Religion As Empowerment ─ Global Legal Perspectives

Within the social sciences there is a clear and established link between good governance and legal empowerment. This volume contributes to this literature and shows how and why legal empowerment is conducive to people acting as fully-fledged legal subjects with regard to the rights stemming from their freedom of belief. At the same time, the book positions itself in the stream of academic literature that questions the thesis that as societies become more modern, they also become less religious. The authors look beyond the rule of law orthodoxy in its consideration of the freedom of religion as a human right and place this discussion in a more plurality-sensitive context. The book thus sheds more light on the informal and/or customary mechanisms that explain the limited impact of law on individuals and groups, especially in non-Western societies. The focus is on discussing precisely how religion and the exercise of religious rights may or may not empower individuals and social groups and improve access to human rights in general.

Dr Kyriaki Topidi is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Researcher at the School of Law of the University of Lucerne. She teaches courses and researches on religious rights and has a research background in minority protection and EU law. She has published widely in these areas. Dr Lauren Fielder teaches African Law, Protection of Vulnerable Groups and Transnational Litigation at the University of Lucerne, where she is the assistant director of the Transnational Legal Studies Program. She writes and speaks about human rights issues in Africa. She studied at the University of Texas in Austin.