Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

Get access Subject: Law

Edited by: Gerhard Robbers and W. Cole Durham

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In recent years, issues of freedom of religion or belief and state-religion relations have become increasingly important worldwide. The Encyclopedia of Law and Religion, unique in its breadth and global coverage, provides an important foundational resource for study of these issues. The encyclopedia covers the relation between law and religion in its various aspects, including those related to the role of religion in society, the relations between religion and state institutions, freedom of religion, legal aspects of religious traditions, the interaction between law and religion, and other issues at the junction of law, religion, and state.

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Korea, North

(3,997 words)

Author(s): Richard Alexander Storms
I. Social Facts North Korea’s government officially recognizes only a small number of churches and religious organizations, specifically Protestants, Buddhists, Roman Catholics, and the Cheondogyo Young Friends Party. The government officially states that of North Korea’s population of approximately 24.8 million, 12,000 are Protestants, 10,000 Buddhists, 800 Roman Catholics, and 15,000 members of the Chendogyo Young Friends Party. However, it is believed that there are many more religious practitioners in North Korea than the government officially recognizes. In Pyonyang…
Source: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

Korea, South

(6,767 words)

Author(s): Chongko Choi
I. Social Facts South Korea, since 1945 divided from the northern half of the Korean peninsula, is a highly pluralistic society with regard to its religious landscape. The two Korean states, which came formally into being when each adopted their respective constitutions in 1948, have been built upon significantly divergent ideological premises in terms of their social, economic, and cultural politics. Both these political units, however, adhered to the notion of the absolute priority of progress, r…
Source: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

Kosovo

(4,156 words)

Author(s): Ryan Davis
I. Social Facts Although the exact numbers conflict, all major sources state that Kosovo’s population stands somewhere around the 2 million mark. In 2012, the most recent year for which information is available, census reports put the population at 1.74 million. Of those 1.74 million inhabitants, an overwhelming majority are Muslim. Using census numbers, the US State Department lists 95.6% of Kosovars as Muslim while Kosovo’s official government website lists the Muslim majority slightly lower at 9…
Source: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion

Kuwait

(2,098 words)

Author(s): James Heilpern
I. Social Facts It is estimated that Kuwait has a total population of approximately 3.8 million people, of whom only 1.2 million are citizens. About 70% of the citizenry—including the royal family—are Sunni Muslims. Almost all of the remaining 30% are Shia. As of 2012, there were 150 to 200 Christian citizens and an even smaller number of Bahá’í citizens. While non-Muslims are not allowed to become citizens through naturalization, Christian men may pass on their citizenship status (if they have it) to their descendants. Kuwait is also home to an additional 150,000 Shias who are …
Source: Encyclopedia of Law and Religion