Law and Religion in a Secular World: A European Perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvio Ferrari
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Recent Trend ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The Public ◽  
Secular World ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Role Of Religion

This article examines two interpretations of the process of secularisation that can be traced back through European legal and political thought, and a more recent trend that challenges both of them. It does this through the prism of the public sphere, because in today's Europe one of the most debated issues is the place and role of religion in this sphere, understood as the space where decisions concerning questions of general interest are discussed. The article concludes, first, that the paradigm through which relations between the secular and the religious have been interpreted is shifting and, second, that this change is going to have an impact on the notion of religious freedom and, consequently, on the recognised position of religions in the public sphere.1

scholarly journals Inclusion in Education and in Public Debates on Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 303-323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianna Papastephanou
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Educational Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
General Interest ◽  
The Public ◽  
Teacher Organizations ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The Public Sphere

Inclusion is nowadays a most cherished notion in educational discourses and policies around the globe. Discourses of inclusion appear as the most humane, politically sensitive and praiseworthy heights that political thought and educational practice can reach. At the same time, a kind of inclusion in the public sphere is enacted whenever people freely join debates on matters of general interest, educational or other. For, participation in debates on education and on teacher education is not limited to educational researchers, teacher organizations and all those involved in educational theory and practice. The present article begins with the operations of inclusion in educational theory and discusses some complicities and risks lurking in the unqualified valorization of inclusion that is noticeable in educational discourses and in public debates on education and teachers’ performance. Such valorization operates inter alia at the expense of thoughtful withdrawal and pertinent self-exclusion. In societal debates on education, inclusion as unconditional prerogative of a narcissist I (eye) or as social interpellation to participate legitimizes just everybody’s having investigative relevance to issues of education. The article ends with some suggestions concerning the positioning of inclusion within a broader set of concepts required for a desirable redirection of educational discourses and policies.

Religion in Latin America’s Public Sphere

2021 ◽  
pp. 152-172
Author(s):  
Gustavo S.J. Morello
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Human Dignity ◽  
Religion And Politics ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Privileged Position ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Role Of Religion

This chapter investigates the role of religion in Latin America’s public sphere. For respondents, religion and politics share the space where power is traded. The privileged position is to challenge the economic order and to generate peaceful relations among the peoples and defend human dignity. Respondents dislike the use of that power to pursue a partisan agenda and to have a privileged voice over other persons. At odds with the laïcité project, respondents welcome religion in the public sphere when it challenges modernity to include the poor, and advocates for human dignity. Religion is cheered as a countercultural force. However, this acceptance of religion’s presence in the public sphere does not mean a resacralization of it. Respondents prefer to keep the differentiation of social functions.

Moral Universalism at a Time of Political Regression: A Conversation with Jürgen Habermas about the Present and His Life’s Work

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 11-36
Author(s):  
Claudia Czingon ◽  
Aletta Diefenbach ◽  
Victor Kempf
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Communicative Rationality ◽  
Jürgen Habermas ◽  
The Public ◽  
Jurgen Habermas ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Impact

In the present interview, Jürgen Habermas answers questions about his wide-ranging work in philosophy and social theory, as well as concerning current social and political developments to whose understanding he has made important theoretical contributions. Among the aspects of his work addressed are his conception of communicative rationality as a countervailing force to the colonization of the lifeworld by capitalism and his understanding of philosophy after Hegel as postmetaphysical thinking, for which he has recently provided a comprehensive historical grounding. The scope and relevance of his ideas can be seen from his reflections on current issues, ranging from the prospects of translational democracy at a time of resurgent nationalism and populism, to political developments in Germany since reunification, to the role of religion in the public sphere and the impact of the new social media on democratic discourse.

scholarly journals Sanomalehdet uskonnollisen muutoksen edelläkävijöinä

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kati Niemelä
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Role Of Religion

Artikkelissa tarkastellaan uskonnon näkyvyyttä ja sen muutosta pohjoismaisissa sanomalehdissä 1988, 1998 ja 2008. Analyysi pohjautuu 14 eri pohjoismaisessa sanomalehdessä julkaistuun, noin 5000 sanomalehtiartikkeliin, joita on tarkasteltu kvantitatiivisen sisällönerittelyn keinoin. Artikkeli linkittyy pohjoismaiseen tutkimushankkeeseen ”The role of religion in the public sphere” (Norel). Tulokset osoittavat viiden Pohjoismaan välillä niin huomattavia eroja kuin yhtäläisyyksiä. Luterilaista kirkkoa koskevat artikkelit ovat vähentyneet lähes kaikissa maissa, erityisen voimakkaasti Ruotsissa. Tutkimuksen perusteella Islanti ja Suomi ovat kuitenkin traditionaalisempia, ja luterilaisen kirkon näkyvyys lehdistössä on niissä suurempi kuin muissa Pohjoismaissa. Tanskassa, Ruotsissa ja Norjassa lehtien kuva uskonnosta on kirjavampi, ja erityisesti Tanskassa ja Ruotsissa luterilainen kirkko saa vain vähän palstatilaa lehdissä. Kokonaisuudessaan tutkimuksen tulokset antavat tukea uskonnollisen monimuotoisuuden vahvistuneelle asemalle ja näkyvyydelle sekä perinteisen uskonnollisuuden ja luterilaisen kirkon aseman heikentymiselle. Sanomalehdissä tämä muutos näkyy vielä korostetummin kuin esimerkiksi uskonnollisten yhteisöjen jäsentilastoissa.

scholarly journals Post-Sekularisme, Demokrasi, dan Peran Publik Agama

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Petrus Tan
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Reason ◽  
Faith And Reason ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Role ◽  
Religious Doctrine ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship

<p><em>This article tries to elaborate the relationship between post-secularism, democracy and the public role of religion. The facts of religion’s global revival show the failure of secularization thesis about the disappearance of religion from the public sphere. In political philosophy and social sciences, this phenomenon is called post-secularism. In this article, post-secularism is understood as a phenomenon of religion’s revival in the public sphere or the legitimacy for public role of religion. This understanding is especially necessary  to encourage religion in addressing political, social and humanitarian issues. However, this understanding does not ignore the fact that religion often becomes a scandal and terror for democracy. Therefore, in this article, post-secularism also needs another understanding, namely as "awareness of a reciprocal learning process" between religion and secularity, religious and secular citizens, faith and reason, religious doctrine and public reason. The last model of post-secularism is urgently needed in Indonesia.</em><strong><em></em></strong></p><p><strong><em>Key words</em></strong><em>: Post-secularism, secularization, religion, democracy.</em></p>

Conversion to Conversation: The Search for a Christian Imperative in the Public Sphere and the Discourse on Artificial Contraceptives in the Philippines

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 262-287
Author(s):  
Liza Gabriela F. Lansang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
The Philippines ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Religious Reasons ◽  
Pro Life

Abstract This article looks at the politicization and framing of the issue of reproductive health (RH) in the Philippines and the advocacy work of faith-based organizations (FBOs) to influence public discourse and policy on artificial contraceptives. It studies the advocacy work of two FBOs, namely, Pro-Life Philippines and Couples for Christ, both of which participated in the oral arguments to amend the RH Law of 2012 based on their contentions that some artificial contraceptives were in fact abortifacients and that religious freedom can limit universal access to contraceptives. It addresses the role of religious reasons and ethics of citizenship of Christians in the public sphere of a liberal democracy. The author argues that the debate on artificial contraceptives, which deals with the question, “When does life begin?”, cannot be answered without a certain comprehensive belief. The participation of Pro-Life Philippines and Couples for Christ in the oral arguments contributed in the search for answers and protected diversity in Philippine democracy. These FBOs, however, have the moral obligation to respect other positions, while at the same time advocating amendments to the RH Law based on their beliefs. This is what the author calls the Christian Imperative. This civic virtue can be achieved through reflexive thinking and was seen in the kind of arguments Pro-Life Philippines and Couples for Christ brought to the debate, in other words, aiming for a theo-ethical equilibrium, i.e., having both religious reasons and secular ethical considerations for their support or repeal of public policy. To the extent that Pro-Life Philippines and Couples for Christ presented not only theological reasons, such as the inviolability of life, but also ethical reasons, such as some artificial contraceptives being abortifacients and religious freedom to limit universal access to contraceptives, the author posits that the beginnings of reflexive thinking can be seen on the side of these FBOs. The author also argues, however, that secular citizens must also learn to practice reflexive thinking to view religious arguments as legitimate in order for fruitful conversation to take place.

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