Religious Freedom and Communities

"This collection of essays is important for several reasons. It exposes the nuances and consequences of different ways of viewing religious freedom in Canada and of resolving competing equality interests. It analyzes important matters currently before the Supreme Court, and highlights the difficult issues the Court will have to address. These essays will be valuable for Charter researchers and those interested in religious rights in Canada."

Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists what the Charter calls "fundamental freedoms" theoretically applying to everyone in Canada, regardless of whether they are a Canadian citizen, or an individual or corporation. These freedoms can be held against actions of all levels of government and are enforceable by the courts. Included in these fundamental freedoms is the freedom of religion.

Religious Freedom and Communities is a collection of papers that brings together leading experts of a variety of legal, religious and indigenous communities' backgrounds, to provide analytical commentary, of a sort useful to practitioners trying to think through tough questions, on the issues related to community and institutional aspects of religious freedom.

The collection of papers:

• Preface – Dwight Newman

Part I: Background Frameworks

• Ties that Bind: Collective Aspects of Religious Freedom – Dwight Newman
• La garantie constitutionnelle de la liberté de religion: Mais, qu'est-ce que la religion? Qu'estce que Dieu? – Honourable Louis LeBel
• On Collective Constitutional Rights: Lessons for Religious Rights from Language Rights – Howard Kislowicz

Part II: History, Society, and Religious Freedom

• Traditions of Religious Liberty in Early Canadian History – Moin Yahya
• Welcome to the Neighbourhood: Religion, Law and Living Together – Shauna Van Praagh
• Collective Freedom of Religion – Alvin Esau

Part III: Comparative and International Perspectives on Communities and Religious Freedom

• Freedom of Religion as a Group Right – Daniel Mark
• International and Comparative Law Protections of Collective Aspects of Religious Freedom – Elizabeth Clark
• Governmental Concern for International Religious Freedom: A Comparative Perspective – Maria Maddalena Giungi

Part IV: The Loyola Case and Practical Aspects of Religious Freedom Litigation

• A Community's Right to Freedom of Religion: Loyola High School v. Quebec – J.K. Donlevy, Kevin P. Feehan, and Peter Bowal
• From Dunsmuir to Doré and beyond: Why administrative law matters in the protection of religious freedom in Canada –Don Buckingham

Part V: Religious Education and Christian Legal Education

• Religious Education and Identity – Janet Epp-Buckingham
• The (im)possibility of Christian education – Victor Muniz-Fraticelli
• Legal Education, TWU, and the Looking Glass – Carissima Mathen & Michael Plaxton

Part VI: Complex Aspects of the Trinity Western University Controversy

• Analogy and Neutrality: Thinking about Freedom of Religion – Mary Anne Waldron
• Hanging in the Balance: The Rights of Religious Minorities – Faisal Bhabha

Part VII: Indigenous Religious Freedom

• Qat'muk: Ktunaxa and the Religious Freedom of Indigenous Canadians – Sarah Morales
• Implications of the Ktunaxa Nation / Jumbo Valley Case for Religious Freedom Jurisprudence – Dwight Newman
• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Sacred Sites, and Religious Freedom – Dwight Newman, Elisa Ruozzi, and Stefan Kirchner

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• Religious Organizations / In-house Counsel – need to be kept abreast of latest legal developments and their underlying philosophies in order to properly formulate organizational policies on religious rights
• Human Rights Organizations & Counsel – need to advise of on the latest changes in legal approaches to religious rights
• Aboriginal Communities – need to understand recent shifts in court approaches to religious rights of aboriginal communities in order to continue to dialogue with the government in this area
• Federal and Provincial Ministries & Counsel – need to draft policies concerning religious rights
• Educational Institutions – ensure school operation is in full compliance with religious rights of students and staff
• Academia – study the perspectives and philosophies underlying recent shifts in court approaches and society's positions towards religious freedom