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THE CONSTITUTION, MADE UNDERSTANDABLE

Article 26
Freedom to manage religious affairs

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26 Parts12 Schedules506 indexed article entries, including historical omissions
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Source edition: as on 1 May 2026. Omitted and struck-down reference entries remain labelled. Open the authoritative PDF ↗

Article 26 / Part III

Freedom to manage religious affairs

included in edition
THE PLAIN-LANGUAGE GUIDE

What does this mean?

Religious denominations or their sections can establish institutions, manage religious affairs, hold property and administer it under law. Public order, morality and health qualify these protections.

Enforceable constitutional rights, their limits, protective exceptions and the courts' remedies.

PURPOSE & CONTEXT

Why is this provision here?

Religious communities need institutional as well as individual protections, with the stated public-order, morality and health limits.

Historical evidence

This Article number belongs to the original constitutional framework, but its present wording may include later amendments or substitutions. A provision-specific original Assembly debate has not been verified here. The explanation of function above is editorial inference from the text, not an attributed single motive of the framers. The original draft-making archive is a research resource, not proof of a particular historical reason.

The explanation of purpose is an editorial reading of the provision. A drafting motive is attributed only where a linked historical source supports it.

Limits, exceptions & reading carefully

Educational summary of the linked source text. Exceptions, provisos, implementing laws and applicable judgments must be read before applying it to a real case.

Read the official constitutional text
26. Freedom to manage religious affairs.—Subject to public order, morality and health, every religious denomination or any section thereof shall have the right— (a) to establish and maintain institutions for religious and charitable purposes; (b) to manage its own affairs in matters of religion; (c) to own and acquire movable and immovable property; and (d) to administer such property in accordance with law.

Extracted from the Legislative Department’s May 2026 edition. Page footnotes may refer to neighbouring provisions; check their markers in the PDF. Inclusion in this edition does not by itself establish commencement or judicial effect.