This panel is dedicated to the discussion of the volume A Sociology of Religious Freedom by Olga Breskaya, Giuseppe Giordan, and James T. Richardson. The book offers a sociological analysis of freedom of and freedom from religion as a key concept for understanding the place of religious and spiritual identities, beliefs, and practices in the contemporary world. Moving beyond purely legal or normative approaches, the volume emphasizes the added value of sociology in explaining why and how religious freedom acquires multiple meanings in society. The authors show that religious freedom is not a fixed or self-evident principle, but rather a socially constructed and contested concept whose content varies across cultural, political, and historical contexts. The book addresses three major questions central to the development of a sociology of religious freedom. First, it asks how religious freedom can be defined as a multidimensional concept, taking into account its complex and often controversial nature. Second, it investigates the recurrent sociological conditions and dominant social perceptions that foster or hinder understandings of religious freedom in different political, legal, and socio-religious environments. Third, it explores the mechanisms through which religious freedom is socially implemented, examining how it becomes embedded in everyday practices, organizational routines, and institutional cultures, thus contributing to its recognition as a fundamental value within human rights frameworks. The volume suggests that any sociological definition of religious freedom must integrate historical, philosophical, legal, religious, and political dimensions specific to a given society. By uncovering the interplay between structural conditions and individual or group perceptions, sociology highlights the normative and value-laden character of religious freedom, as well as its broader societal functions.

Sociology, Law and Religion, Social Sciences