Challenging the Right to Change Religion or Belief: Interpreting Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

The importance of freedom of religion or belief is internationally recognized. However, the concomitant implementation of the right to change one’s religion or belief is not accepted by all states. This chapter focuses on examining the key aspects of UN legal documents and their drafting history. The inquiry points to the gradual changes that have been made to the phrasing of the freedom to change one’s religion in these provisions since 1948. Within the UN, member states have succeeded in altering these provisions, leading to conceptual ambiguity concerning the right to change one’s religion or belief. The virtual failure to explicitly recognize the right to apostasy is a matter of concern; it has resulted in a diminishment of the normative force of the religious freedom provision. Accordingly, it is necessary to consider reconceptualizing this freedom, entailing a reaffirmation of the right to change religion or belief.