Religion in Constitution-making Processes: Comparative Perspectives

In this chapter, I consider the role of religion in post-Second World War constitution-making processes from a comparative perspective. In order to do so, I first look at the actors that most commonly contribute to shaping the content of constitutional provisions concerning religion during these processes, such as political parties, religious institutions, religious minorities, civil society and external actors. Second, I examine the factors that often influence the issue of religion in constitution-drafting processes—namely the different types of processes (whether top-down or bottom-up, national or supranational), constitutional history and tradition, as well as external influences. Third, I discuss the most contentious issues that usually emerge during debates within constituent bodies, such as the religious versus secular character of the state, the status of religious law, the protection of religious freedom, the regulation of religious education, the institution responsible for interpreting religious issues, the relations between religion and international human rights treaties and the reference (or the absence thereof) to religion in constitutional preambles. Finally, I set out some concluding remarks.