Separation of Religion and State in Stable Christian Democracies: Fact or Myth?

2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Political Concern ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of Religion

This study compares separation of religion and state (SRAS) as it is conceived in theory with its realization in practice in 40 stable Christian democracies between 1990 and 2008 based on data from the Religion and State Round 2 dataset. There is no agreement in the literature on how SRAS ought to be conceived. Many scholars argue that SRAS is a necessary condition for liberal democracies. The present study examines four models of SRAS found in the literature, and a non-SRAS model that addresses the appropriate role of religion in democracies: secularism-laicism, absolute SRAS, neutral political concern, exclusion of ideals, and acceptable support for religion. The study analyzes three factors: (a) whether the state supports one or some religions more than others; (b) the extent of religious legislation; and (c) restrictions on the religious practices and institutions of religious minorities. The analysis shows that depending on the definition of SRAS used, between zero and eight of the 40 countries practice SRAS. Based on this finding, I conclude that either SRAS is not a necessary condition for liberal democracy or many states commonly considered to be liberal democracies are not.

scholarly journals What is religious freedom and who has it?

2021 ◽  
pp. 003776862110123
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Central Element ◽  
Economic Prosperity ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Religion And State

Religious freedom (RF) is important because it is posited to be a central element of liberal democracy and as having multiple additional benefits including increased security and economic prosperity. Yet, it is also a disputed concept and many liberal democracies restrict the freedoms of religious minorities. This study uses the Religion and State (RAS) dataset to examine the extent of RF in 183 countries based on six definitions of RF. The author examines whether religious minorities are restricted in a manner that the majority is not, regulation of the majority religion, and imposition of precepts of the majority religion on a country’s population. He finds that very few countries, including liberal democracies, meet any standard for RF, even when one allows for ‘loose’ standards where some violations of RF are allowed.

scholarly journals The Role of Religion in Turkish-Uzbek Relations

2020 ◽  
Vol 03 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Sh. Sharipov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
The State ◽  
Islamic Finance ◽  
Religious Activity ◽  
Religious Control ◽  
Religion And State ◽  
State Relations ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Ruling Party

This article analyzes the role and place of religion in Uzbek-Turkish relations. In both countries, the Sunni sect of Islam is predominant. In Uzbekistan, religion is separated from the state, and religious activity is fully controlled by the state. The ruling party in Turkey makes extensive use of Islamic elements in governing. Mirziyoyev's rise to power in Uzbekistan marked the beginning of religious cooperation. In Uzbekistan, where religious control has been strong for many years, various forms of religious education, such as Islamic finance and foundation work, have been inactive. Today, after Saudi Arabia and Iran, Turkey claims to be a leader in the Islamic world. The extent to which Turkey's experience in religion and state relations is relevant to Uzbekistan is important.

scholarly journals Religion, civil society and conflict: What is it that religion does for and to society?

2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco Beyers
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Sociology Of Religion ◽  
Multiple Realities ◽  
Moral Discernment ◽  
Sense Of Reality ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Insight Into

Human consciousness instinctively tries to make sense of reality. Different human interpretations of reality lead to a world consisting of multiple realities. Conflict occurs when differing realities (worldviews) encounter one another. Worldviews are socially created and determine human behaviour and, as such, most often find expression in religion. The discussion of conflict and the role of religion in civil society take place within the discourse of the sociology of religion. Religion is socially determined. Peter Berger’s insight into the sociology of religion therefore plays an important role in establishing the relationship between religion and civil society as one that takes on different forms. Thus, a clear definition of both civil society and religion was needed to understand the nature of these relationships. The role of religion in civil society with regard to the presence of conflict in society was further investigated in this article. The conditions under which conflict in society occurs were discussed, as were the conditions for tolerance in society, for religion ultimately becomes the provider of moral discernment when conflict occurs in civil society.

Logics of Gender Justice and Their Meaning for the Study of Sexuality and Gender Identity: A Dialogue

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 519-526
Author(s):  
Phillip M Ayoub
Keyword(s):  
Gender Identity ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Gender Justice ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Sexuality And Gender ◽  
Theoretical Assumptions ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Role Of Religion

Abstract This piece dialogues with Htun and Weldon's exceptional new book, The Logics of Gender Justice, as it relates to LGBTI rights. Beyond engaging the authors' questions of when and why governments promote women's rights, I also engage their argument that equality is not one issue but many linked issues, including issues of sexuality and gender identity. My own reflections on their work thus address the contributions the book makes to the study of political science, as well as open questions about how their logic of gender justice might apply across other issue areas less explored in the book. Htun and Weldon's own definition of gender justice also rightly includes space for LGBTQI people, which I see as an invitation to think through the typology in relation to these communities. The piece begins by reflecting on the book's theoretical and methodical innovations around the complexities of gender politics, before moving on to the multi-faceted role of religion in gender justice, and then theoretical assumptions around visibility of the marginalized.

Religion and unemployment benefits

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katayoun Alidadi
Keyword(s):  
Great Britain ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Employment Law ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Reasonable Accommodation ◽  
Unemployment Benefits ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Religious Dress ◽  
Role Of Religion

When employees are dismissed or resign because of a conflict between their religion and job duties or expectations, how does this affect their claims to unemployment benefits? How do European countries address this question? The answer has significant consequences for many jobseekers and employees belonging to religious minorities and in many ways excluded from the mainstream labour market, yet the role of religion in the adjudication of European unemployment disputes has so far received limited attention. This article focuses on the role of religious dress in unemployment benefits disputes in Belgium, the Netherlands and Great Britain. It also assesses whether the messaging in relevant case law in the area of unemployment benefits has been sufficiently interlocking with employment law. Finding a level of disconnect, it is argued that an explicit duty of reasonable accommodation in employment would appropriately address the interplay between unemployment benefits and employment law in Europe.

Political Secularism and Democracy in Theory and Practice

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Fox
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
State Support ◽  
Liberal Democracies ◽  
Checks And Balances ◽  
Minority Religions ◽  
Practical Politics ◽  
Integrate State

An overwhelming majority of democracies, no matter how the concept of democracy is defined, restrict the religious practices and institutions of minority religions, substantially support religion, and give de jure and de facto preferences to a single religion or a few religions. Since so few democracies meet any standard of political secularism, political secularism is either not essential to liberal democracy or these countries’ status as liberal democracies must be questionable. Political secularism as an ideology is not as influential in the practical politics of democratic states as many believe. An important question is whether political secularism is the best model for democracy or whether the best models are those that integrate state support for religion with checks and balances that protect religious freedom.

RELIGION IN THE AXIOLOGICAL STRUCTURE OF KAZAKHSTANI YOUTH

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 180-196
Author(s):  
Aigerim Zhampetova
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Religious Practices ◽  
Traditional Values ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Younger Generation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Public Worship

Together with independence, the Republic of Kazakhstan reacquired its lost traditional values; religion, controlled and suppressed by the Soviet atheist ideology, being one of the most important elements along with the growing number of religious communities and associations, as well as places of public worship. Today, religiosity is on the rise, especially among the younger generation: everyday religious practices are observed by individuals or groups of people at workplaces and homes and in the course of communication. The author has analyzed the role of religion in axiological orientation and the level of religious feelings of the young people aged 18-22 on the basis of sociological poll results.

Minority Rights and the Constitutional Dilemmas of Pakistan

2001 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 417-443
Author(s):  
Javaid Rehman
Keyword(s):  
Political History ◽  
Minority Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Role Of Religion

Rights of religious minorities and the role of religion within the constitutional framework represent two key issues which have dominated Pakistan's fifty-four years of political history. This article analyses Pakistan's constitutional approaches towards its religious minorities. This analysis reveals that the State has been unable to establish a coherent constitutional framework in which to protect its religious minorities. Furthermore, as a consequence of politicisation of religion over the past three decades, Pakistan's religious minorities are increasingly being victimised and persecuted. The article identifies a number of laws and practices through which discrimination has been perpetuated and highlights the existing unfortunate situation of religious minorities within Pakistan.

Religious Minority as a Source of National and State Identity: The Case of Slovakia

2021 ◽  
pp. 000842982110133
Author(s):  
Miroslav Tížik
Keyword(s):  
Religious Minority ◽  
State Identity ◽  
Religious Minorities ◽  
Slovak Population ◽  
National Movement ◽  
National Tradition ◽  
Catholic Religion ◽  
National Movements ◽  
Role Of Religion

In Central Europe, the role of religion in the creation of modern states has had many guises. In some predominantly Catholic countries, religious minorities have been an important source for national movements that sought emancipation from dominant political rule, which was often connected with the dominant (Catholic) religion. The article is focused on the case of Slovakia, where Lutherans, in spite of making up only a small proportion of the Slovak population, have been one of the two fundamental sources of the national movement for the last two centuries. It shows how the contemporary character of the state, society, and national identity and its relation to religion is influenced by the bi-confessionalism (dualism) of the Slovak national movement that was initiated by Slovak Lutherans in the eighteenth century. Although the Lutheran religious minority has been disappearing since 1990, the article shows how its heritage is still present in the character of contemporary institutions of national tradition and identity.

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