Whose Religion, What Freedom? Discursive Constructions of Religion in the Work of UN Special Rapporteurs on the Freedom of Religion or Belief

The chapter addresses the re-emergence and increased assertiveness of religion as a significant factor in international affairs in the decades since the end of the Cold War. This dynamic has created renewed political, legal, and social interest in religious organizations, their doctrines, and the behavior of their adherents. Such a ‘comeback’ of religion — as well as its analysis in academic disciplines, such as law and political science — constitutes a new and unfamiliar discursive field (episteme) for disciplines that have traditionally engaged themselves extensively with religion, such as theology, religious studies, anthropology, and sociology. This chapter has two aims: First, it maps these new discursive surroundings, presenting key insights in the new literature on religion from unfamiliar disciplines, with a particular emphasis on the rise of the interdisciplinary, thematic subfield of ‘Law and Religion’. Second, it translates these insights into a set of research questions that guide a close, textual analysis of the work of four consecutive special rapporteurs on the freedom of religion or belief, appointed by the UN Human Rights Commission and the UN Human Rights Council from the beginning of the mandate in 1986 up to the present. Special rapporteurs are key actors in the international human rights monitoring system and regularly issue observations and recommendations to states regarding the role and status of religion in society. Starting well ahead of the re-emergence of religion on the world stage, the collective output of the special rapporteurs offers a unique opportunity to trace the shifting discursive boundaries of religion and assess the consequences of these shifts. In conclusion, the chapter categorizes the different discursive strategies employed by each special rapporteur and proposes increased involvement between future mandate-holders and the scholarly community.