The Content of Freedom of Conscience and the Indian "Essential Practice of Religion" Doctrine: A Constitutional Legal Review

In this study, the author addresses the problem of determining the competencies that comprise the essence of freedom of conscience. As one of the possible approaches, the "essential practice of religion" doctrine developed in the law enforcement practice of the Supreme Court of India is considered. The subject of the study is the history of the role of religion in Indian society, the normative constitutional and legal consolidation of freedom of conscience and secular state, as well as the content of the "essential practice of religion" doctrine. The aim of this article is to identify the effects that this doctrine may have to build a secular state and the risks that must be taken into account in the Russian law enforcement practice when determining the powers constituting freedom of conscience. The study is based on the theoretical material from works of foreign researchers (F. Alicino, S.C. Kashyap, M. Lapidus, R. Dhavan and F. Nariman, B.N. Rau, R. Sen, G. Shah, G. Jacobsohn, and others). The regulatory legal acts of India, decisions of the Supreme Court of India, and of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation were also used. The methodological basis of the study was dialectical, comparative legal and formal legal methods. In particular, the use of the dialectical method contributed to the study of law enforcement at different stages of the development of legislation on freedom of conscience and on religious associations in India. The use of comparative legal and formal legal methods helped to identify the content and distinctive features of the doctrine of the "essential practice of religion", and the prospects for its use in Russia. As a result, the author came to the conclusion that, based on the "essential practice of religion" doctrine, rituals, rites, ceremonies, and other forms of worship are considered an integral part of religion. Moreover, activities of religious organizations can be assessed by the law enforcer in order to find out whether it is the main religious practice or not since the latter is protected by the state until it violates the limits provided for in Articles 25 and 26 of the Indian Constitution of 1949. In Russia, Indian experience may be in demand. On the one hand, the doctrine of the "essential practice of religion" can be used to determine the essence of freedom of conscience, to identify, if necessary, what can be understood as religion. On the other hand, the experience of India can serve as a signal for domestic law enforcement, which should take into account the identified risks, namely: the preferred attitude to individual religions depending only on the period of their existence in the country and the legitimization of state interference in religious affairs and questions of the internal life of religious organizations.

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