Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Introduction -- What is religion? -- What is religion : the historical context -- What is religion : the legal context -- What is religious freedom? -- The possibility of religious freedom -- Concept of religion in world religions and the corresponding concept of religious freedom -- Anticipations of religious freedom in world religions -- Attitudes toward conversion in world religions -- Religions : missionary and non-missionary -- Religions : Eastern and Western : towards an Asian understanding of religion -- Religious freedom and proselytization : a case study of Christian missions -- Native American religious freedom -- Conclusion.

The central claim of this book is that although the concept of religious freedom as a human rights concept is emblematic on the one hand, the concept is also problematic on the other, so that its implications are far from self-evident despite the ready acceptance the term receives as embodying a worthwhile goal. This book therefore problematizes the concept along legal, constitutional, ethical, and theological lines, and especially from the perspective of religious studies, so that religious freedom in the world could be enlarged in a way which promotes human flourishing.-- Provided by publisher.