Thirteenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

The 21st century is witnessing a revaluation of the role of religion and spirituality in society. In the midst of this process, there is one human group whose spiritual practices and traditional ways of living are becoming increasingly important. Indigenous peoples are nowadays emerging as powerful actors in socio-political debates and environmental movements across the world, although they are still victims of structural problems and gross human rights violations, which tend to reflect in the land grab of their ancestral territories for economic exploitation. Such practices, while also infringing numerous human rights, completely preclude the ability of these peoples to fully enjoy their freedom of religion or belief, which comprises not only the sacred places their territories host, but also their territories as such, due to the intrinsic sacredness attributed to them. At the same time, their spirituality also accommodates invaluable traditional ecological knowledge that has proven to be essential in the fight against climate change, whose worst effects they are already experiencing first hand. These differential factors have led to the delegitimization of indigenous religious beliefs and value systems, which have been deemed inferior and unworthy of protection. That is why looking at indigenous spirituality from a human rights-based approach stands as a necessary consequence of the decolonization of international law. This paper analyzes indigenous peoples’ freedom of religion or belief and identifying the major obstacles it nowadays has to face, after which some recommendations are made in order to try to trace the way forward.