Freedom of Religion: A crucial pillar of holistic development.
On a spring day in 1648, the great powers of the West gathered in a small town in northwestern Germany to sign the Peace of Westphalia, effectively ending three decades of religiously motivated warfare that had decimated central Europe. Historians now cite the conclusion of the Thirty Years’ War as the genesis of the modern nation-state and the foundation of the present international order. Just as religion had sparked the conflict, so it continues to play a defining role in its aftermath, shaping the interaction between sovereign governments and their citizenry. Indeed, the “natural rights of man” have traditionally derived their raison d’être from arguments associated with the divine, as couched in Thomas Jefferson’s seminal treatise on the subject, the United States Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” (US 1776) For those public officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals who recognize and advance these “unalienable rights” as indivisible from the long-term, sustainable development of any nation or society, freedom of religion constitutes a critical prerequisite for success in their endeavors.
This article asserts, then, that the basic individual right to religious freedom is more than an end goal of holistic national development. It also constitutes a crucial facilitator of that development, echoing the sentiments of Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen that the “enhancement of human freedom is both the main object and the primary means of development.” (Sen 53) A more defined theoretical framework will clarify this argument. Traditional economic indices too often dominate the gauge of development. Measurements of gross domestic product and per capita income, when relied upon alone, present a myopic view of a country’s quality of life. Holistic development goes beyond the economic sphere to embrace social stability and the inviolability of basic civil liberties (as defined by the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights) as coequal metrics of a country’s overall progression. Within this framework, which Peter Uvin might term a “rights-based approach to development,” (127) freedom of religion, or the pursuit thereof, is uniquely positioned to strongly uphold the two traditional schools of human rights. Though academic literature regularly categorizes religious freedom as one of the civil and political (CP) rights, this concept of spiritual liberty nevertheless resonates strongly with many economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights.
What, then, constitutes “freedom of religion,” how does it promote its sister CP and ESC rights, and how does that promotion bring about meaningful holistic development? To address the first question, according to Article 18 of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” (United Nations) In this context, freedom of religion casts a wide net, and answers the second question. This fundamental right overflows easily into the civil rights articulated in Articles 16, 19, and 20, respectively the right of “men and women…to marry and to found a family,” “the right to freedom of opinion and expression,” and “the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.” (United Nations)
Freedom of religion is no less serviceable in promoting the economic, social, and cultural rights that likewise reaffirm the primacy of the individual over the state. Articles 25, 26, and 27 of the United Nations’ Declaration delineate the right to an adequate standard of living, the “right to education,” and the “right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community.” (United Nations) Hinduism and Islam on the Indian subcontinent, Theravada Buddhism in Thailand, and Roman Catholicism in Brazil are but a few examples of religions that play a powerful socio-economic and cultural role in fostering the “national consciousness” of a state. Often these same faiths prove potent advocates for the economically downtrodden, academically marginalized, and culturally repressed segments of their respective societies, thus furthering the cause of ESC rights.
Little wonder that autocratic regimes, bereft of legitimacy, view freedom of religion (and by extension, freedom of though and conscience) as a direct threat to their viability. Recent history abounds with examples of religion as a vehicle for political liberation. Mahatma Ghandi’s quasi-religious campaign of social justice ended the imperialistic British Raj by 1947. Diverse Iranian opposition groups rallied under the leadership of Muslim Imams against the autocratic Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. Pope John Paul II’s unwavering support for Solidarity contributed to the 1990 collapse of Poland’s Communist dictatorship. When it comes to the “countries of particular concern,” according to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, the list includes the following notoriously repressive regimes: Burma, China, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. Taking China as an example, the Commission notes that:
“Religious activities are tightly controlled and some religious adherents [are] detained, imprisoned, fined, beaten, and harassed…despite a growing zone of toleration for religious worship and charitable activities, the government continues to restrict religious practice to government-approved religious associations and seeks to control the activities, growth, and leadership of both ―registered and ―unregistered religious groups.” (U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom)
Beijing’s strategy of sponsoring “government-approved religious associations” is representative of a common despotic strategy. Recognizing the tremendous latent power in religious movements to challenge the suppression of other CP and ESC human rights, many autocratic regimes have attempted to co-opt spiritual devotion, twisting it by promoting an “official” religion or channeling popular discontent towards a convenient minority. The persecution of the Jews in 1930s Germany finds modern-day imitation in the scapegoat oppression of Coptic Christians in Egypt, Muslim Uyghurs and Tibetan Buddhists in China, and Protestant denominations in Belarus. Historical evidence again suggests that these efforts are doomed to failure. NPR correspondent Rob Gifford observes that as with early Christianity in Rome, persecution led to the growth, not the death, of the Chinese church. Now, even conservative estimates put the total number of Christians at around 75 million…more than the 70 million members of the Chinese Communist party.” (Gifford 130)
Thus we refocus on the third question: How does the promotion of religious freedom bring about meaningful holistic development, a model of progress encompassing social cohesion and civil liberties as well as economic expansion? Peter Uvin puts it succinctly: “Rich countries focus on CP rights and poor ones on ESC rights.” (14) Freedom of religion bridges this gap. It is a human right with the power to unite advocacy groups in the industrialized nations and the developing world, a catalyst for increased tolerance and the value of the individual, both anathemas to the autocratic pattern of government that perpetuates so much socio-economic injustice. Can we afford to divert our attention from the crushing economic poverty around the globe to address esoteric spiritual deprivation? If we are serious about addressing the route causes of poverty and oppression, perhaps the better question to ask is: can we afford not to?
Works Cited
Gifford, Robert. China Road: A Journey Into the Future of a Rising Power. New York: Random House Trade Paperback Edition. 2008.
No author. “Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, May 2009.” United States Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009. 7 Feb 2010. <http://www.uscirf.gov/images/AR2009.pdf>.
No author. “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations 7 Feb 2010. 7 Feb 2010. <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/>.
Sen, Amartya. Development as Freedom. New York: Anchor Books, 1999.
Uvin, Peter. Human Rights and Development. Bloomfield: Kumarian Press, 2004.
© 2010, Andrew Jensen. All rights reserved.
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