Court Jurisdiction case, this article further investigates the implication of the constitutional interpretation of this phrase for the constitutionality of Islamic law. It argues that the preamble which is secular in nature provides the paradigm for enabling and limiting the institutionalization of religion, including Islamic law.","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"15 8","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138978819","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010006
Yitzhak Brand
{"title":"The Public Shabbat in the State of Israel—Halakhic Perspectives","authors":"Yitzhak Brand","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"201 2","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"138981333","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}
Pub Date : 2023-12-11DOI: 10.1163/22124810-11010008
{"title":"News: Books – New Releases","authors":"","doi":"10.1163/22124810-11010008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1163/22124810-11010008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":37986,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Law, Religion and State","volume":"169 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-12-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139010182","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}