Religion as Identity

Abstract

This paper examines the shift in how religious freedom is understood as a matter of protecting individual choice to thinking about it as a matter identity. According to the choice approach, the state must protect the individual’s freedom to choose but it cannot be expected to bear the costs of the religious choices citizens make. The identity approach treats the claims individuals and groups make about their religious commitments as non-negotiable facts rather than choices and considers the failure of the state to protect these commitments as unjust because it exposes the individual to disrespect and disadvantage, and stigmatizes and excludes them from full membership in the polity. This paper examines the political context in which the identity approach has emerged in the last 50 years. It then examines three implications for protection of religious freedom of this shift from choice to identity. Such a shift 1) enhances the capacity of courts to address claims of historical injustice 2) leads courts to focus on the religious practices at a group rather than an individuals level and 3) increases the pressure on courts to assess the authenticity of religious beliefs and practices. These implications lead to significant challenges for public institutions, which are discussed in the final section of the paper.