Religious heritage in international law: Nationalism, culture, and rights

Abstract

This Article explores the work that religious heritage performs in our thinking about the uses of heritage in the construction of politics, society, and culture. Seen as heritage, religion is an important part of nation-building, divorced from fundamental canons, and seen as a social practice, which for the most part is a positive development in line with the international human right to freedom of religion. The Article explores religious heritage in international law through the Russian experience both in the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention. The author argues that, for the most part, heritage values prevail over religious ones, at least inasmuch as heritage is a proxy for secularism and cosmopolitanism. At the same time, however, the human right to freedom of religion can aid religious communities to tap into the possibilities for heritage safeguarding to protect their faith. Thus, while giving religion a priveleged position may be seen as incompatible with the worldview of peace and dialogue among nations, which international law tends to privilege, heritage law processes can also aid religion and religious communities. The coupling of heritage law with human rights can create incentives for countries like Russia to engage more seriously with the possibilities of heritage mechanisms to protect certain religious practices and curb the ascent of dangerous nationalism. Russia should therefore seriously consider ratifying the Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, at least inasmuch as this treaty can benefit the treatment of religious heritage and its use in the country, and also help promote freedom of religion as a human right with both individual and collective dimensions.