Freedom of religion

===Changing religion===
{{Main|Religious conversion}}

Among the most contentious areas of religious freedom is the right of an individual to change or abandon his or her own religion, criminalized as [[apostasy]] in some countries, and the right to [[Evangelism|evangelize]] individuals seeking to convince others to make such a change.

Other debates have centered around restricting certain kinds of missionary activity by religions. Many Islamic states, and others such as China, severely restrict missionary activities of other religions. Greece, among European countries, has generally looked unfavorably on missionary activities of denominations others than the majority church and proselytizing is constitutionally prohibited.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51555.htm|title=US State Department report on Greece|publisher=State.gov|date=8 November 2005|access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref>

A different kind of critique of the freedom to propagate religion has come from non-Abrahamic traditions such as the African and Indian. African scholar [[Makau Mutua]] criticizes religious evangelism on the ground of cultural annihilation by what he calls "proselytizing universalist faiths" (Chapter 28: Proselytism and Cultural Integrity, p.&nbsp;652):

{{Blockquote|...the (human) rights regime incorrectly assumes a level playing field by requiring that African religions compete in the marketplace of ideas. The rights corpus not only forcibly imposes on African religions the obligation to compete{{snd}} a task for which as nonproselytizing, noncompetitive creeds they are not historically fashioned{{snd}} but also protects the evangelizing religions in their march towards universalization ... it seems inconceivable that the human rights regime would have intended to protect the right of certain religions to destroy others.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mutua  |first=Makau |title=Facilitating Freedom of Religion or Belief, A Deskbook |year=2004 |publisher= Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief|isbn=978-9004137837|page=652}}</ref><!-- direct quote should have page number. For another edition of cited source, see https://books.google.com/books?id=fU1-AAAACAAJ&dq=%22Facilitating+Freedom+of+Religion+or+Belief%22+%22A+Deskbook%22&ei=rCq3SdyVI5DUlQSO1Ij9Bg -->}}

Some Indian scholars<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.manushi-india.org/pdfs_issues/PDF%20Files%20150/Sankrant%20Sanu.%204-12.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070124123847/http://www.manushi-india.org/pdfs_issues/PDF%20Files%20150/Sankrant%20Sanu.%204-12.pdf |archive-date=2007-01-24 |url-status=live|title=Re-examining Religious Freedom|first=Sankrant|last=Sanu|publisher=Manushi|year=2006|access-date=26 July 2008}}</ref> have similarly argued that the right to propagate religion is not culturally or religiously neutral.

In Sri Lanka, there have been debates regarding a bill on religious freedom that seeks to protect indigenous religious traditions from certain kinds of missionary activities. Debates have also occurred in various states of India regarding similar laws, particularly those that restrict conversions using force, fraud or allurement.

In 2008, [[Christian Solidarity Worldwide]], a Christian human rights non-governmental organisation which specializes in religious freedom, launched an in-depth report on the human rights abuses faced by individuals who leave Islam for another religion. The report is the product of a year long research project in six countries. It calls on Muslim nations, the international community, the UN and the international media to resolutely address the serious violations of human rights suffered by apostates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.online2.church123.com/attach.asp?clientURN=christiansolidarityworldwide2&attachFileName=09ae125dba76986113441ef1463aca8e.attach&attachOriginalFileName=CSW_Briefing_Apostasy_April_2008.pdf|title=No place to call home|date=29 April 2008|publisher=Christian Solidarity Worldwide|access-date=11 March 2009|archive-date=18 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181118150837/http://www.online2.church123.com/attach.asp?clientURN=christiansolidarityworldwide2&attachFileName=09ae125dba76986113441ef1463aca8e.attach&attachOriginalFileName=CSW_Briefing_Apostasy_April_2008.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Apostasy in Islam====
{{Main|Apostasy in Islam|Takfir|Mutaween}}
[[File:Rechtsgutachten betr Apostasie im Islam.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Legal opinion on apostasy by the [[Fatwa]] committee at [[Al-Azhar University]] in [[Cairo]], the highest Islamic institution in the world, concerning the case of a man who converted to Christianity: "Since he left Islam, he will be invited to express his regret. If he does not regret, he will be killed pertaining to rights and obligations of the Islamic law."]]
In Islam, apostasy is called "''ridda''" ("turning back") and is considered to be a profound insult to God. A person born of Muslim parents that rejects Islam is called a "''murtadd fitri''" (natural apostate), and a person that converted to Islam and later rejects the religion is called a "''murtadd milli''" (apostate from the community).<ref>{{cite book | last=Warraq | first=I. | title=Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out | publisher=Prometheus | year=2009 | isbn=978-1-61592-160-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9q0y21B9BoUC | page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9q0y21B9BoUC&pg=PA16 16]}}</ref>

A female apostate must be either executed, according to [[Shafi'i]], [[Maliki]], and [[Hanbali]] schools of [[Sunni Islam]]ic jurisprudence ([[fiqh]]), or imprisoned until she reverts to Islam as advocated by the Sunni [[Hanafi]] school and by [[Shi'a]] scholars.<ref name="EI Murtadd">{{cite encyclopedia|author=Heffening, W.|article=Murtadd| encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] Online Edition|editor1=P.J. Bearman |editor2=Th. Bianquis |editor3=C.E. Bosworth |editor4=E. van Donzel |editor5=W.P. Heinrichs |publisher=Brill Academic Publishers|issn=1573-3912}}</ref>

Ideally, the one performing the execution of an apostate must be an [[imam]].<ref name="EI Murtadd" /> At the same time, all schools of [[Islamic jurisprudence]] agree that any Muslim can kill an apostate without punishment.<ref>{{cite book |author=Abdul Qadir Oudah|title=Kitab Bhavan|year=1999|isbn=8171512739|publisher=Kitab Bhavan|location=New Delhi}}, Volume II. pp. 258–262; Volume IV. pp. 19–21</ref>

However, while almost all scholars agree about the punishment, many disagree on the allowable time to retract the apostasy.<ref>{{cite book |author=Sadakat Kadri|title=Heaven on Earth: A Journey Through Shari'a Law from the Deserts of Ancient Arabia|year=2012|isbn=978-0099523277|publisher=Macmillan|location=New York}}</ref> [[S. A. Rahman]], a former Chief Justice of Pakistan, argues that there is no indication of the death penalty for apostasy in the [[Qur'an]].<ref>{{cite book |author=S. A. Rahman|author-link=S. A. Rahman|title=Punishment of Apostasy in Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC|year=2007|publisher=The Other Press|isbn=978-9839541496|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC&pg=PA132 132–142]|chapter=Summary and Conclusions|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=L4fsYtFf5AoC&pg=PA132}}</ref>

[[Javed Ahmad Ghamidi]] a prominent islamic scholar who studied under Syed Abul Ala Maududi & Amin Ahsan Islahi, says killing of apostates was only for a special period after the [[Itmam e Hujjat]].

====Children's rights====
The law in Germany includes the concept of "religious maturity" (''Religiöse Mündigkeit'') with a minimum age for [[Minor (law)|minors]] to follow their own religious beliefs even if their parents don't share those or don't approve. Children 14 and older have the unrestricted right to enter or exit any religious community. Children 12 and older cannot be compelled to change to a different belief. Children 10 and older have to be heard before their parents change their religious upbringing to a different belief.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bundesrecht.juris.de/kerzg/BJNR009390921.html|title=Gesetz über die religiöse Kindererziehung|publisher=Bundesrecht.juris.de|access-date=3 September 2011}}</ref> There are similar laws in Austria<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.familienrecht.at/fileadmin/gesetze/abgb/rekerz.pdf| title = Bundesgesetz 1985 über die religiöse Kindererziehung}}</ref> and in Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gesetze.ch/sr/210/210_025.htm|title=Schweizerisches Zivilgesetzbuch Art 303: Religiöse Erziehung|publisher=Gesetze.ch|access-date=3 September 2011|archive-date=16 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170916045044/http://www.gesetze.ch/sr/210/210_025.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>