Gwen Alexis | De Paul university in chicago (original) (raw)
Adjunct Professor of Sociology, College of Lake County, Grayslake, Illinois. Attorney at Law (Probate Practice), Mundelein, IL Certified Mediator (Probate Matters)
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Papers by Gwen Alexis
A European 14 th Amendment: 1 ABSTRACT In this paper, I use comparative historical analysis to dr... more A European 14 th Amendment: 1 ABSTRACT In this paper, I use comparative historical analysis to draw upon the American experience with federalism to inform a critical evaluation of the work of the European Court of Human Rights (" the Court ") as the body charged with (a) interpreting the Convention and (b) monitoring compliance of COE member states with the Convention's edicts. The central argument advanced is that the Court has failed to give the Convention the preemptory presumption necessary to override the prejudicial laws and administrative enactments of COE states – localized legal barriers that, in violation of Article 9 of the Convention, work to diminish the quality of religious liberty enjoyed by citizens of certain COE states. In analyzing legislation found in these COE member states, I utilize the Tripartite Theoretical Model (TTM) which classifies legislation on the basis of its impact on religious liberty and the personal autonomy of the individual.
Religious institutions charged with eking out space in the existing religious landscape of the ne... more Religious institutions charged with eking out space in the existing religious landscape of the newly adopted homelands of their diasporic flocks face daunting challenges. While striving to preserve a mainly religious purpose, these institutions must simultaneously cultivate their role as secular advocates for the legitimacy of their transplanted religions in immigrant host lands that are unfamiliar with (or, worse, hostile to) their particular brand of the sacred. To what extent does navigating the legal and social processes that are endemic to the secular environment of democratically governed lands serve to drain the resources of religious institutions and thereby diminish the energy and effort that these organizations can devote to their religious mission? This paper will draw on Luhmann’s theory of System Differentiation to explore the social phenomenon of ‘The Bifurcated Temple.’
Key Words: Church and State, Modernity and Secularism, Law and Society, Immigrant Religion,
Democracy and Democratization, Religious Accommodation, Construction of Religion
A European 14 th Amendment: 1 ABSTRACT In this paper, I use comparative historical analysis to dr... more A European 14 th Amendment: 1 ABSTRACT In this paper, I use comparative historical analysis to draw upon the American experience with federalism to inform a critical evaluation of the work of the European Court of Human Rights (" the Court ") as the body charged with (a) interpreting the Convention and (b) monitoring compliance of COE member states with the Convention's edicts. The central argument advanced is that the Court has failed to give the Convention the preemptory presumption necessary to override the prejudicial laws and administrative enactments of COE states – localized legal barriers that, in violation of Article 9 of the Convention, work to diminish the quality of religious liberty enjoyed by citizens of certain COE states. In analyzing legislation found in these COE member states, I utilize the Tripartite Theoretical Model (TTM) which classifies legislation on the basis of its impact on religious liberty and the personal autonomy of the individual.
Religious institutions charged with eking out space in the existing religious landscape of the ne... more Religious institutions charged with eking out space in the existing religious landscape of the newly adopted homelands of their diasporic flocks face daunting challenges. While striving to preserve a mainly religious purpose, these institutions must simultaneously cultivate their role as secular advocates for the legitimacy of their transplanted religions in immigrant host lands that are unfamiliar with (or, worse, hostile to) their particular brand of the sacred. To what extent does navigating the legal and social processes that are endemic to the secular environment of democratically governed lands serve to drain the resources of religious institutions and thereby diminish the energy and effort that these organizations can devote to their religious mission? This paper will draw on Luhmann’s theory of System Differentiation to explore the social phenomenon of ‘The Bifurcated Temple.’
Key Words: Church and State, Modernity and Secularism, Law and Society, Immigrant Religion,
Democracy and Democratization, Religious Accommodation, Construction of Religion