The concept of «freedom of religion» in contemporary legal and socio-political discourses

Abstract

The article examines the problem of the need for a new interpretation of the concept of «freedom of religion» in modern legal and socio-political discourses. It is noted that every state, in the process of its development, in one way or another necessarily embodies universal, existential values in its legislation, enshrined not only in ancient sources that regulate relations between people, citizens and the state, but also in international acts. It was emphasized that after the restoration of Ukraine’s independence, laws on freedom of religion as a subjective legal right and religious organizations as a tool and system for meeting religious needs took an important place. It is noted that at the constitutional level, the right of every citizen to freedom of choice of worldview and religion is enshrined, which is more widely disclosed in the special law on freedom of conscience and religious organizations. A list of the main international treaties ratified by Ukraine, which deal with freedom of worldview and religion, as well as current laws of Ukraine, is given. Conclusions were made that: 1) in Ukraine, in order to ensure human rights to freedom of religion, a modern legal framework has been created, which is based on basic principles, which include, among others: a) the principle of equality of citizens regardless of their attitude to religion; b) the principle according to which no religion can be recognized by the state as obligatory; c) the principle of equality of all religions, denominations and religious organizations before the law; d) the principle of separation of the church and religious communities from the state; 2) the current legislation on freedom of religion and religious organizations needs clarification and improvement (in particular, in terms of strengthening state control over the activities of religious organizations). The possibility of using such definitions as «traditional religion» (religion), «non-traditional religion», «known religion», «unknown religion» etc. is indicated in the legislation of foreign countries. It was emphasized that Ukraine generally adheres to generally accepted international and European legislation in the field of ensuring freedom of conscience, religion and activities of religious organizations. In this sense, national legislation corresponds to European norms and is integrated into the global legal space. Key words: religion, freedom of religion, principles, freedom of conscience, principles of equality, worldview, religious organizations, church, traditional religion, non-traditional religion, state religion, totalitarian cults, extremism.