Marie Juul Petersen

Key qualifications

Human rights and religion; the right to freedom of religion or belief; development and religion; faith-based organisations; vernacularization of human rights; refugees and religion

Expertise

My research centers on the relationship between human rights and religion. I am especially interested in the role of religious actors, discourses and practices in global value politics, as witnessed e.g. in conflicts over freedom of religion or belief, gender equality norms, LGBTIQ+ rights, and the scope of free speech. I am also interested in the ways in which faith-based organisations engage in human rights activism and contribute to translating global human rights norms in local contexts, with a particular focus on Muslim NGOs. Most recently, my research has centered on religion and refugees in a Danish context, focusing, among other things, on asylum seekers’ right to freedom of religion of religion or belief in asylum centers, and on asylum authorities’ credibility assessments of conversion claims.