Marcus Roberts
Auckland, October 1, 2024
New Zealand is becoming less religious. Nearly half of New Zealanders (48.2%) identified as having “no religion” in the 2018 census, and while Christianity remains the largest group, our society is increasingly secular and pluralistic.
One hundred and fifty-seven religious affiliations were chosen in the 2018 census, including 121,000 self-identifying Hindus, 57,000 Muslims, 44,000 adherents of Ratana, 41,000 Sikhs, and 12,000 Ringatū followers. With religious adherence declining, some might think religious freedom is less important—but that is far from the truth.
Benefits of Religious Freedom
Maxim Institute’s latest policy paper, Eroding our conscience: Why we must shore up religious freedom in Aotearoa New Zealand, demonstrates that religious freedom is a cornerstone of our free, democratic, pluralistic society. It is not just a right for the devout; it protects everyone. The New Zealand Bill of Rights Act 1990 safeguards the right to manifest religious beliefs, and the Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits religious discrimination. These protections ensure that everyone, including the non-religious, can question, seek, and debate truth claims in a free marketplace of ideas.
Religious freedom, however, does more than support personal expression—it serves as a crucial check on government power. By protecting the right to believe and practice freely, it creates space for people to align with authorities beyond government control, thereby helping prevent the rise of authoritarianism.
Furthermore, empirical studies have shown a strong correlation between religious freedom and low levels of domestic conflict. These studies have also demonstrated a clear link between a state’s interference with its people’s right to worship and significantly higher levels of violent religious persecution. For example, sociologists Brian Grim and Roger Finke found that governments which interfered with their citizens’ right to worship were five times more likely to have large numbers of incidents of violent religious persecution compared to governments which did not interfere.
Implications of State Actions
Yet, as religious adherence declines, the risk grows that those in power may overlook or downplay religious freedom. During the Covid 19 pandemic, New Zealand saw this happen. Twice, the Ministry of Justice failed to account for religious liberty in its advice to the Attorney-General on lockdowns and vaccine mandates—policies that clearly had the potential to infringe on religious rights.
This oversight suggests a concerning gap in understanding the implications of state actions on religious freedoms. There is no guarantee that similar oversights will not occur in the future.
We cannot afford to be complacent about religious freedom. As former Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias noted, the observance of human rights ultimately depends on whether they are valued by the wider community. Religious freedom is not just for the religious—it is a safeguard for every New Zealander. If we neglect it, we may only realise its importance once it has disappeared.
Marcus Roberts is a Research Fellow at the Auckland-based Maxim Institute, an independent think tank working to promote the dignity of every person in New Zealand by standing for freedom, justice, compassion, and hope.
