Intrafaith minorities: Resources to report on religious communities’ internal diversity

By EditorUpdated on . Posted on
Photo: Dibakar Roy

When it comes to international religious freedom, we tend to hear a lot about religious minorities, their struggle for rights and recognition or persecution — both state-sanctioned and informal. 

But what of intrafaith minorities? 

While interfaith tensions refer to high-friction relations between different religious communities, intrafaith conflict occurs between different denominations or groups within a faith tradition. 

One might think of frictions between Shiite majorities in Iraq and Iran and their Sunni minorities — or vice versa in Afghanistan, Pakistan or Syria — or the sometimes awkward relationship between The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Christians. 

In this edition of ReligionLink, we look at intrafaith diversity and discrimination, unpacking how people of different interpretations deal with internal distinctions and differences within shared traditions. 

Background and tips

It can be tempting to think about religion, religions and the religious exclusively in terms of majority traditions, ideas and beliefs. But religion is far more varied than we often imagine, with a range of practices and interpretations by individuals within the same communities or institutions. 

In other words, intrafaith diversity is the norm — no religious community is homogeneous. 

Though there has been ample space given to interreligious diversity and religious freedom issues in the press in recent years, there has been comparatively less coverage of internal miscellany and variance.  

That means a lot of intrafaith minorities can be misunderstood or left out of media conversations entirely. 

Take, for example, the recent passing of Aga Khan IV. In the wake of the religious leader’s death, there was a spate of ’splainers and articles covering the basics of the faith and spirituality of his estimated 10 million to 15 million followers worldwide. The Nizari Ismailis — or simply Ismailis — as these pieces explained over and over again, are the second largest Shiite Muslim community in the world. But they constitute only 1% of the global Muslim population. 

Across the last 1,400 years, Ismailis have ruled over powerful dynasties, contributed to the depth and vibrancy of Islamic thought and philosophy and helped contribute to economies, cultures and societies the world over. But they have also had to regularly endure oppression, violent persecution and massacres at the hands of oppressive majoritarian rulers.

Their story is but one of many Muslim minority communities, including other Shiites in places such as Malaysia or the Ahmadiyya and Barelvis in Pakistan. To their stories could also be added intrafaith minorities — often some form of minoritarian movement, sect or denomination — among the world’s Christians, Jews and Hindus. 

Given their minority status, and their relatively small numbers, it is important for reporters to not lose sight of their stories — not only to write about their plight from the perspective of human rights and persecution, but also to show the vast diversity and differentiation across, and within, global religious communities. 

As reporters seek to share their stories, it is important to keep in mind a few tips and tools for reference: 

  • Keep in mind that a group can be a persecuted minority in one region or country and a oppressive majority in another — or, for that matter, an oppressive minority in another. Geography, international politics and migration often play a determining role in deciding whether one is in the minority or not.
  • Religious minorities are formally covered in human rights protections. However, intrareligious minorities can sometimes go missing from minority rights mechanisms and procedures.
  • Be sure to not only report on government-led assimilation policies and proselytization efforts, but everyday barriers in the workplace, media or civil society that can hinder intrafaith minorities’ inclusion and advancement.
  • Groups and individuals can be minoritized within a majority religious traditions for multiple reasons, including race, ethnicity, sexuality, gender, class or differences in theology and/or practice.
  • Academic studies of, and policy papers about, the violation of intrafaith minorities’ rights can tend to view the issue through a security lens — focusing on attacks on churches in Indonesia or mosques in Karachi, for example. But remember, violent extremism of this sort does not exist in a vacuum. These acts of violence are driven by, and decided within, a broader context and wider discourse that justifies them. Thus, reporters will need to also pay attention to nonphysical violence and the thoughts and words espoused by some people in power — including popular preachers, religious elites and bureaucrats — that encourage and sustain violent acts and formal discrimination. For example, how might using terms such as “deviant” or “liberal,” “heterodox” or “cult” foster and feed into violence in society at large? 

Related newswriting

Experts and sources

  • The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community – U.S.

    The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is an international movement that identifies as Muslim but differs from Orthodox Islam in its teachings. Its U.S. headquarters is in Maryland and it maintains more than 70 chapters across the U.S.

  • Khalil Andani

    Khalil Andani is a religion professor at Augustana College in Illinois. His research focuses on Quranic studies, Islamic intellectual history, Shiite Islam and Sufism. In particular, he is an expert on Shiite Ismaili perspectives, Islamic history and thought, Islamic ethics and Christian-Muslim interactions.

  • Eileen Barker

    Eileen Barker is a professor emeritus in the sociology department at the University of London. She studies minority religions, including cults, sects and New Religious Movements, and relevant social conditions.

  • Amanullah De Sondy

    Amanullah De Sondy is head of the study of religions department at University College Cork, Ireland. De Sondy has also been appointed as visiting honorary Islamic studies scholar at the University of Melbourne 2024. He is a regular source on broadcast television in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia and Europe, speaking to issues related to religion, religious minorities and the public understanding of Islam.

  • Aykan Erdemir

    Aykan Erdemir is director of global research and diplomatic affairs at the Anti-Defamation League and is a former MP in the Turkish Parliament. He is on the advisory council for FoRB  Women’s Alliance and is one of the founders of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief, a global network of parliamentarians committed to advancing the right to freedom of religion or belief for everyone, everywhere.

  • FoRB Women’s Alliance

    FoRB Women’s Alliance is an international community of religious freedom and human rights advocates seeking to advance, facilitate and support solutions for freedom of religion or belief for women.

  • Genocide Watch

    Gregory Stanton is president of Genocide Watch, a Washington, D.C., organization that “exists to predict, prevent, stop, and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder,” including in Sudan. Its board of advisers includes academics from around the country.

  • Nazila Ghanea

    Nazila Ghanea is the United Nations’ special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. She is professor of international human rights law and director of the Master of Science in international human rights law at the University of Oxford.

  • Megan Goodwin

    Megan Goodwin is a visiting lecturer on philosophy and religion at Northeastern University in Boston and the program director for Sacred Writes, an initiative aimed at increasing public scholarship on religion. She studies and writes about New Religious Movements, minority religions in the U.S., gender, sexuality and race.

  • Stephen Gregg

    Stephen Gregg is senior lecturer in religious studies at the University of Wolverhampton and the honorable secretary of the British Association for the Study of Religions. His background is in 19th-century Hindu philosophy, but in recent years he has specialized in minority religious movements. Contact via the University of Wolverhampton’s experts portal.

  • Dusty Hoesly

    Dusty Hoesly is associate director of the Walter H. Capps Center for the Study of Ethics, Religion and Public Life at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He studies New Religious Movements, secularism and how minority faith groups shape American culture.

  • International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance

    The International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance is a network of like-minded countries fully committed to advancing freedom of religion or belief around the world. Currently 37 countries have joined the alliance, which is led by a four-member steering committee.

  • Jagbir Jhutti-Johal

    Jagbir Jhutti-Johal is professor of religion at the University of Birmingham. Her research focuses on Sikh theology, inter-faith dialogue, gender inequality, Sikh identity in the diasporic community, racialization and mistaken identity and other contested issues that confront the Sikh community nationally and globally.

  • Jamileh Naso

    Jamileh Naso is president of the Canadian Yazidi Foundation, a non-profit organization designed to assist Yazidis in need.

  • Ewelina U. Ochab

    Ewelina U. Ochab is an experienced human rights advocate and legal researcher. She is a co-founder of the Coalition for Genocide Response, a programme lawyer at the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute and a member of the panel of experts for the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.

  • Office of International Religious Freedom

    The Office of International Religious Freedom promotes universal respect for freedom of religion or belief for all as a core objective of U.S. foreign policy. It monitors religiously motivated abuses, harassment and discrimination worldwide, recommending, developing and implementing policies and programs to address these concerns. Contact Isaac Six, senior official in the office, or Mariah Mercer, deputy to the IRF ambassador.

  • Faiza Patel

    Faiza Patel is senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program and an expert on government surveillance, especially its targeting of minority communities; domestic terrorism; and the impact of technology on civil rights and civil liberties.

  • Marie Juul Petersen

    Marie Juul Petersen is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute of Human Rights with expertise in human rights and religion; the right to freedom of religion or belief; development and religion; faith-based organizations; vernacularization of human rights; refugees and religion.

  • Elizabeth H. Prodromou

    Elizabeth Prodromou is a senior scholar in the International Studies Program at Boston College. She is also a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. She served on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom from 2004-2012 and is a co-president of Religions for Peace.

  • James T. Richardson

    James T. Richardson is Emeritus Foundation Professor of Sociology and Judicial Studies at the University of Nevada, Reno. He wrote the essay “Public Policy Toward Minority Religions in the United States: A Model for Europe?” for the book Religion and Public Policy.

  • David Saperstein

    David Saperstein is an American rabbi, lawyer and Jewish community leader who served as U.S. ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom from 2015-2017. He previously served as the director and chief legal counsel at the Union for Reform Judaism‘s Religious Action Center for more than 40 years and as a commissioner at the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. He is one of the founders of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, which seeks to build mutual trust and respect among faith leaders through civic engagement, authentic relationships and honest dialogue leading to resilient, compassionate and flourishing communities.

  • Search for Common Ground

    Search for Common Ground is a Washington D.C. and Brussels-based non-governmental organization that works to end violent conflict and build healthy, safe, and just societies.

    Contact: 202 265 4300.

  • Erin D. Singshinsuk

    Erin Singshinsuk serves as executive director of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. She is responsible for directing the day-to-day operations of the commission and managing its staff.

  • Stefanus Alliance International

    Stefanus Alliance International is a Christian mission and human rights organisation, with a special focus on freedom of religion and belief.

  • Knox Thames

    Knox Thames is an international human rights lawyer, advocate and author with over 20 years of experience working with the U.S. government, holding positions at the State Department and two different U.S. government foreign policy commissions.  

  • Asma Uddin

    Asma Uddin is the author of When Islam Is Not a Religion: Inside America’s Fight for Religious Freedom. She previously served as counsel at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, where she focused on both international and American religious liberty advocacy. Uddin has extensive knowledge of religious freedom law and a track record of defending religious minorities, and she often speaks on on issues of gender and faith.

  • Tatiana Vagramenko

    Tatiana Vagramenko is a social anthropologist who focuses on Christianity and the process of religious change among Indigenous people of the Russian Arctic. Vagramenko’s research interests include religion and resistance to power, religious fundamentalism and secularism, ethnic and religious minorities in Russia and Ukraine as well as state security and surveillance.

  • Ani Zonneveld

    Ani Zonneveld is the founder and president of Muslims for Progressive Values and is a board member for the Alliance of Inclusive Muslims, which works to counter gender, racial and sexual bias in the Muslim community worldwide. She is based in Los Angeles.

Relevant ReligonLink content