The Interrelationship between Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion and the Rule of Law
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20385225 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Giles (0000-0001-9805-3343, The Open University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 376-402 |
| Publication date | 2023-09-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Law and Religion (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0748-0814 • E-ISSN: 2163-3088 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/jlr.2023.28 |
| OpenAlex | W4388829481 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 21 |
The article explores the connection between the rule of law and the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion from an empirical and theoretical perspective. The author posits that the two are not merely interdependent, but that freedom of thought, conscience, and religion is foundational for embedding the rule of law because a state needs to facilitate freedom of thought, conscience, and religion to encourage the exploration of virtue to inform consensus around society’s common norms. This virtue-building role of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion gives the human right its foundational role for creating the conditions required for embedding the rule of law. This conclusion is drawn from Martin Krygier’s analysis of the sociological conditions necessary to embed the rule of law and a comparison of the worldwide rule of law, religious freedom, and happiness indexes. To support a universal approach to the human right and to underpin the identified essentiality of it, the author proposes a theoretical approach grounded in the theory of common grace; Rowan Williams’s other-regarding communal approach to rights; and the framework for plural living together proposed by Herman Dooyeweerd. The author posits that this approach could be adapted with a plural metanarrative to accommodate dialogue around virtue building and dispute resolution within societies with very different outlooks
Conscience · Epistemology · Plural · Political science · Rule of law · Sociology · Virtue · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Law · Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions
After Virtue
The authority of law
Is Freedom of Conscience Superior to Freedom of Religion?
World Survey of Religion and the State
The Right to Freedom of Thought in the United Kingdom
Restoring Freedom of Conscience
Religious Freedom in Global Context
On Human Rights
Religion in Britain
The Unfree Exercise of Religion
From Skepticism to Embrace
Herman Dooyeweerd
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |