A Human Security Approach to Religious Freedom A Vulnerability Assessment Tool for Religious Minorities Section Articles

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Nov 30, 2025
https://doi.org/10.46362/ijs.v1i2.84
Download
Pdf
Statistic
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2025): Indonesian Journal of Service

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Widjaja Sugiri
University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0676-2308
Steven Phang
New Beginning Church, Singapore
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1666-4580
Hari Pranoto
Suma Free Christ Church, Kobe, Japan

Abstract

Freedom of religion is a fundamental right that often faces serious challenges, especially for religious minorities who are vulnerable to discrimination and violence. This article examines the human security approach as a conceptual framework for assessing the vulnerability of religious minorities and proposes a systematic, evidence-based assessment tool. The research employs a literature review and comparative analysis of various theories on human security and freedom of religion, complemented by the identification of vulnerability factors. This research refers to the human security framework developed by UNDP for Africa, which emphasizes an integrated, anticipatory, and people-centered approach to addressing systemic risks that transcend sectoral and territorial boundaries. Furthermore, this article draws on the Religious Minorities Vulnerability Assessment Tool (RM-VAT) introduced by Petri as an instrument that measures the human security threats faced by religious minorities across various domains of life. The findings indicate that the human security approach enables a holistic vulnerability assessment by considering political, social, economic, and cultural dimensions. Empirical findings from various contexts—including discrimination against religious minority youth in Turkey, discriminatory secularism in Europe, and structural discrimination against local belief communities in Indonesia - reinforce the argument that the vulnerability of religious minorities is multidimensional and requires a comprehensive assessment approach.

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Sugiri, W., Phang, S., & Pranoto, H. (2025). A Human Security Approach to Religious Freedom: A Vulnerability Assessment Tool for Religious Minorities. Indonesian Journal of Service, 1(2), 133–158. https://doi.org/10.46362/ijs.v1i2.84

References

  1. Alkire, S. (2003). A conceptual framework for human security. CRISE Working Paper.
  2. An-Na'im, A. A. (2008). Islam and the secular state: Negotiating the future of shari'a. Harvard University Press.
  3. Arizona, Y., & Cohen, M. (2024). The recognition of customary land rights at the Constitutional Court of Indonesia: A critical assessment of the jurisprudence. In Courts and diversity (pp. 173–194). Brill Nijhoff. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004691698_008.
  4. Bhargava, R. (2013). Politics and ethics of the Indian constitution. Oxford University Press.
  5. Bielefeldt, H., Ghanea, N., & Wiener, M. (2016). Freedom of religion or belief: An international law commentary. Oxford University Press.
  6. Bourchier, D. M. (2019). Two decades of ideological contestation in Indonesia: From democratic cosmopolitanism to religious nationalism. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 49(5), 713–733. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2019.1590620.
  7. Chambers, R. (1997). Whose reality counts? Putting the first last. ITDG Publishing.
  8. Donnelly, J. (2013). Universal human rights in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Cornell University Press.
  9. Fox, J. (2008). A world survey of religion and the state. Cambridge University Press.
  10. Fox, J., & Sandler, S. (2005). Separation of religion and state in the twenty-first century: Comparing the Middle East and Western democracies. Comparative Politics, 37(3), 317–335. https://doi.org/10.2307/20072892.
  11. Gasper, D. (2006). Securing humanity: Situating 'human security' as concept and discourse. Journal of Human Development, 6(2), 221-245. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649880500120558.
  12. Gomez, O. A., & Gasper, D. (2013). Human security: A guidance note. United Nations Development Programme.
  13. Hiariej, E., & Stokke, K. (Eds.). (2022). The politics of citizenship in Indonesia. Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-7955-1.
  14. Hidayat, R. (2026). Recognition or misrecognition? Investigating state recognition, structural discrimination and the struggle of Sunda Wiwitan in Indonesia. Journal of Minority Politics Review, 5(1), 43-80. https://doi.org/10.56529/mpr.v5i1.568.
  15. Klocek, J., & Petri, D. P. (2023). Measuring subnational variation in freedom of religion or belief violations: Reflections on a path forward. The Review of Faith & International Affairs, 21(2), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2023.2200278.
  16. Kymlicka, W. (1995). Multicultural citizenship: A liberal theory of minority rights. Oxford University Press.
  17. López Ruf, E. (2024). Religious freedom, human security, and human fraternity: Is religious freedom a forgotten freedom within the human security framework? In Security, Religion, and the Rule of Law. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003453086.
  18. Marshall, P., Shea, N., & Hill, L. (2008). Religious freedom in the world. Rowman & Littlefield.
  19. Modood, T., & Sealy, T. (2021). Freedom of religion and the accommodation of religious diversity: Multiculturalising secularism. Religions, 12(10), 868. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12100868.
  20. Narayan, D., Patel, R., Schafft, K., Rademacher, A., & Koch-Schulte, S. (2000). Voices of the poor: Crying out for change. Oxford University Press.
  21. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). (2013). Minority rights: International standards. United Nations.
  22. Owen, T. (2004). Human security—Conflict, critique and consensus: Colloquium remarks and a proposal for a threshold-based definition. Security Dialogue, 35(3), 373–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010604047555.
  23. Petri, D. P. (2021). A human security approach to religious freedom: The religious minorities vulnerability assessment tool. International Journal for Religious Freedom, 12(1/2), 69–84. https://ijrf.org/index.php/home/article/view/88.
  24. Saiya, N., & Manchanda, S. (2026). Discriminatory secularism and attacks on religious minorities in Europe. European Journal of Political Research, 1–18. doi:10.1017/S1475676526100954.
  25. Sen, A. (2000). Development as freedom. Anchor Books.
  26. Suhendri, Hafizh, M., & Ainudzaky, M. (2026). From event to structure: An iceberg model and Theory U analysis of the Cidahu retreat disbandment and its implications for the legal protection of religious freedom in Indonesia. Jurnal Ilmiah Mahasiswa Raushan Fikr, 15(1), 209-222. https://doi.org/10.24090/jimrf.v15i1.16133.
  27. Tadjbakhsh, S., & Chenoy, A. M. (2007). Human security: Concepts and implications. Routledge.
  28. Tanyas, B. (2024). "I was told that people might hurt me": Experiences of religious discrimination among Jewish, Christian, and Alevi youth in Turkey. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology.
  29. Taylor, C. (1994). Multiculturalism: Examining the politics of recognition. Princeton University Press.
  30. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2025). Advancing Human Security for a Resilient and Prosperous Africa. Regional Bureau for Africa. New York: UNDP.
  31. United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (1994). Human development report 1994: New dimensions of human security. Oxford University Press.