Why Religious Freedom is a Human Right.

This essay defends the human right of religious freedom by arguing that religion is a distinct, universal, and basic human good grounded in human dignity. It responds to two main critiques: liberal skepticism, which denies religion’s distinctiveness and seeks to subsume it under broader rights like conscience or speech, and post-modern skepticism, which questions the universality of religious freedom as a Western construct. The author defines religion primarily as a purposive set of practices aimed at establishing right relationship with a superhuman power, a definition that encompasses diverse religious traditions globally and historically. Religious freedom, therefore, protects not only the practice of religion but also the interiority of belief, including the freedom to adopt, change, or reject religion, while recognizing that this right is subject to limitations necessary to protect public safety and the rights of others.