Introduction

Every day millions of human beings are deprived of the right to practice their religion or belief freely; indeed, many are tortured or killed simply for adhering to unpopular religions. These threats to religious freedom seem to be growing, despite the adoption of many laws, both national and international, purporting to safeguard this essential liberty.

The freedom to change one's religion or belief, which is guaranteed by international human rights law, is under special threat. Today, many governments, particularly but not exclusively those influenced by Islamic doctrines, are denying that such a right exists. They have challenged the principle of universalism underlying international norms of religious liberty, instead advocating a kind of “religious parochialism” according to which different states, and different religious communities, should be entitled to regulate the religious choices of their citizens and members.