Religious Intolerance

Este artigo objetiva refletir sobre a relação entre a intolerância religiosa e a crença, enquanto ato de crer, a partir da hermenêutica trágica. Como entender as violências cometidas em nomes divinos na contemporaneidade? Baseado em metodologia qualitativa, com análise crítica, o texto questiona os sequestros semânticos que tornaram a ideia de crença e de crer como possuidoras de uma natureza intrinsecamente positiva e iluminista. Em outras palavras, o presente texto propõe que a crença e o ato de crer, ao contrário, do que se pensa, possuem uma tendência a denegar a realidade subjetiva e objetiva, substituindo-as por uma concepção idealizada do real. O antídoto contra a intolerância, na perspectiva de uma hermenêutica trágica, é a dúvida e a não-crença, entendidas como escuta e simpatia pelas vozes da alteridade e da diferença religiosas.

A call for papers is now open for the forthcoming issue of JCA. Please submit your manuscript to jca@academicstudiespress.com. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2019. All submissions are subjected to a blind peer review process. Your submission should comply with the authors’ guidelines, which may be found at https://www.academicstudiespress.com/s/InstructionsforJCAAuthors.pdf

One of the important achievements of humanity, has been the modernist approach to the concept of religion and its transformation from a full-fledged government policy into a personal inherently faith. The right to freedom of religion is among the fundamental human rights identified and protected in international and regional human rights documents; However, it should be acknowledged that, firstly, due to its quiddity and its legal nature, in the international arena is conditional on the acceptance of the governments, and secondly, the approach of different states towards it, is different depending on the political, social and cultural conditions that govern them. This right in Europe is protected by the European Convention on Human Rights and its collateral entity, the European Court of Human Rights. In this study in addition to reviewing the international obligations of States in the field of the protection of religious freedom, we intend to assess, practice of court in the field of elimination of religious intolerance and determination of territory of the right to freedom of religion. Because religious intolerance is one of the earliest causes of international conflict, the benchmarking of the European Court of Action's practical approach can be effective in reducing conflicts and promoting international and regional peace and security.

Resumo: Tomando por objeto confl itos referentes às relações de gênero ocorridos em escolas públicas do estado do Rio de Janeiro, pretende-se contrastar a visibili-dade da temática das relações de gênero na esfera pública com a invisibilidade que tal temática adquire no cotidiano das escolas públicas. Observa-se que os confl itos que ocorrem na escola são classifi cados como " problemas de disciplina " , sendo muitas vezes associados a práticas de discriminação de gênero, que se manifestam como parte constitutiva das sociabilidades escolares. A partir da descrição de dois casos de confl itos de gênero, busca-se mostrar os agentes envolvidos, os discur-sos mobilizados e a forma institucional pela qual foram administrados pela equipe técnico-pedagógica da escola. Os dados apresentados derivam de uma pesquisa realizada em diferentes escolas públicas do estado do Rio de Janeiro, nas quais as atividades escolares foram acompanhadas a partir de trabalho de campo e obser-vação participante. Palavras-chave: administração de confl itos, escola pública, gênero, sociabilidade escolar.

Intoleransi, Radikalisme, dan Terorisme saling memiliki keterkaitan. Kita semua harus menyadari adanya ancaman di balik paham-paham tersebut. Maka dari itu, langkah-langkah yang nyata harus ditempuh untuk mengikis paham-paham tersebut yang sudah mulai mengakar.

Este artigo tem como objetivo principal analisar a partir da Bíblia, trechos que, ‘supostamente’ justificam atos de intolerância de cristãos ‘conservadores’ em relação aos homossexuais que, muitas vezes manifestam-se através do ódio, do desprezo e da perseguição. O artigo será dividido dois momentos – primeiro: investigar alguns autores que refletem sobre o tema enfatizando historicamente os problemas enfrentados pelos homossexuais; segundo: analisar algumas passagens bíblicas, ‘condenatórias’ da homossexualidade. Assim, visamos corroborar a tese de que, o Cristianismo que prega o amor acima de tudo, vê na homossexualidade, motivos de exclusão e intolerância, sendo muitas vezes visto como abominação, e, por isso, moralmente condenável. Como recurso metodológico, usaremos a revisão bibliográfica objetivando obter informações sistematizadas, a partir de estudos críticos de vários autores, e, os resultados serão apresentados em um texto sucinto, visando não esgotar o assunto, mas lançar luzes sobre um tema absolutamente polêmico.

Palavras-chave: Bíblia, cristianismo, homossexuais, intolerância, abominação.

«La tolleranza non ha mai provocato guerre civili, mentre l'intolleranza ha coperto la Terra di stragi».
A Tolosa il 10 marzo 1762 il commerciante ugonotto
Jean Calas viene giustiziato con l’accusa di aver ucciso
il figlio per impedirgli di convertirsi al cattolicesimo.
Nonostante la mancanza di prove e un processo arbitrario,
Jean Calas, che anche sotto tortura si professa
innocente, è giudicato colpevole. Non da Voltaire, che
con la sua penna tagliente scaglia parole feroci contro
le storture del fanatismo religioso, mostrando come
il dogmatismo e la superstizione inquinino la convivenza
pacifica e corrompano la facoltà di giudizio.
Dando avvio a una battaglia di civiltà, il Trattato sulla
tolleranza è un vero e proprio «manifesto» per la libertà
di pensiero e il rispetto di ogni diversità. Un’opera
sempre attuale capace di riportarci alle radici stesse
della modernità.
Con un saggio di Italo Mereu.

The paper seeks to explore how the lunatic fringe is hell-bent on whipping up communal frenzy. As evidenced in the novels, most of the communal leaders are rank practitioners of politics and therefore, foment trouble for one or other paltry reason. The Indian ethos, which has long been extolled, has been at stake in the last part of the second millennium. It has also witnessed, as evidenced in the novels, the animosity and rancour between the secular and communal forces each trying to outwit the other. The ideologues of communal leaders would always like to harp on the contradictions between Hindu-Muslim traditions. Some of the worth mentioning differences between them come handy for communalists to subvert popular discontent of economic oppression in the main. A few novels are pressed into service to substantiate the argument.

This article rethinks the problem of religious (in)tolerance by analyzing the 2015 deportation of three " Hindu priests " from a Caribbean nation for the practice of obeah. Defined popularly as " witchcraft " or " African tradition, " obeah was first criminalized as the alleged inspiration for the largest slave uprising of the eighteenth century British Caribbean. I argue that the recent deportations in a nation that constitutionally enshrines freedom of conscience foregrounds some of the foundational limits of liberal secularism. I trace a genealogy of liberalism to critique the secular ideal of the " freedom from difference. " I suggest that attempts to invoke " spirituality " as a more inclusive idiom for denigrated forms of " not-religion " such as obeah extend rather than eliminate these limits of liberal secularism. I close by drawing some parallels with anti-Muslim nationalism in the U.S. and suggest some ways of thinking about a trinary formation of religion, not-religion, and secular power in modern nation-states.

Christian Dunker abre o livro focando o problema da intolerancia no Brasil desde suas raízes indigenas, para nos levar a pensar como hoje ainda encontramos traços do sincretismo cultural, especialmente elementos que se tornarão comuns na sociedade brasileira, como o 'jeitinho' e a 'cordialidade' brasileira. Neste sentido, Dunker analisa de forma surpreendente como nossa suposta missigenação está eivadas destes traços e podem ocultar aspectos racistas de uma maneira quase original, especialmente as relações entre a historia do Homem Cordial e nossa alegada 'democracia racial', passando por temas correlatos como a xenofobia e o machismo - entre outras formas de intolerância - para mostrar como questões aparentemente diferentes podem estar ligadas historicamente e atender a demanda dos sujeitos até nossos dias.

Ao analisar como se formam os grandes grupos, especialmente como se processa o mecanismo de isolamento/agrupamento nesta formação, Stephen Frosh em Desejo, Demanda e Psicoterapia: Sobre Grandes Grupos e Vizinhos nos oferece um amplo painel de analise historica que atravessa o tempo, atualizando-se nos dias de hoje no chamado pós-moderno, questões como as implicações de dissolução de fronteiras nos grandes grupos, a demanda por autonomia e o papel alteridade na construção da subjetividade. Frosh analisa como a intolerância transita do vizinho para os grandes grupos, evitando psicologizações que reduzem a questão a um 'dentro/fora' perdendo de vista os aspectos sociais e historicos que subjazem ao problema, caminhando desde autores clássicos como Levinas até contemporâneos como Butler e Zizek.

Em Pensamento, Reconhecimento e Alteridade Lisa Baraitser e Stephen Frosh resgatam as questões que fundam as raizes do processo de constituição do sujeito e do outro, isto é, a separação primeira da mãe e o papel do pai neste processo e especialmente como este modelo materno afeta as relações futuras entre reconhecimento e alteridade, no trajeto que funda o sujeito e o outr no laço social. Também são discutidas a mudanças historicas de parametro em relação ao que provocava mal estar na cultura como um deslocamento que passa do social (o que o mundo tinha a oferecer) para o proprio sujeito (um fastio contra si proprio), pois  apenas ver o outro como diferente, não é a solução, já isso pode ser uma defesa contra o reconhecimento da relação onde ela existe. Os autores centram esta discussão em parte sobre o conceito de Interrupção, visto em diversas situações sociais, como possiblidade de suspensão temporaria e abertura de mudança, especialmente quanto ao papel do outro na constituição da subjetividade de cada um.

O estudo de Derek Hook discorre sobre os mecanismos subjacentes no racismo, levando em conta não apenas os aspectos psiquicos e superando as discussões mais comuns sobre o tema que versam sobre o deslizamento entre o lugar do invidividuo e do social. Hook parte das teorias de Fanon, mas não somente, para analizar como os estudos pós-coloniais - ao abordarem as longas experiencias de segregação - podem nos ajudar a pensar não apenas o lugar do colonizado mas também os processos de racialização que se processam nos colonizadores. Hook propõe novas abordagem sobre intolerância que avançam as condições históricas atentando para formas de racismo e xenofobia pré-discursivos inclusos nas relações de poder, especialmente como estas relações implicam na construção de gêneros, da heterossexualidade a homossexualidade.


Meu capítulo,  A Segregação Imaginária do outro: Políticas de Igualdade e Processos de Racialização, é resultado de pesquisa sobre as políticas de igualdade, especialmente em relação ao sistema de cotas para além das diferenças culturais e políticas entre o Brazil e o Reino Unido. Neste sentido, tenho foco especial sobre a ascensão economica e acesso à universidade de parte da população brasileira nos ultimos anos para avaliar em que medida esta mudança afeta  nossa crença na 'democracia racial'. Este estudo também me levou a pensar como este novo estatuto social poderia afetar nossa ideia de nacionalismo historicamente ligada ao nosso longo periodo de ditadura de formar 'uma só país' e como se poderia repensar esta ideia de nação em relação a modelos políticos atuais e seus subprodutos, como o multiculturalismo, para entender a complexidade de definir fronterias raciais, pensando as congruencias e incongruencias no modelo estrangeiro e nacional.

Raízes da Intolerância como um todo pretende demonstrar como a intolerância e os processos de segregação estão intrinsicamente ligados aos processos de subjetivação constituintes na construção do sujeito e como estes processos, fundamentais para o que chamamos 'humano', podem também ser ameaçadores do laço social que funda a civilização.

Entender esta opacidade do sujeito, os processos inconscientes implicados e sua dimensão historica e social no passado e no presente poderia nos ajudar a pensar que tipo de ações politicas poderia ser propospostas no sentido de evitar ou ao menos minimizar os eventos conflitivos entre o sujeito e o outro, seja nas relações com vizinhos, grupos ou nações.

João Angelo Fantini
Organizador

How might we design religious education to reduce religious conflict? After briefly summarising the problem and types of educational solutions, I propose strategies for non-confessional initiatives, including: increasing empathy for the religious other, decreasing exclusivism, reframing religion functionally, and critically and creatively engaging radically diverse worldviews. Such proposals require testing and continual improvement, so I also offer an approach toward collaborative design and evaluation. The premise behind my proposal is that religion is best conceived as a technology – a set of cultural tools for aligning attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Religious education is therefore a form of technology education.

Stressing that the pronoun "I" picks out one and only one person in the world (i.e., me), I argue against Hunt (and other like-minded Rand commentators) that the supposed "hard case" of destructive people who do not care for their own lives poses no special difficulty for rational egoism. I conclude that the proper response to a terse objection like "What about suicide bombers?" is the equally terse assertion "But I don't want to get blown up."

Os anos 2000 têm sido marcados pelo reaparecimento de casos de intolerância religiosa associados, principalmente, às religiões de matriz afro-brasileira. Tais atos resultaram no crescimento dos processos de mobilização em defesa da liberdade de manifestação religiosa em todo o Brasil. O artigo pretende apresentar uma análise sobre os processos de mobilização social, busca por reconhecimento de direitos e legitimação de identidades no espaço público. As pesquisas empíricas que desenvolvemos desde 2008 destacam as estratégias para a visibilização de casos e vítimas de intolerância religiosa, tentando compreender como as práticas, as percepções e as representações dos afro-religiosos engendram a apresentação de demandas nas arenas públicas e, consequentemente, sua recepção, ou não, nas agendas políticas governamentais, nas políticas públicas e por distintos setores do Sistema de Justiça Criminal.

Currently available for free from the Mediterranean Historical Review to celebrate their 30th Anniversary: http://explore.tandfonline.com/content/ah/mediterranean-historical-review-30

This work analyses the previously unedited inquisitorial trial of Custodio Nunes, a converso who lived in the Portuguese town of Évora and who was put on trial for crypto-Judaism by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1604–5. Custodio Nunes was accused by the Inquisition of being a crypto-Jew, but defended himself, somewhat remarkably, by claiming that he was both a Jew and a Christian. This article will examine the manner in which the trial of Custodio Nunes brings to light problems of religious identity within the converso communities of Spain and Portugal, and the problems of using inquisitorial trial dossiers as historical evidence.

When the Semitic free run on the Hindu turf under Sonia’s proxy watch ended with the ascent of Narendra Modi onto the Delhi gaddi, the Indian agendas of the Christian west and the Muslim umma faced impediments resulting in the brouhaha over the growing religious intolerance of Hindus towards India’s minorities. Given the racial biases and the religious prejudices of both against the Hindus and that the world media, by and large is controlled by them, a critical appraisal of their propaganda with objective lenses is called for.
Hence, as the accusation is on the religious ground, it is imperative that the theocratic credos of Islam and Christianity as well as the philosophical ethos of santana dharma aka Hinduism, the only surviving ‘way of life’ of yore on earth, are to be reckoned with.

O presente trabalho propôs a discursar sobre os mecanismos de denúncia quanto à intolerância
religiosa, tomando como base a Ouvidoria Nacional, Disque de Direitos Humanos durante os anos de
2011 a 2018. O objetivo foi contribuir com o banco de dados sobre Intolerância religiosa na região
metropolitana do Recife, assim como todo estado de Pernambuco com o intuito de melhorar a
qualidade de atendimento e nos procedimentos após os registros. Para alcançar a discussão sobre a
Intolerância religiosa na região metropolitana do Recife e os mecanismos de denúncias, inicialmente,
foram colhidos dados perante a 8ª Promotoria de Justiça de defesa da cidadania de Recife. Conclui-se
que, em razão dos dados de acompanhamento dos casos pelo sistema de justiça, faz se necessária a
implantação de delegacias especializadas.

Atentados Contra a laicidade do Estado Emanados Através seus Agentes: A Relação Promíscua entre e Estado e Grupos Religiosos. 2019. 110 folhas. Trabalho de conclusão do curso de Bacharelado em Direito – Universidade Federal Fluminense, 2019.
A laicidade como é estudada e entendida pela sociedade, tem subvalorizada sua importância e necessidade.  A relação da laicidade com os direitos humanos, princípios constitucionais básicos, cidadania e soberania. A quase total ignorância do tema por Advogados, Professores de Direito, Defensores Públicos, Delegados, Promotores de Justiça, Magistrados e Ministros de Tribunais Superiores. A laicidade em relação as nossas constituições. A dificuldade de incorporar a laicidade em nossa cultura. A construção da laicidade no Brasil através dos tempos. A forte oposição de organizações religiosas. Ataques a religiões minoritárias. As organizações religiosas que se inserem nas esferas de poder influenciando decisões. Os fatos históricos de atentados à laicidade relacionados a atos dos governos, governantes e seus agentes. Algumas leis, normas e portarias que levaram a atentados contra a Liberdade Religiosa cometidos em nome e pelo Estado. A eugenia como projeto para o Brasil que objetivava a exclusão dos elementos africanos e indígenas também serviu de inspiração aos atos de não tolerância contra as religiões que não tinham origem euro-cristã. Resultado desse histórico é que hoje existe uma forte contradição entre leis de inspiração confessional num Estado autointitulado laico onde em diferentes esferas do poder público é nítido o desrespeito ao princípio da laicidade. Esses atos aparentemente legais, pois emanados de leis, servem como pano de fundo à intolerância religiosa cometidos ao longo de nossa história até os dias de hoje. Assim, este artigo, – em pesquisa qualificativa e quantitativa, tem como objetivo analisar a relação entre o Estado e as religiões e o crescimento do fundamentalismo religioso no Brasil.

This article seeks to understand why monks played a central role in anti-Muslim violence in transitional Myanmar (2013–2014). We argue that scapegoating is one of many strategies used by monks to gain visibility, to strengthen their autonomous networks, and to increase their social credentials. By analyzing two episodes of monks' participation in religious violence (1930s and 2013–2014), we identify two factors that make scapegoating strategies more likely: (a) decentralized religions foster a multiplicity of organizations and provide incentives for leaders to be entrepreneurial and compete for followers; while (b) the rapid pluralization of the public sphere explains the timing, because it intensifies competition among religious leaders and between religious and secular leaders for social ascendency and power.

In the present article, I analyze conflicts experienced by pentecostals
believers from the periphery of Rio de Janeiro, assuming that such disputes are evidenced, staged and updated in the Pentecostal rituals known as “reteté”. These rituals occur mainly in small churches on the outskirts of large Brazilian cities, where pentecostal vigils take place, such as the Vigilão da Celebrai, which happens periodically in Duque de Caxias city. Among the aspects highlighted in the “reteté” rituals, I emphasize symbolic actions to combat Afro-Brazilian religions, which
appear in preaching, music, prayers and gesture and can be classified as religious intolerance, and ambiguous relations between Pentecostal evangelicals and “drug” traffickers. I conclude, demonstrating that in spite of intolerance against African religions, there are small cooperative actions promoted between evangelicals and Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda and Candomblé.

This paper examines how the “external threat” was represented through its “internal implications”. It analyses how visual and textual resources were employed to turn the formerly privileged community into alien, outlawed and persecuted one. It also examines how these representations were “read” by the contemporaries that is how they motivated, instructed and sanctioned their deeds. This paper compares two states – Moldavia and Poland – which experienced the Ottoman threat in sixteenth and seventeenth centuries respectively. In both states the Armenian merchant networks were attached to the representations of the Ottoman threat but it was done for the different purposes.

For thousands of years, men have struggled to establish their supremacy. At first, they used spirits to secure for themselves a function in a natural world that seemed to have taken sides with the feminine. Eventually, they created an all-mighty divinity, and established their status as second to none other than that highest of all authority.

Sailing through history, we show that the way procreation was perceived has determined how men and women positioned themselves in the universe. It has wielded consequences that have deeply affected our evolution, from the primal vision of an all-encompassing natural world in which Mother Nature represented the source of all life, to the subjection of nature and woman, with God the Father sitting at the summit of the creation.

This emphasis on gender and nature brings into perspective the current social and economic resurgence of women and the new attitude towards environment that needs to be protected from our own deeds. These intricate leitmotifs make us witness a turning point in our history.

This article proposes a non conventional analysis of the most significant phenomenon that has marked Indian political life in the past decade. The electoral competition for the 2014 general election is played around two main elements, namely, the selection of convincing prime ministerial candidates and the definition of electoral coalitions. In this perspective, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main party of the right-wing coalition (National Democratic Alliance, NDA), has taken a decisive step by selecting Narendra Modi as its front man for the electoral campaign, and thus the “natural” candidate for the post of prime minister in case of success. A highly controversial figure, Modi polarized the public debate for over a decade: he is either considered a fascist politician or he is praised for the high economic growth rates achieved by the state under his government. This article proposes to move beyond such a dichotomy to highlight Modi's complexity and success in promoting a political culture that merged religious traditionalism and neoliberal economic arguments. Whether his coalition will win the election or not, and whether he will become the next prime minister or not, is greatly significant to the future of India and to the possibility of the many contradictions and diversities that underpin the Indian democracy being conciliated.

An allegorical argument for religious coexistence.

This is not a novel in the usual sense of the term. It is a spiritual odyssey that touches on the allegorical. The protagonist Jacob is every man who has examined his heart and soul and asked for spiritual truth. He is every man who has yearned for God.

The full text is available here
http://ejournal.ukm.my/3l/article/view/4648

""Controversy has surrounded The Merchant of Venice. Although some critics believe the play is not anti-Semitic, the present study shows that Shakespeare could not go against the current of Elizabethan anti-Semitism. The play reinforced the dominant discourses and stereotypes working against the Jews. Few Shakespearean characters are more hotly debated than Shylock, the Jewish usurer in The Merchant. Although he has a relatively small part, this multifaceted and influential character governs the play and his multidimensional nature complicates the work significantly. The play depicts him as a cruel, crafty and wicked Jew just as Elizabethan Christians would demand. The playwright takes the stereotype character presented to him and makes it more complex, but he leaves its anti-Semitic qualities untouched. The Merchant of Venice represents and reinforces the dominant discourses of law, religion and nationality that support the Christians and work against the Jews. As a comedy, it made the audience identify with the winners of the trial scene, the Christians. Therefore, nothing remains of the resisting voices and what is heard more often and more powerfully is the dominant discourse of the time voiced by the winners of the play. Shakespeare made a clear distinction between “self” and “other,” did whatever at his disposal to defeat “the others” of the play, deprived them of genuine identity and form a homogenised community where no resisting voice could be heard.

Keywords: The Merchant of Venice; Shakespeare; anti-Semitism; discourse; Shylock
""

O presente artigo tem por objetivo apresentar uma
discussão das categorias: intolerância religiosa e racismo religioso
a partir das manifestações de violência contra os praticantes de
religiões de matriz africana. Para tanto, o artigo traz um breve
panorama da prática discriminatória e da criminalização histórica
contra essas religiões no Brasil, evidenciada por dados presentes
no Relatório sobre Intolerância e Violência Religiosa no Brasil
(RIVIR)(2011 – 2015), publicado em 2016 pela Secretaria Especial
de Direitos Humanos do Ministério das Mulheres, da Igualdade
Racial, da Juventude e dos Direitos Humanos.

This article examines the extent to which ethno-religious conflicts have affected sustainable development in Nigeria. The destruction of lives and property by reckless ethnic and religious extremists has been a challenging key factor to sustainable development in Nigeria. This article
aims to reflect on the ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria from an epistemological point of view, ascertain the major causes of these conflicts and seek solutions to address the root causes. The article concludes that religious intolerance among Nigerians from different religious groups is the result of the misinterpretation of religious teachings of the leaders of terrorist groups to their followers and that ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria affect sustainable development as they lead to loss of lives and destruction of property, among others. It is also indicated that the effects of ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria lead to an increase in the unemployment rate, withdrawal of foreign investments and education imbalance. The article concludes by arguing that ethnicity and religious crises are unhealthy for the nation’s sustainable development and that no price paid in the direction of resolving these conflicts can be considered to be too much. It is
recommended that religious leaders form the minds of Nigerians with the teaching of love and peace, as it is proclaimed in their various religious books and beliefs.

This work examines how the study of emotions can help us understand the appeal of conspiracy theories and how they are exploited by governments and elite institutions to provoke fear and forge collective identities. It focuses on a particular conspiracy theory in early modern Spain: that of a vengeful Muslim doctor known as el vengador who systemically murdered Christian patients. It argues that the myth was in fact a clumsy recycling of a well–established anti-Semitic myth and that it also built upon existing anxieties about medical treatment. Sara Ahmed’s research on modern British society has demonstrated the role played by hate and fear in the creation of collective identities by creating boundaries with ‘others’ who are constituted as a ‘threat’ to the existence. Likewise, the libel of medical murder was part of an “affective politics of fear” in which the discourse of hate was instrumentalized by sections of the ruling hierarchy and polemicists to mobilize early modern Iberians against certain groups designated as a threat. Jews and Muslims became negative reference groups, equal objects of fear and anxiety whose role was interchangeable in order to formulate a normative collective identity.
http://www.ehumanista.ucsb.edu/conversos/volumes/4

The legal status of Afro-Brazilian religions has changed dramatically in the past few decades. For much of the 20th century, Afro-Brazilian religions lacked legal recognition as religions. Over the past twenty years, they have become targets and beneficiaries of ethnoracial laws and government institutions fostered by Brazil's 1988 "Citizen Constitution." Still, most acts of violence on Afro-Brazilian religions fail to reach courts and even fewer are tried using the legal frameworks provided by ethnoracial law. This article examines the structural obstacles that the legal remediation of discrimination against Afro-Brazilian religions has faced over the past two decades. It argues that although religious activists' efforts have contributed to beneficial changes in the legal landscape surrounding religious intolerance, current legal understandings of religious prejudice and discrimination continue to curtail the application of anti-discriminatory law to most attacks on Afro-Brazilian religions. Looking ahead to the 2020s, these obstacles can be expected to be aggravated further by the growing influence of conservative Evangelical Christian agendas on the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the Brazilian government.

The tussle between freedom of expression and religious intolerance is intensely manifested in Indian society where the State, through censoring of books, movies and other forms of critical expression, victimizes writers, film directors, and academics in order to appease Hindu religious-nationalist and Muslim fundamentalist groups. Against this background, this study explores some of the perceptions of Hindu and Muslim graduate students on the conflict between freedom of expression and religious intolerance in India. Conceptually, the author approaches the tussle between freedom of expression and religion by applying a contextual approach of secular-multiculturalism. This study applies qualitative research methods; specifically in-depth interviews, desk research, and narrative analysis. The findings of this study help demonstrate how to manage conflict between freedom of expression and religion in Indian society, while exploring concepts of Western secularism and the need to contextualize the right to freedom of expression. Ancient India is known for its skepticism towards religion and its toleration to opposing views (Sen 2005; Upadhyaya 2009), However, the alarming rise of Hindu religious nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism, and consequently, increasing conflict between freedom of expression and religion, have been well noted by both academic (Thapar 2015) and public intellectuals (Sorabjee 2018; Dhavan 2008). Conflict between freedom of expression and religion in India is well known. The censoring of books and films by the State, and the victimization of writers, film directors, and academics by Muslim fundamentalist and Hindu religious-nationalist groups are well noted. In this context, the Indian Constitution not only empowers media and free thinkers, but also those who are religiously offended. Desire among many people to prohibit religiously hurtful speech (or expression) has become a focal point of conflict between religious-fundamentalist groups and free thinkers. Indian Penal Code provisions 298 and 295A have resulted in the harassment of many writers, journalists and academics. In addition, use of violence and fatwa is also being used to suppress freedom of expression by Muslims and Hindu fundamentalist groups. 2. Hindu Fundamentalism The main objective of Hindu religious-nationalists is to establish Hindu rule in India: To spread Hindu values and to defend Hindu society from alien religions, cultures, and ideologies. Among prominent Hindu fundamentalist groups are, R.S.S. (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh), V.H.P. (Vishva Hindu Parishad) and Shiv Sena. Since the early 1980s, these groups, to a certain extent, have been responsible in inciting communal violence against religious minorities in India (Chatry 2012, p. 214).

Request addressed to the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief to clarify the ideological differences between secularism in English and laïcité in French. This request summarizes the grievances against the implementing regulation of the Geneva law on the “laïcité” of the State.