Religion, Law, and Human Rights: Towards Equality and Inclusion

Dear Colleagues,

We are currently seeking submissions to the Special Issue Religion, Law, and Human Rights: Towards Equality and Inclusion. Across the globe, religion continues to shape how societies understand justice, morality, and belonging, yet, tensions persist where legal systems intersect with faith-based norms—particularly in contexts involving gender equality, minority rights, and freedom of religion or belief. Contemporary debates reveal both the promise and the pitfalls of integrating religious ethics within secular legal frameworks. This Special Issue provides a forum for scholars to critically examine how religion interacts with law and human rights in advancing, contesting, or redefining equality and inclusion in modern societies.

This Special Issue aims to explore how religious and legal discourses can converge to promote equitable and inclusive societies, while also investigating the challenges that arise when moral, theological, and human rights frameworks conflict. It aligns with the scope of Religions, which encourages multidisciplinary inquiry into the role of religion in public life, ethics, and governance. Contributions may draw from jurisprudence, theology, sociology, anthropology, or political science, engaging both theoretical and applied perspectives. Comparative, transnational, and case-based studies that examine how religious norms are interpreted, negotiated, or resisted within national and international legal contexts are of particular interest.

We invite original research articles, conceptual papers, and review essays addressing (but not limited to) the following themes:

• Religion and the evolution of human rights discourse.
• Gender equality and religious family law reform.
• Religious freedom, pluralism, and state neutrality.
• Indigenous and minority rights in religiously diverse societies.
• Intersectionality in faith-based discrimination and inclusion.
• Secularism, constitutionalism, and religious accommodation.
• Faith-based humanitarianism and social justice movements.
• The role of religious institutions in advancing equality.
• Comparative perspectives on law, ethics, and belief.
• Religion, AI, and emerging human rights challenges.

This Special Issue seeks to deepen scholarly and policy engagement with how religious and legal traditions can integrate with one another in the pursuit of inclusive justice. By drawing on global and interdisciplinary perspectives, it aims to advance conversations that move beyond binary oppositions of “religious versus secular,” instead highlighting the dynamic ways in which belief and law shape understandings of equality, human dignity, and social belonging. We hope to inspire innovative research, foster cross-cultural dialogue, and contribute to ongoing discussions about the moral foundations of human rights.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title and an abstract of 200-300 words summarizing their intended contribution to the Guest Editor, or to the Assistant Editor of Religions (Ms. Violet Li, violet.li@mdpi.com). Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editors for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer review.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Maria Bhatti
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• religion
• law
• human rights
• equality
• inclusion
• pluralism
• gender justice
• secularism
• freedom of belief
• social justice