User:Trisandejarnatt/Freedom of religion

Ancient Roman policy[edit]
The Romans tolerated most religions, including Judaism, and encouraged local subjects to continue worshipping their own gods. Religion was consider subordinate to the state powers and an example of the first type of separations of church and state. Pagan and other religious practice were attempted to be suppressed but were allowed to continue practice in ?. Augustus caesar was also a large first in religious expression with his death in. They did not however, tolerate Christianity until it was legalized by the Roman emperor Galerius in 311 CE. Holmes and Bickers note that as long as Christianity was treated as a part of Judaism it enjoyed the same freedom, but the Christian claim to religious exclusivity meant its followers found themselves subject to hostility. The emperor Constantine became an advocate for Christianity and forbid most other religions. Pagan practices became outlawed and monotheistic belief became dominate.

The early Christian apologist Tertullian was the first-known writer referring to the term libertas religionis. The Edict of Milan guaranteed freedom of religion in the Roman Empire until the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which outlawed all religions except Christianity.

Muslim world[edit]
Following a period of fighting lasting around a hundred years before 620 AD which mainly involved Arab and Jewish inhabitants of Medina (then known as Yathrib), religious freedom for Muslims, Jews and pagans was declared by Muhammad in the Constitution of Medina. In early Muslim history (until mid 11th century), most Islamic scholars maintained a level of separation from the state which helped to establish some elements of institutional religious freedom. The Islamic Caliphate later guaranteed religious freedom under the conditions that non-Muslim communities accept dhimmi status and their adult males pay the jizya tax instead of the zakat paid by Muslim citizens. Though Dhimmis were not given the same political rights as Muslims, they nevertheless did enjoy equality under the laws of property, contract, and obligation.

Religious pluralism existed in classical Islamic ethics and Sharia, as the religious laws and courts of other religions, including Christianity, Judaism and Hinduism, were usually accommodated within the Islamic legal framework, as seen in the early Caliphate, Al-Andalus, Indian subcontinent, and the Ottoman Millet system. In medieval Islamic societies, the qadi (Islamic judges) usually could not interfere in the matters of non-Muslims unless the parties voluntarily choose to be judged according to Islamic law, thus the dhimmi communities living in Islamic states usually had their own laws independent from the Sharia law, such as the Jews who would have their own Halakha courts.

Dhimmis were allowed to operate their own courts following their own legal systems in cases that did not involve other religious groups, or capital offences or threats to public order. Non-Muslims were allowed to engage in religious practices that were usually forbidden by Islamic law, such as the consumption of alcohol and pork, as well as religious practices which Muslims found repugnant, such as the Zoroastrian practice of incestuous "self-marriage" where a man could marry his mother, sister or daughter. According to the famous Islamic legal scholar Ibn Qayyim (1292–1350), non-Muslims had the right to engage in such religious practices even if it offended Muslims, under the conditions that such cases not be presented to Islamic Sharia courts and that these religious minorities believed that the practice in question is permissible according to their religion.

Despite Dhimmis enjoying special statuses under the Caliphates, they were not considered equals, and sporadic persecutions of non-Muslim groups did occur in the history of the Caliphates. The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a multi-racial and multi-religious nation, where Muslims form the majority. Residents of Pakistan follow many of the major religions. Pakistan's diverse cultural and religious heritage is part of its multicultural history, but there is a lack of tolerance towards religious minorities in Pakistan. Religious minorities are not allowed to join the mainstream of the society because of their religion. They face exploitation by extremist groups, and some sections of the society show hatred towards them