Religious Minorities in Asia

Between the Scylla of Minority Protection and Charybdis of Religious Freedom Rights

Bibliographic Data

ID3572298
AuthorsJames Neo (0000-0001-9510-0167, National University of Singapore, corresponding author), Jaclyn L Neo
Year2021
Volume12
Issue10
Pages881
Publication date2021-10-14
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel12100881
OpenAlexW3206607474
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited29

This article examines the intersection of religious freedom and minority protection within the Asian context. It argues that, to the extent that a focus on minority protection draws greater attention to the collective and communitarian dimensions of religious practice, it has the potential to enrich the discourse on religious freedom protection. I identify three areas of possible convergence-first, where a minority-focused regime leads to a richer understanding of the intersections between culture, language, and religion; secondly, where a focus on minority protection leads to positive measures by the state to protect religious minorities; and thirdly, where a minority regime founds a right of religious minorities to political participation. Nonetheless, I will also point out that there are limits to minority protection. It may even be a double-edged sword, as it serves to reify differences with the rest of society and risks permanently marginalizing the group as a minority. This could be the case even if there are institutional designs, formal or informal, to provide for religious minorities' political participation

Freedom of Religion · Geography · Human rights · Minority rights · Political science · Politics · Religious freedom · Sociology · SWORD · Asian Geopolitics and Ethnography · Gender Studies · Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics · Law · Religious Freedom and Discrimination

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