Introduction

In the twenty-first century, English law interacts with religion in increasingly complicated ways. For instance, English charity law protects trusts, gifts and institutions as charitable (and thus entitled to legal and fiscal advantages) if they are for the advancement of religion, whilst individuals have a human right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and enjoy the right not to be discriminated against on grounds of religion or belief. The focus of such legal provisions upon protecting ‘religion’ means that the question of the definition of religion is often a pivotal concern. It is important to determine to whom the legal benefit is addressed in order to work out who enjoys it. Definitions serve both as a means of inclusion and exclusion. Legal systems seek to define religion to determine which individuals and groups should be bestowed with legal advantages by virtue of the fact that they are ‘religious’ and which should not. These acts of inclusion and exclusion have legal, political, economic and social effects. This applies even where there is no explicit definition. Indeed, as Edge points out, the absence of a definition may harm minority religions and new religious movements as decision-makers are likely to ‘work by analogy from what they regard as being “clearly religious”’.

This chapter examines the definitions of religion currently found in key areas of English law – charity and registration law, human rights law and discrimination law – discussing the definitions currently used and their effects.