Scrutinizing the limitations of freedom of religion or belief

The symposium brings together scholars and researchers from various fields of social sciences, the humanities and law to share and exchange their experiences and research results with respect to the aspects of the limits encountered when striving to promote the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief.

Time and place: – , Vrije Universiteit, Conference room 33, 13th floor/ONLINE
Statue of man in front of religious building

Image credit: NCHR

About the symposium

The program is organized in three thematic panels:

  1. Freedom of Religion or Belief and Freedom of Expression
  2. Gender Concerns and Freedom of Religion or Belief
  3. Scrutinizing Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Europe.

Each panel will connect empirical and theoretical perspectives by the invited speakers and are meant to serve as a vehicle to foster a focused discussion among the panelists and with the audience. 

The symposium is organized on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Professor Nelly van Doorn-Harder as the Special Chair on Freedom of Religion or Belief at the Vrije Universiteit. The Special Chair is a collaboration between the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, University of Oslo and Vrije Universiteit and servers as a mutual benefit, to strengthen knowledge building, dissemination and outreach of religion and human rights with a focus on freedom of religion or belief.

Registration

Please register here.

Programme

  • 09:00 – 09:15 (CET): Welcome 
    • Ruard Ganzevoort, Dean, Faculty of Theology and Religion of the Vrije Universiteit Lena Larsen, Director, The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
  • 09:15 – 10:00 (CET): Keynote speech
    • Heiner Bielefeldt, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, Special Rapporteur on FORB 2010-2016
  • 10:00 – 10:15 (CET): Keynote remarks
    • Bea ten Tusscher, Dutch Special Envoy FORB
  • 10:15 – 10:30 Break 
  • 10:30 – 12:00 (CET): Panel I - Freedom of Religion or Belief and Freedom of Expression. Moderator: Welmoet Boender 
    • Indonesian Criminal Code, from prohibition of blasphemy to prohibition of incitement to discrimination, hostility, and violence. Zainal Abidin Bagir, Gadjah Mada University 
    • FORB, Freedom of Expression and Hate Speech. Thiago Alves Pinto, Oxford University
    • Apostacy in Islam and Hinduism. A political crime? Razi Quadir and Victor van Bijlert, Vrije Universteit 
  • 12:00 – 12:15 Break 
  • 12:15 – 13:15 (CET): Panel II - Gender Concerns and Freedom of Religion or Belief. Moderator: Nelly van Doorn-Harder 
    • KUPI' fatwa on FGM and it implication to FORB in Indonesia. Lies Marcoes, Rumah Kitab 
    • Gender and Sexuality in Christian Orthodox Church. Thomas Arentzen, Uppsala University 
    • Limits of FORB: Child Marriage and the Reconstruction of Shame. Haryani Septaningtyas, Sebelas Maret University 
  • 13:15 – 14:15 Lunch 
  • 14:15 – 15:30 (CET): Panel III - Scrutinizing Limitations to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Europe. Moderator: Lena Larsen 
    • The case of France. Deborah Thebault, Catholic Institute of Paris 
    • The case of Denmark. Eva Maria Lassen, Danish Institute for Human Rights
    • Comments: Heiner Bielefeldt 
  • 15:30 – 16:00 (CET): Summary and closing of symposium. Nelly van Doorn-Harder, holder of the FORB Special Chair 

Practical information

To get to the conference room 13A-33: Take the elevators of the main building to the 13th floor, wing A (the only wing on that floor)

Attendance is also possible online.

Published Mar. 6, 2023 11:03 AM - Last modified Mar. 6, 2023 2:28 PM
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