Fourth ICLARS Conference, in Oxford: “Freedom of/for/from/within Religion: Differing Dimensions of a Common Right?” 8-11 September 2016

The Fourth Conference of the International Consortium for Law and Religion Studies (ICLARS) was held 8-11 September 2016 at St. Hugh’s College in Oxford, UK.

The Conference topic — “Freedom of/ for/ from/ within Religion: Differing Dimensions of a Common Right?” — aimed at considering the fundamental right of freedom of religion from differing perspectives, shedding light on its various and interconnected facets and addressing new challenges it faces in the modern world. Freedom of religion highlights the right to profess and manifest religion on both individual and collective levels, without undue limitations; freedom for religion stresses the need to grant religious communities the freedom required to play a positive role in building a just and cohesive society; freedom from religion underlines the right to live one’s life without being compelled to respect the tenets of any particular religion; freedom within religion addresses the rights that the faithful are entitled to enjoy within their religious communities. 

Speakers at the conference included some 150 international experts in matters concerning the conference themes, from 37 countries. The conference was co-sponsored witih ICLARS by the International Center for Law and Religion Studies (ICLRS) of Brigham Young University Law School, the University of Milan, and the Religion, Law and International Relations Programme of the Centre for Christianity and Culture of Regent’s Park College, Oxford.