Strengthening the Right to Religious Freedoms for Minority Communities: Gaps and Opportunities

JISRA Project

This article is a joint publication by University of Groningen and Mensen met een Missie, through the Dutch-funded ‘Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action’ project.

As part of the Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA), Mensen met een Missie is pleased to present a new policy brief by researchers from the University of Groningen (RUG) which highlights how the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) can and must include all communities. All too often, FoRB programming focuses on the rights and experiences of majority and dominant minority religious groups – often Muslims and Christians – while neglecting other marginalized communities. This policy brief draws on extensive research in Kenya and Indonesia conducted as part of the JISRA programme’s knowledge agenda, and shows how intra-religious minorities (that is to say, smaller belief groups within a larger religious tradition, such as Shia, Ahmadiyya, or Pentecostal groups), secular and atheist groups, holders of indigenous beliefs, and sexual minorities may often be overlooked in discussions around protecting FoRB rights.

Both in Kenya and Indonesia, efforts around peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue have largely focused on bringing together Muslims and Christians, representing the largest groups in both countries. While this approach has led to notable successes, including within the JISRA programme itself, the focus often sidelines other minority groups. In Kenya, these may include minorities within the two major religions, such as ethnic Somalis or Pentecostal Christians – but also practitioners of African Traditional Religions (ATRs), atheists and other non-believers, or members of the LGBTQI+ community – all of whom are perceived, to varying degrees, as threatening or challenging mainstream religious beliefs.

Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the dominant focus on interreligious relations between Muslims and Christians similarly risks overlooking other marginalized groups. These include intra-religious minorities such as Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims, as well as followers of indigenous belief systems (commonly referred to as Adat), sexual minorities, and those who do not affiliate with any recognised religion. While legal protections for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) are in place at the national level, local regulations and social norms often diverge from these standards, creating a fragmented landscape in which minorities risk being stigmatised, excluded, or even targeted. As in Kenya, these communities are often seen as incompatible with dominant religious or cultural norms, limiting their ability to participate in peacebuilding or interfaith initiatives.

The policy brief argues that for FoRB to be inclusive, efforts must extend beyond the dominant religious groups and actively engage minority groups —both within and outside formal religious traditions. This requires a shift in how such programmes are designed and communicated. It calls for initiatives that prioritise trust-building and shared identity over abstract rights-based language, and that address practical challenges facing communities as a whole. The findings also stress the importance of using context-sensitive, locally grounded terminology—moving away from binary terms like “majority” and “minority” toward more inclusive categories such as “communities.” Across both Kenya and Indonesia, the brief encourages practitioners and donors alike to embrace the positive associations many people hold with diversity, and to invest in political, legal, and religious literacy that reflects local realities. By doing so, peacebuilding efforts can move beyond symbolic inclusion and begin to dismantle the deeper structures of exclusion that so many communities continue to face.

About the JISRA Project

The Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA) is a partnership of 50 civil society organizations based in Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, and Uganda (with supporting lobby and advocacy in Europe and the USA). This international, inter religious partnership is implementing a five-year program (2021-2025) in partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to further peaceful and just societies where all enjoy Freedom of Religion and Belief (FoRB).

The program is coordinated by four international consortium partners: Mensen met een Missie Tearfund UK, Tearfund the Netherlands, Faith to Action Network, Search for Common Ground, and the Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers.