Editing Religious discrimination (section)

{{Short description|Treating a person or group differently because of their religious beliefs}}
{{Distinguish|Belief bias{{!}}Religious bias|Religious persecution}}
{{Status of religious freedom|expanded=concepts}}
{{Discrimination sidebar|expand-attributes=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}

'''Religious discrimination''' is treating a person or group differently because of the particular religion they align with or were born into. This includes instances when adherents of different religions, [[religious denomination|denominations]] or [[irreligion|non-religions]] are treated unequally due to their particular beliefs, either by the [[Equality before the law|law]] or in institutional settings, such as employment or housing.

Religious discrimination or bias<ref>{{Cite book |last=Scheitle |first=Christopher P. |title=The faithful scientist: experiences of anti-religious bias in scientific training |date=2023 |publisher=New York University Press |isbn=978-1-4798-2371-0 |location=New York}}</ref> is related to [[religious persecution]], the most extreme forms of which would include instances in which people have been executed for beliefs that have been perceived to be [[heresy|heretical]]. Laws that only carry light punishments are described as ''mild forms of religious persecution'' or ''religious discrimination''. In recent years, terms such as '''religism'''<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Religism |encyclopedia=Thesaurus.com |publisher=Rock Holdings |url=https://www.thesaurus.net/religism}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Religism etymology |encyclopedia=Etymologeek |url=https://etymologeek.com/eng/religism/94248563}}</ref> and '''religionism''' have also been used, but "religious discrimination" remains the more widely used term.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/religionism |title=religionism |date= |website=The Free Dictionary |publisher=Farlex |quote=unwillingness to recognize and respect differences in opinions or beliefs}}</ref>

Even in societies where [[freedom of religion]] is a constitutional right, adherents of [[minority religion]]s sometimes voice their concerns about religious discrimination against them. Insofar as legal policies are concerned, cases that are perceived to be cases of religious discrimination might be the result of interference in the religious sphere by other [[public sphere|spheres of the public]] that are regulated by law.