Abstract
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many governments established important restrictions on religious freedom. Due to a restrictive interpretation of the right to religious freedom, religion was placed in the category of “non-essential activity” and was, therefore, unprotected. Within this framework, this paper tries to offer a reflection on the relevance of the dual nature of religious freedom as an individual and collective right, since the current crisis has made it clear that the individual dimension of religious freedom is vulnerable when the legal model does not offer an adequate institutional guarantee to the collective dimension of religious freedom.
Highlights
It is possible to affirm that basic rights and freedoms have suffered a very direct impact due to the drastic regulations instituted to control the effects of the global COVID19 pandemic
In the innermost layer, individual nature is much stronger, but as we move towards the outer layers of the exercise of religious freedom, we realize that the content of this freedom is built over a collective dimension
The key to facing one or another type of reaction by ecclesiastical authorities appears to be related to the effective separation that exists between the state and religious entities and with the institutional guarantee of the collective dimension of religious freedom. For this reason, applying the first parameter, we find that religious entities have been able to provide a better critical response to government restrictions in those legal models with a better understanding of church and state “twin toleration”; and in others, with a high recognition of the collective dimension of religious freedom
Summary
It is possible to affirm that basic rights and freedoms have suffered a very direct impact due to the drastic regulations instituted to control the effects of the global COVID19 pandemic. New York Times 2020) and science drew attention to those groups, describing them as “super-spreaders” of COVID-19 (Quadri 2020) In this context, governments around the world soon had to approve their protocols to protect health and balance the rights and freedoms of citizens (Sartea 2020). It seems necessary to reiterate the content that defines religious freedom as a fundamental human right, since it is essential to understand which of its dimensions were impacted by the restrictive measures, considering that it is expressly prohibited to suspend the rights of freedom of thought, conscience and religion during a state of emergency or that of an exceptional nature.. Such a dual dimension must be considered because, without beliefs, worship and doctrine, the individual dimension would be empty of content
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