소수 종교집단의 종교자유를 통해 본 인도의 종교자유 실태- 법적 차원과 현실적 차원을 중심으로-

Abstract

Religious freedom is an essential value in a democracy and one of important human rights. Therefore, every democratic country prescribes religious freedom as a basic human right in its constitution. But actual situations of religious freedom appear differently according to each country's historical-social context. This article deals with actual conditions of religious freedom in Indian context particularly focusing on religious minorities. India is a secular state officially and multi-religious society in which majority Hindus coexist with several religious minorities. Since independence, India has tried to establish secularism institutionally which originated from the West and has the separation of Church and State and religious freedom as basic principles. However this effort has not been successful so far because of several factors. Over 80% of Indian people are Hindus and there have been age-old conflicts between the Hindus and the Muslims. Moreover, the power of Hindu fundamentalism has been strengthened recently. In this situation, conflicts between religious communities have increased and the State has had difficulty in keeping its secular principles regarding to the religious problems. One of the most urgent problems in India is the serious conflicts between majority Hindus and religious minorities, particularly the Muslims. Religious freedom in India is connected directly and indirectly to this problem. This paper deals with the issue of actual conditions of religious freedom in India focusing on religious minorities. And it presents that even though India has good constitutional and legal devices for religious freedom, there are many cases which violate religious freedom of religious minorities because of actual situations in India.