Freedom of Religion and the Accommodation of Religious Diversity: Multiculturalising Secularism (original) (raw)

A Post-Secular Approach to Managing Diversity in Liberal Democracies: Exploring the Interplay of Human Rights, Religious Identity, and Inclusive Governance in Western Societies

Religions

This article delves into the pressing challenges confronting liberal democracies in Western Europe as they grapple with managing religious diversity, with a specific focus on Muslim minorities. Historically, the secularization paradigm has been at the forefront of managing such diversity; however, its intrinsic limitations become increasingly evident in the context of super-diversity, underscoring the need for a paradigmatic shift toward post-secularization. Central to this discourse are the nuanced concepts of “culturalization of religion” and “religionization of culture”, which illuminate the disparities in treatment between majority and minority religious groups. The article identifies three endogenous limitations intrinsic to liberal democracies: the contested nature of state neutrality vis-à-vis religion and belief, the implementation of this principle through non-neutral judicial tools, and the historically and culturally laden context within which the principle of neutrality ...

Governance of religious diversity in Western Europe

Governance of religious diversity in Western Europe, 2019

"Governance of religious diversity" appears to be the latest term to address the relationship between the state and (immigrant) religious groups in Western Europe. Conventional/established arrangements and frameworks of state-church relations (i.e. secularism) need to be revisited to include new religions and religious groups to the equation. It is suggested that contemporary multicultural societies require a broader perspective and a sophisticated framework than established under-standings of secularism, and receiving states' governmental policies. Today, the main concern of Western European states is not the relationship between the state and church, but how to deal with Islam and accommodate distinctive religious practices in public spaces. This review article examines the current debates on governance of religious diversity through elaborating on the six books reviewed.

The Problem of Religious Diversity

The Problem of Religious Diversity, 2017

Religion and religious diversity are one of the toughest diversity challenges that European societies face today. Old paradigms of republicanism or multiculturalism seem to be in crisis but a new “third way” between laicité and state religion is not yet visible. This book questions whether the best way to deal with religious diversity is to equalise upwards or downwards, what are the obstacles to a more egalitarian religious pluralism, and what we can learn from policies and practices in the Middle East and Asia where religious plurality and the integration of religion in the public space is the norm rather than the exception. The first part of the book discusses the type and degree of secularism that is fit for addressing the challenges of religious diversity that contemporary western societies face at a theoretical or normative level, while its second part engages with the experiences of countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania in their governance and accommodation o...

Multiculturalism and Moderate Secularism

What is sometimes talked about as the ‘post-secular’ or a ‘crisis of secularism’ is, in Western Europe, quite crucially to do with the reality of multiculturalism. By which I mean not just the fact of new ethno-religious diversity but the presence of a multiculturalist approach to this diversity, namely: the idea that equality must be extended from uniformity of treatment to include respect for difference; recognition of public/private interdependence rather than dichotomized as in classical liberalism; the public recognition and institutional accommodation of minorities; the reversal of marginalisation and a remaking of national citizenship so that all can have a sense of belonging to it. I think that equality requires that this ethno-cultural multiculturalism should be extended to include state-religion connexions in Western Europe, which I characterise as ‘moderate secularism’, based on the idea that political authority should not be subordinated to religious authority yet religion can be a public good which the state should assist in realising or utilising. I discuss here three multiculturalist approaches that contend this multiculturalising of moderate secularism is not the way forward. One excludes religious groups and secularism from the scope of multiculturalism (Kymlicka); another largely limits itself to opposing the ‘othering’ of groups such as Jews and Muslims (Jansen); and the third argues that moderate secularism is the problem not the solution (Bhargava).

Multiculturalizing Secularism in P Zuckerman and J Shook (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Secularism (Oxford University Press 2017)

What is sometimes talked about as the ‘post-secular’ or a ‘crisis of secularism’ is, in Western Europe, quite crucially to do with the reality of multiculturalism. By which is meant not just the fact of new ethno-religious diversity but the presence of a multiculturalist approach to this diversity, namely: the idea that equality must be extended from uniformity of treatment to include respect for difference; recognition of public/private interdependence rather than dichotomized as in classical liberalism; the public recognition and institutional accommodation of minorities; the reversal of marginalisation and a remaking of national citizenship so that all can have a sense of belonging to it. It is argued equality requires that this ethno-cultural multiculturalism should be extended to include state-religion connexions in Western Europe, which I characterise as ‘moderate secularism’, based on the idea that political authority should not be subordinated to religious authority yet religion can be a public good which the state should assist in realising or utilising. Discussed here are three multiculturalist approaches that contend this multiculturalising of moderate secularism is not the way forward. One excludes religious groups and secularism from the scope of multiculturalism (Kymlicka); another largely limits itself to opposing the ‘othering’ of groups such as Jews and Muslims (Jansen); and the third argues that moderate secularism is the problem not the solution (Bhargava).

Is Multiculturalism a Satisfactory Framework to Address Religious Diversity

Minority Recognition and the Diversity Deficit Comparative Perspectives , 2022

The cornerstone of a multicultural society is the legal recognition of multiple identities on an equal footing, regardless of how we name the policy model to deal with cultural and religious diversity. International human rights law provides the tools. Our task of interpreting and understanding the implementation of the rights related to the recognition of diversities would entail a better knowledge of the conceptual framework of self-identities and power relations among groups and individuals. The aim is to avoid the flattening of identities, inequalities, and discrimination and foster inclusive multicultural citizenship. Thus, the chapter explores the most appropriate governance framework for religious diversity. It relies on the primary presumption that respect for religious diversity is a demand deriving from the notions of identity and human dignity. The first part purportedly sketches the grounds for the protection of religious diversity. The second scrutinises the debates around multiculturalism and interculturalism and suggests the advantages of the postmulticulturalist paradigm to address religious diversity. The final part advances the main characteristics of an inclusive human rights model for religious diversity and advocates for the term everyday religious superdiversity.

State Recognition and Religious Minority Agency in a European Context

J. Eichler and K. Topidi (eds.) Minority Recognition and the Diversity Deficit, HART Publishers, 115-134 (forthcoming), 2022

This contribution will discuss, mainly from the perspective of the state, the implications of religious minority faiths reimagining their agency and of their working openly within civil society in European multicultural contexts. It will focus on how and why the developments outlined above inevitably shift the role of the state from ‘neutral’ moderator of the public space to partner in the effort to ‘accentuate the positive’. It will also place emphasis on how the recognition of minority faiths and religious actors is connected to the new parameters within the role of the state in religious diversity management. The discussion of the evolution of the role of the state in the management of religious diversity from a European perspective will unfold as follows: first, a theoretical connection between religious minorities and state recognition will be sketched, in order in a second stage to develop the link between religious minority agency (covering actors per se as well as related minority institutions) and state recognition. As a third step, the contribution will focus on the evolution of the role of state to respond to the changing sociolegal conditions of minority claims-making. The example of religious minority education within state-supported schools will be used as an illustration of the challenges connected to state recognition of religious minority groups. The concluding part of the discussion will attempt to demonstrate how the interaction between religious minority agency with recognition can function as a precondition towards inclusive law- and policy-making in religiously plural societies.

The Presence and Governance of Religious Pluralism in the European Union

Insight Turkey 16(3), 2014

In recent years, religious pluralism has become the focus of intense debate in Europe -from controversies regarding religious clothing and symbols in the public sphere, to those related to limits on religious speech and the accommodation of religious practices -owing to the perception that pluralism has failed to contend with the purported incommensurability of Islam and European society. This article examines this purported crisis of religious pluralism in Europe and argues that while it is often depicted as resulting from the particularities of Islamic culture and theology, recent controversies point to a deeper crisis born of a historical failure to resolve the question of the governance of religious subjects.

Routledge Handbook on the Governance of Religious Diversity

Routledge, 2021

This book critically reviews state-religion models and the ways in which different countries manage religious diversity, illuminating different responses to the challenges encountered in accommodating both majorities and minorities. The country cases encompass eight world regions and 23 countries, offering a wealth of research material suitable to support comparative research. Each case is analysed in depth looking at historical trends, current practices, policies, legal norms and institutions. By looking into state-religion relations and governance of religious diversity in regions beyond Europe, we gain insights into predominantly Muslim countries (Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia), countries with pronounced historical religious diversity (India and Lebanon) and into a predominantly migrant pluralist nation (Australia). These insights can provide a basis for re-thinking European models and learning from experiences of governing religious diversity in other socio-economic and geopolitical contexts. Key analytical and comparative reflections inform the introduction and concluding chapters. This volume offers a research and study companion to better understand the connection between state-religion relations and the governance of religious diversity in order to inform both policy and research efforts in accommodating religious diversity. Given its accessible language and further readings provided in each chapter, the volume is ideally suited for undergraduate and graduate students. It will also be a valuable resource for researchers working in the wider field of ethnic, migration, religion and citizenship studies.