Civil society as rights guardian

The piece frames freedom of religion as a question not only of constitutional text but of which institutional actor — courts, legislatures, administrative agencies, or communities and religious institutions — is best suited to protect rights in practice. It argues (or prompts the question) that non‑state actors and associational life can sometimes secure religious liberty more robustly than legalistic state interventions that convert pluralism into regulation. — Shifting the focus from legal doctrine to which institutions actually secure religious freedom changes policy responses to church‑state conflicts and affects debates on regulatory design, litigation strategy, and civic pluralism.