Masking Religious Freedom Violations
A Virtual Conference
November 2024
Palais building of the Court of Justice of the European Union by Cédric Puisney (CC BY 2.0).
A virtual conference sponsored by Canopy Forum and International Institute for Religious Freedom featuring scholars, experts and practitioners who will examine the complex and multifaceted nature of religious discrimination. Read more on how to register and attend.
The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University and Canopy Forum in collaboration with the International Institute for Religious Freedom hosted a virtual symposium, Masking Religious Freedom Violations on November 20th at 10am to 12pm EST.
This symposium explores the complex and multifaceted nature of religious discrimination, moving beyond traditional analyses and narrow definitions to incorporate perspectives from political economy and human security. The discussion addresses the limitations of conventional approaches to the empirical study of religious freedom violations, which often focus on overt displays such as the prohibition of religious literature, restricted access to places of worship, and limitations on the registration and activities of religious organizations. Instead, we seek to highlight how religious minorities, while sometimes enjoying traditional protections to a certain degree, face significant subversive discrimination in other critical areas such as access to loans, inheritance rights, education, and fertilizers. In addition to this empirical element, the symposium will explore new epistemological frameworks to better understand and articulate the complexities of religious discrimination. By incorporating these diverse perspectives, the symposium aims to set a new research agenda that broadens the understanding of religious freedom to include economic, social, and political dimensions, thereby providing a more comprehensive framework for analyzing and addressing the challenges faced by religious minorities worldwide.
Panelists and essays will explore various topics:
- The evolution of instruments created to measure religious freedom violations, their benefits and their limitations.
- Religious freedom in national contexts, specifically the varied circumstances surrounding atypical forms of religious discrimination
- Additional scholarly insights into the way the law has been interpreted, mobilized or disregarded in furtherance of unchecked religious discrimination beyond the typical categories.
- Policies, next steps, or reconceptualization for a more nuanced religious freedom protection regime.
- The role of global human rights regimes on religious freedom protections in light of ‘masked’ religious discrimination
- The role of education and research in university settings in strengthening policies that uphold religious freedom
- Perspectives on the next frontiers of religious freedom scholarship, especially with mind towards multi-disciplinarity and new angles for informing the project of religious freedom.
“Lifting the Mask on Undetected Religious Freedom Violations”
Dennis P. Petri, PhD is the International Director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom and Founder and scholar-at-large of the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Latin America. He is a Professor in International Relations and Head of the Chair of Humanities at the Latin American University of Science and Technology and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences.
