Faith in the Balance: ASEAN’s Quest for Religious Freedom Amidst Cultural Diversity

Abstract This article examines the challenges ASEAN countries face in safeguarding Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) within diverse cultural contexts. Using a qualitative approach, it first reviews international and regional frameworks to explore how ASEAN nations balance FoRB commitments with national sovereignty, revealing tensions between global standards and regional autonomy. It then compares constitutional protections across ASEAN , identifying themes in shared principles and varied implementations. The analysis identifies concerns hampering FoRB, including state religion designations, conditional protections, and discrepancies between constitutional ideals and practice. Issues like state involvement in religious practices, challenges to pluralism in single-faith societies, and diverse institutional strategies for FoRB oversight underscore the complexities involved. These findings suggest that the effective preservation of FoRB requires a nuanced approach that honours national sovereignty while safeguarding individual liberties.