Article 41 Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion
It protects religious minorities and majority alike, and the right of communities to run their own institutions. Schools must respect a student's religion.
A citizen worships at a temple, another at a mosque, another at a church. Article 41(1)(a) protects every citizen's right to profess, practise or propagate any religion, subject to law, public order and morality. Each faith community enjoys the same constitutional protection.
A religious community sets up a trust to build and manage a place of worship and a seminary. Article 41(1)(b) protects the right of every community or denomination to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
At a school, a student from a minority faith is told to attend another religion's ceremony. Article 41(2) means no student can be required to receive instruction or attend worship of a religion other than their own.
In plain English
How Article 41 works
Article 41 protects freedom of religion. Subject to law, public order and morality, every citizen has the right to profess, practise or propagate any religion. Every religious community or denomination has the right to set up, maintain and manage its own religious institutions, such as mosques, temples, churches, pagodas and seminaries. The article also protects students: no one attending an educational institution can be made to receive religious instruction, or to attend a religious ceremony or worship, of a religion other than their own. Article 2A makes Islam the state religion, but it also requires the State to ensure equal status and equal rights in practising Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and other religions.
In practice
Article 41 is read with Article 2A, which makes Islam the state religion while requiring equal status and rights for other religions, and with the non-discrimination guarantee in Article 28. The qualifier "subject to law, public order and morality" allows regulation, for example of processions or loudspeakers. Communal attacks on places of worship and minority communities have been a recurring concern, and the State's duty is to protect worship through the ordinary criminal law. Religious communities manage their institutions through trusts and endowment laws. Courts rarely decide cases on Article 41 alone; it usually appears alongside equality and protection of law arguments.
The text
What Article 41 says
41. (1) Subject to law, public order and morality – (a) every citizen has the right to profess, practise or propagate any religion; (b) every religious community or denomination has the right to establish, maintain and manage its religious institutions.
(2) No person attending any educational institution shall be required to receive religious instruction, or to take part in or to attend any religious ceremony or worship, if that instruction, ceremony or worship relates to a religion other than his own.
English text as published on the official Laws of Bangladesh website. Where a court has changed the position, the status note above explains it.
Connected provisions
Related articles
Questions
Article 41: frequently asked questions
What is Article 41 of the Constitution of Bangladesh?
Article 41 guarantees, subject to law, public order and morality, every citizen's right to profess, practise or propagate any religion, and every religious community's right to establish and manage its religious institutions. It also protects students from compulsory instruction in another religion.
Is Bangladesh a secular country?
The Constitution names secularism as a fundamental principle in Article 8 and Article 12, and Article 2A makes Islam the state religion while guaranteeing equal status and equal rights to other religions. Article 41 protects religious freedom for all citizens.
Sources
This guide explains the Constitution for general understanding. It is not legal advice. Constitutional reform proposals under discussion in 2026 are described as proposals until enacted.
Constitutional and writ practice
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