Table of Contents

1. Introduction; 2. Three constitutional arrangements on religion; 3. Religion and religious freedom in public life; 4. Religious freedom in divided societies and the role of the state; 5. Constitutional adjudication on religion and religious freedom; 6. Judicial institutions and the rule of law deficit; 7. Religion, electoral politics and religious freedom; 8. Conclusion.

Promotional Information

Shah uncovers the complex interaction between constitutional law, religion and politics in three key plural societies in Asia.

About the Author

Dian A. H. Shah is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Asian Legal Studies, National University of Singapore. She previously taught at the Faculty of Law, University of Malaya, where she remains a faculty appointee. Her research interests span the fields of constitutional history, comparative constitutional law and human rights, focusing on issues arising from the interaction between constitutional law, religion and politics in Asia. She has published widely in international journals and collaborative academic publications, and has presented her research at conferences and seminars worldwide. She is also a frequent guest lecturer at universities in Indonesia.

Reviews

'This book contains highly sophisticated and detailed comparative legal research. It uncovers the historical context in which constitutional religious freedoms came into being in Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka to explain how this informs modern day interpretation and application of these freedoms. It offers a very convincing explanation for the violation of religious freedoms in these countries, despite constitutional protections, examining a variety of issues including electoral processes, judicial decision-making and broader political contexts.' Simon Butt, Sydney Law School

'In this incisive and revealing comparative analysis, Dian A. H. Shah tracks the experience of three religiously plural societies with religious freedom. She unearths the origins of their constitutional clauses on religion, showing how they were intended to provide robust guarantees for all religions, and then explains the unraveling of these guarantees in practice. Close linkages have developed between majority religions and the state, to the detriment of minority faiths, and neither constitutional text, nor judicial review, nor political remedies has proved to be availing for minorities. Exploring with great care the affinities and disparities among her three cases, the author paints a discerning portrait of majority rule out of balance and the conundrums this creates for constitutionalists. This book is a signal contribution to comparative law and politics.' Donald. L Horowitz, James B. Duke Professor of Law and Political Science Emeritus, Duke University, North Carolina

'In an increasingly post-secular world, we are keen to ask how religion should be dealt with as a matter of constitutional status and fundamental rights. We are also keen to know how religion influences constitutional development over time. These questions loom in complex and pressing ways, everywhere, but in Asia, with its historic religious pluralism, divided societies and varied political contexts, there is much experience on these issues which we should learn. Dian A. H. Shah has produced a highly original book discussing these issues and how they have been approached in three critical countries: Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. I cannot commend this book highly enough for its profound insights and its impressive, knowledgeable and careful analysis of these three important cases.' Andrew Harding, National University of Singapore

'This is a learned work on constitutional approaches to religious freedom. The author provides an incisive study of the constitution-making process in three deeply divided Asian polities. Their differing approaches to and models of constitutionalizing religious freedom are put forward as possible lessons for other fragmented societies. At the same time, we are alerted to the gap between theory and reality; the impact of electoral politics and religious nationalism; the link between religion and ethnicity; and the role of non-state actors in diminishing society's commitment to religious pluralism. Ultimately a Constitution is what happens, and the author shows that a bill of rights and an independent judiciary are not the bulwarks they are expected to be. This book may encourage further studies on the formulation of 'religion clauses' and the design of judicial institutions.' Shad Saleem Faruqi, Tunku Abdul Rahman Professor of Law, University of Malaya