Mary Ann Glendon And The Structure Of Religious Freedom
Richard W. Grant discusses Mary Ann Glendon’s explanation of religious freedom and its importance to the society of a constitutional democracy. “It is a mistake to regard ‘religion’ merely as a private practice, or even as a social phenomenon, to which constitutions respond or react. Instead, the ongoing enterprise of constitutionalism is one to which religious freedom contributes. Human rights depend for protection and flourishing not only on enforceable constraints on government but also on the structure of the social order. With respect to matters of polity, doctrine, leadership, and membership, the autonomy that religious institutions enjoy simultaneously contributes to and benefits from that structure.”