Why Religious Freedom Matters?

What is religious freedom? As per Wikipedia, freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedom to change one’s religion or beliefs, “the right not to profess any religion or belief” or “not to practise a religion”. So do you have religious freedom even matter? Are you free to practice your religion in your country with no repression? In this post, we will dive into why religious freedom matters?

The constitutional freedom of religion is the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights

-Thomas Jefferson

A recent verdict by an Indian state high court banned students from entering schools wearing hijab (headscarves worn by Muslim women). This has created an outrage in India and left India divided. Just to put it in context, Muslims are a minority in India, but over 204 million in population, that’s about 15.5% of India’s total population. Imagine a school girl not allowed to enter the school premises just because she is wearing a headscarf? So what is your initial reaction to this story?

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What is Religious Freedom?

Religious freedom in plain terms is the freedom to practice any religion. It could also be the freedom to not practice any religion if one prefers. So if your religion requires you to wear a head turban for males or a headscarf for females, then should your country prevent you from doing so? Should it not be my choice to follow my religion in the way I interpret it? Besides, whether I choose to wear a hijab being a Muslim female, should it not be my choice? Life is about choices, so why should religious practice not be part of it? We often talk about diversity, more so “unity in diversity”. Then is it that diversity is only for slogans? Thus, why can’t we include every citizen, irrespective of their religion, race, caste or gender, to contribute to the economic development of our country?

Why Religious Freedom Matters?

In this section, let’s dive deeper into why religious freedom matters? Also, do you think it matters? Let’s find out.

Human Rights

To begin, it is the constitutional right in most countries to practice any religion. Hence, it is a fundamental constitutional right which underpins the foundation of basic human rights. Then how come in many countries they deprive its citizens of their fundamental human right? Human rights is for sure a topic of another blog post. Because they can quite complicate it depending which country you live in.

Further, human rights are the foundation for self-respect for any human being. Imagine, you are being discriminated day in day out because of your religion or religious practices. Then what does it do to your self-respect? Your dignity? Doesn’t it create an atmosphere of fear and anxiety for you? Then how can you strive to your fullest potential if they threaten or compromise your basic human rights?

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

So what does diversity, equity, and inclusion mean? Diversity means the prevalence of diverse groups of people in terms of race, gender, sexuality, religious affiliations, caste or creed. Equity is promoting justice, impartiality, and fairness within processes in distributing resources within institutions or systems. Inclusion is an outcome when we welcome all diverse people into our societies, institutions, and workplaces.

So where is diversity, equity and inclusion when we bar people from practicing their religions? Or because of following their religious faiths, we strip them of their constitutional rights? Do you have religious freedom in your country? If not, in which country would you prefer to live to practice your religion freely, with no repression and exercise your constitutional rights? Then the question will also be should you emigrate to other countries just because of no religious freedom leaving behind family and friends? Uprooted from your roots, your cultures? What do you think? These are complex questions with no straightforward answers.

Self-Actualization

Self-actualization is the achievement of one’s fullest potential. Then is possible to achieve our fullest potential if we don’t have freedom to practice our beliefs? Or when we feel subdued without being able to express ourselves freely? To realize our fullest potential, we should be able to live fearlessly, with no marginalization or discrimination. Can you share your thoughts or practice your religious beliefs freely, with no sort of repression or retaliation in your country? If not, what options do you have?

Innovation

Innovation is the by-product of diversity and inclusion. We can in innovate when we have diverse thoughts and ideas. If we don’t encourage people of diverse backgrounds, including religion, to come together, then are we not missing in innovating? Everyone has a different perspective and differs in their thinking process. When we have people from different cultures and or different religious backgrounds, then we have a perfect pot-pourri for diverse thoughts. Those could coalesce to come up without of box ideas, setting the stage for a perfect condition for innovation.

Economic Growth

What is the most important driver for economic growth? There is no bigger capital than human capital. If we are not leveraging our human capital in any country to their fullest potential, then can we expect to become an economic superpower?

If a section of the country is not happy because they feel they are being repressed or discriminated based on their religious practices, will they be able to take part fully to contribute to the country’s economic growth? Could it then cause their delineation of mainstream education and thus economy?

Economic growth is also a function of how the institutional policies and laws of any country engage and leverage its entire population towards the economic growth of the country. So that we leave behind no section or community and everyone cherishes the fruits of success.

Conclusion On Why Religious Freedom Matters?

Therefore, religious freedom matters. But there are different geo-political reasons for religious discriminations and thwarting of religious freedom. It is for sure a complex topic. But I think we need to recognize these issues as opportunities. After all, my belief is that religion is there to make us all better, provide us with the righteous direction and bring out the best in us so that we can live our life to its fullest potential. Religion, through different forms and preachings, teaches us the same overarching principles as how to become better human beings. Then why are these discriminations? Or are we moving towards totalitarianisms in some parts of the world?

So what do you think? Do you live in a country where you are free to practice your religious beliefs freely? With no eyebrow raisings, smirking or any sort of disdain? Do you live in a society that embraces diversity in toto and wholeheartedly? If not, is it not the time to take a moment and think about it? Why not? Please leave your comments and thoughts below.