New JISRA policy brief by the University of Groningen highlights gaps and opportunities
As part of the Joint Initiative for Strategic Religious Action (JISRA), Mensen met een Missie is pleased to present a new policy brief by researchers from the University of Groningen (RUG). The brief highlights how the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) can and must include all communities.
Too often, FoRB programming focuses on the rights and experiences of majority and dominant minority religious groups—often Muslims and Christians—while neglecting other marginalized communities. This new brief draws on extensive research in Kenya and Indonesia, conducted as part of the JISRA programme’s knowledge agenda. It shows how intra-religious minorities (such as Shia, Ahmadiyya, or Pentecostal groups), secular and atheist groups, holders of indigenous beliefs, and sexual minorities are often overlooked in discussions about protecting FoRB rights.
The narrow focus of interreligious dialogue
Both in Kenya and Indonesia, peacebuilding and interreligious dialogue efforts have largely focused on bridging divides between Muslims and Christians, the largest groups in both countries. While this approach has led to significant successes—including within the JISRA programme itself—it often sidelines other minority groups.
In Kenya, these may include intra-religious minorities such as ethnic Somalis or Pentecostal Christians, but also practitioners of African Traditional Religions (ATRs), atheists, and members of the LGBTQI+ community. These communities are often perceived, to varying degrees, as threatening or challenging to mainstream religious beliefs.
Similarly, in Indonesia, the focus on interreligious relations between Muslims and Christians tends to overlook other marginalized groups. These include Shia and Ahmadiyya Muslims, followers of indigenous belief systems (Adat), sexual minorities, and those unaffiliated with recognised religions. Despite national-level legal protections for FoRB, local regulations and social norms often diverge, creating a fragmented landscape where minorities face stigma, exclusion, or even targeted violence.
Toward more inclusive peacebuilding
The policy brief argues that FoRB efforts must go beyond the dominant religious groups and actively engage minority communities—both within and outside formal religious traditions. This requires a shift in how such programmes are designed and communicated.
The brief calls for initiatives that prioritise trust-building and shared identity over abstract rights-based language, and that address the practical challenges faced by communities. It also underscores the importance of using context-sensitive, locally grounded terminology. Moving away from binary terms like “majority” and “minority,” the brief encourages the use of inclusive language such as “communities.”
Across both Kenya and Indonesia, the policy brief urges practitioners and donors to embrace the positive associations many people have with diversity. It calls for investment in political, legal, and religious literacy that reflects local realities. By doing so, peacebuilding efforts can move beyond symbolic inclusion and begin to dismantle the deeper structures of exclusion that so many communities continue to face.
