The Judicialization of Religious Freedom: An Institutionalist Approach

Abstract

Recent years have seen growing interest in the judicialization of religious freedom (JRF). In this article, I identify two distinct meanings of JRF, which are often conflated but which need to be kept separate. I then argue for a stronger institutionalist approach to JRF. An institutionalist approach focuses our attention on both the rules internal to courts, and the relationship of courts to administrative agencies, legislatures, and other governing bodies. I argue that there is room to strengthen our analyses of JRF by paying greater attention to these institutional dynamics. I demonstrate this by highlighting two overlooked features of courts—interpretive rules and access rules—that are particularly important for governing JRF; and by developing a framework that relates the courts to other institutional venues and political actors. In so doing, I identify a number of promising directions for future research into the causes and consequences of JRF.

Measuring the Social Perception of Religious Freedom: A Sociological Perspective

“…Thus, the social constructivism perspective allows to consider historical, sociological, and cultural conditions of the judicial system, which controls religious freedom production in a society. Sociologist Mayrl (2018) developed further the idea of "judicialization" ) of religious freedom. He highlighted the expanding scope of religious freedom meaning produced by the judiciary system, enhancing the role of national courts and the European Court of Human Rights in this process.…”

“…(5) Societal impact of judicialization of RF. The processes of ruling religious freedom cases by national and international courts are crucial for the construction of societal meaning of religious freedom in a particular national context (Richardson and Lee 2014;Mayrl 2018). For instance, the Lautsi vs Italy case in Italy can be seen as a reference point for public discussions on religious symbolism in Italian public schools and in the public sphere in general.…”

“…Sociology of law, political sociology, and sociology of religion together with the other social-science disciplines, including legal studies, addressed anew the topic of religious freedom in the last three decades (Finke 1990;Richardson 2006Richardson , 2007Sullivan 2005;Gill 2008;Wuthnow and Lewis 2008;Banchoff and Wuthnow 2011;Grim and Finke 2011;Finke 2013;Finke and Martin 2014;Fox 2015;Sandberg 2011Sandberg , 2014Hefner 2015;Hurd 2015;Mayrl 2018). However, the sociological potential of research on this topic remains untapped.…”

Rights not working? Grassroots-level impact of the European Court of Human Rights on religion

“…As promised, I close with some reflections on why it is important for sociologists of religion to study law. A rapidly increasing judicialization of religion is a fact established by several scholars (including that of Jim Richardson, 2015; see also Mayrl, 2018). Whether a welcome fact or not, it means that more matters of concern to religious, secularist, atheist, and humanist publics are being decided by courts.…”

Human Rights and Religion: A Sociological Perspective

“…The concept of judicialization of religious freedom has been expanded recently by sociologist Damon Mayrl (), using an institutional approach. Mayrl notes that the judicialization of religious freedom term has sometimes been taken to mean that the more courts gain in power the more religious freedom develops within a society.…”