Indigenous Spiritualities and Religious Freedom

Jeffery Hewitt, Beverly Jacobs, Richard John Moon

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Hardback

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English

University of Toronto Press
05 November 2025

History of the Americas; Social & cultural history; Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies; Indigenous peoples; Jurisprudence & general issues

Indigenous Spiritualities and Religious Freedom investigates the complex relationship between Indigenous legal orders and Canadian law, emphasizing the richness of Indigenous spiritual practices alongside their historical and ongoing suppression by the Canadian state. It critically examines the role and limitations of the Canadian Charter of Right's section 2(a), which guarantees freedom of religion, in protecting the spiritual lives of Indigenous communities. The book highlights the holistic nature of Indigenous spiritual beliefs, which view the spiritual as immanent and closely tied to land and specific locations. The book reveals how, by contrast, the Anglo-American conception of religious freedom often separates spiritual and religious matters from civic and political concerns, and so fails to provide meaningful protection for Indigenous cultural and spiritual practices.

reveals the challenges

and perhaps the futility

of seeking significant protection for Indigenous spiritual practices within the existing framework of religious freedom.

By: Jeffery Hewitt, Beverly Jacobs, Richard John Moon
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 159mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 500g
ISBN: 9781487505295
ISBN 10: 1487505299
Pages: 254
Publication Date: 05 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jeffery Hewitt is an associate professor at Osgoode Hall Law School at York University. Beverly Jacobs is the senior advisor to the president on Indigenous relations and outreach, and an associate professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor. Richard Moon is a distinguished university professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor.

Reviews for Indigenous Spiritualities and Religious Freedom

“This timely and thoughtfully edited volume brilliantly questions the implications of Canada’s legal provisions for freedom of religion in light of Indigenous spiritual claims and in the contexts of reconciliation and ongoing coloniality. Its chapters approach these tensions from a rich number of theoretical, political, and disciplinary vantage points that will both resonate with and challenge scholars and students of law, religion, and Indigenous Studies across Canada and beyond.” -- Jennifer A. Selby, Professor, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador ""A much-needed, invaluable, collection of essays that critically engages with the capacity of religious freedom to protect Indigenous spiritualities. Contributors map the ongoing impact of colonization and the social context within which Indigenous ways of knowing are interpreted. These creative, thoughtful and rigorous essays offer a vital reality check on the role of the Constitution in effecting meaningful reconciliation.” -- Lori G. Beaman, Canada Research Chair in Religious Diversity and Social Change, University of Ottawa