Politics of Religious Freedom is a collaborative research project that studies how religious freedom is being transformed through legal and political contestations in the United States, the Middle East, South Asia, and the European Union. Departing from the assumption that there is a single and stable conception of religious liberty, enshrined in international law, the United Nations protocols and national constitutions, the project undertakes a comparative and global study of the multiple historical trajectories, concepts, and practices now organized under the rubric of religious freedom.
Funded by the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs, Politics of Religious Freedom brings together academics, human rights and civil society organizations, and jurists and policy makers who have helped to reshape the debate on religious freedom in the United States, the European Union, India, Egypt, and South Africa. Based on workshops held among participants from these regions alongside the core research team, the project has produced the following publications: (a) a volume of essays titled Politics of Religious Freedom (forthcoming, University of Chicago Press, 2015) compiled and edited by the Project Team; (b) translations of, and commentaries on, key legal cases involving religious freedom from India, Egypt, the U.K., Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States (Maryland Journal of International Law, 2015); (c) select papers from project workshops (held in Venice, Chiang Mai, and Cairo) appearing in special issues of South Atlantic Quarterlyand Journal of Law and Religion. The project entails a pedagogical component that includes: (a) developing undergraduate and graduate syllabi on the comparative history of religious freedom globally; and (b) support for four graduate student interns to conduct research related to the project themes in Egypt, Turkey, and Lebanon.
Funded by the Henry R. Luce Initiative on Religion and International Affairs, Politics of Religious Freedom brings together academics, human rights and civil society organizations, and jurists and policy makers who have helped to reshape the debate on religious freedom in the United States, the European Union, India, Egypt, and South Africa. Based on workshops held among participants from these regions alongside the core research team, the project has produced the following publications: (a) a volume of essays titled Politics of Religious Freedom (forthcoming, University of Chicago Press, 2015) compiled and edited by the Project Team; (b) translations of, and commentaries on, key legal cases involving religious freedom from India, Egypt, the U.K., Malaysia, Brazil, South Africa, and the United States (Maryland Journal of International Law, 2015); (c) select papers from project workshops (held in Venice, Chiang Mai, and Cairo) appearing in special issues of South Atlantic Quarterlyand Journal of Law and Religion. The project entails a pedagogical component that includes: (a) developing undergraduate and graduate syllabi on the comparative history of religious freedom globally; and (b) support for four graduate student interns to conduct research related to the project themes in Egypt, Turkey, and Lebanon.