FAITH vs. RATIONALITY: THE ECCLESIASTICAL APPROACH OF THE SUPREME COURT

Abstract

In the past few years, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has tested various religious practices on the anvil of Article 14 and the principles of rationality embedded therein. In the course of time, the Supreme Court of India has assumed the power that was once exercised by the Authorities of the Church to determine the righteousness of a religious practice. The development of conflicting interpretations of faith has rendered faith submissive to the subjective views of the learned Judges. Right from determining the essentiality of a religious practice by looking into the tenets of the religion to undertaking a holistic approach guarded by the spirit of Constitution, our beliefs and faiths have assimilated to the kinks put forth by the Apex Court of India. Less than one year after associating the notions of privacy with religious practices, the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India has gone on to determine the validity of the exclusion of women aged between ten to fifty years from entering the Shrine of Lord Ayyapan at Sabarimala. A deep analysis of the Sabarimala judgement reveals a good deal of lacunae that ought to be addressed. Looking beyond the Sabarimala judgement, faith remains a toy of speculation and protection of faith under Article 25 is a question that receives endless conflicting discussions.