Public Funding of Religions in Europe
Public Funding of Religions in Europe

Author: Francis Messner

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-15

Total Pages: 333

ISBN-13: 131707372X

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This collection brings together legal scholars, canonists and political scientists to focus on the issue of public funding in support of religious activities and institutions in Europe. The study begins by revolving around the various mechanisms put in place by the domestic legal systems, as well as those resulting from the European law of human rights and the law of the European Union. It then goes on to look at state support and particular religious groups. The presentation of European and national law is supplemented by theoretical and interdisciplinary contributions, with the main focus being to bring into discussion and map the relationship between the funding of religions and the economy and to infer from it an attempt at a systematic examination or theorization of such funding. This collection is essential reading for those studying Law and Religion, with particular focus on the countries of the UK, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Turkey. The views expressed during the execution of the RELIGARE project, in whatever form and or by whatever medium, are the sole responsibility of the authors. The European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Religion in Public Spaces
Religion in Public Spaces

Author: Silvio Ferrari

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 1317067541

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This timely volume discusses the much debated and controversial subject of the presence of religion in the public sphere. The book is divided in three sections. In the first the public/private distinction is studied mainly from a theoretical point of view, through the contributions of lawyers, philosophers and sociologists. In the following sections their proposals are tested through the analysis of two case studies, religious dress codes and places of worship. These sections include discussions on some of the most controversial recent cases from around Europe with contributions from some of the leading experts in the area of law and religion. Covering a range of very different European countries including Turkey, the UK, Italy and Bulgaria, the book uses comparative case studies to illustrate how practice varies significantly even within Europe. It reveals how familiarization with religious and philosophical diversity in Europe should lead to the modification of legal frameworks historically designed to accommodate majority religions. This in turn should give rise to recognition of new groups and communities and eventually, a more adequate response to the plurality of religions and beliefs in European society.

Religious Schools in Europe
Religious Schools in Europe

Author: Marcel Maussen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-10-02

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1317497872

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The European Convention on Human Rights guarantees freedom of education, including the opportunities to create and operate faith-based schools. However, as European societies become more religiously diverse and ‘less religious’ at the same time, the role of faith-based schools is increasingly being contested. Serious tensions have emerged between those who ardently support religious schools in their various forms, and those who oppose them. Given that faith-based schools enjoy basic constitutional guarantees in Europe, the controversy around them often surrounds issues of public financing, degrees of organisational and pedagogical autonomy, and educational practices and management. This volume is about the controversies surrounding religious schools in a number of Western European countries. The introductory chapter briefly analyses the structural pressures that affect the position of religious schools, outlining the relevant institutional arrangements in countries such as Denmark, Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Scotland. The following chapters provide a detailed analysis of the discussions and controversies surrounding faith-based schools in each country. Finally, the two concluding chapters aim to provide a bigger, comparative picture with regard to these debates about religious education in liberal democratic states and culturally pluralist societies. This book was originally published as a special issue of Comparative Education.

Funding Religious Heritage
Funding Religious Heritage

Author: Anne Fornerod

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-09

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1317131312

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This collection brings together a group of highly respected law and religion scholars to explore the funding of religious heritage in the context of state support for religions. The importance of this state support is that on the one hand it illustrates the potential tensions between secular and religious values, whilst on the other it constitutes a relevant tool for investigating the question of the legitimacy of such financial support. The funding logically varies according to the national system of state-religion relationships and this is reflected in the range of countries studied, including: Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The book provides clarity in the assignment of funds to religious heritage, as well as seeking to define the limit of what relates to the exercise of worship and what belongs to cultural policy. It is clear that the main challenge for the future lies not only in managing the dual purpose of religious monuments, but also in re-using these buildings which have lost their original purpose. This collection will appeal to those interested in cultural heritage management, as well as law and religion scholars. The views expressed during the execution of the RELIGARE project, in whatever form and or by whatever medium, are the sole responsibility of the authors. The European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

Analyses and Perspectives on a Complex Interplay
Analyses and Perspectives on a Complex Interplay

Author: Rupert Strachwitz

Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG

Published: 2019-08-19

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 3110645882

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The seemingly vitalizing impact of religiosity on civil society is a research topic that has been extensively looked into, not only in the USA, but increasingly also in a European context. What is missing is an evaluation of the role of institutionalized religious communities, and of circumstances that facilitate or impede their status as civil society organisations. This anthology in two volumes aims at closing this gap by providing case studies regarding political, legal and historical aspects in various European countries. Vol. I provides an introduction and looks at cases in Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as chapters on legal issues and data, and comprehensive bibliography.

Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe
Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe

Author: Lavinia Stan

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2011-08-29

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 0199714126

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Lavinia Stan and Lucian Turcescu examine the relationship between religion and politics in ten former communist Eastern European countries. Contrary to widespread theories of increasing secularization, Stan and Turcescu argue that in most of these countries, the populations have shown themselves to remain religious even as they embrace modernization and democratization. Church-state relations in the new EU member states can be seen in political representation for church leaders, governmental subsidies, registration of religions by the state, and religious instruction in public schools. Stan and Turcescu outline three major models: the Czech church-state separation model, in which religion is private and the government secular; the pluralist model of Hungary, Bulgaria and Latvia, which views society as a group of complementary but autonomous spheres - for example, education, the family, and religion - each of which is worthy of recognition and support from the state; and the dominant religion model that exists in Poland, Romania, Estonia, and Lithuania, in which the government maintains informal ties to the religious majority. Church, State, and Democracy in Expanding Europe offers critical tools for understanding church-state relations in an increasingly modern and democratic Eastern Europe.

Religion and European Society
Religion and European Society

Author: Ben Schewel

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2019-04-17

Total Pages: 231

ISBN-13: 1119162831

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A contemporary examination of the role of religion in the European public sphere and beyond Although the role of religion has arguably declined in the societies of Western and Northern Europe, religious participation in other parts of the continent and among growing immigrant communities remains an important aspect of daily life. Recent years have seen a resurgence of religion in the public sphere, prompting many researchers to view European secularism as an outlier in this global trend. Religion and European Society: A Primer presents recent academic literature that explores key developments and current debates in the field, covering topics such as changing patterns of belief, religion across the political spectrum, and development and humanitarian aid. Articles written by leading scholars draw from well-established findings to help readers contemplate the role of religion in public life, understand the assumptions and underpinnings of the secular worldview, and develop new ways of thinking about global issues relevant to contemporary global affairs. Each theme is addressed by several articles to provide readers with diverse, sometimes competing perspectives. This volume offers concepts and ideas that can be used in various policy, practitioner, and academic settings—clarifying overarching concepts and trends rather than analyzing specific policy issues that can quickly become outdated. Addresses issues of contemporary importance such as demographic changes in religious observance, increased immigration, the emergence of new religious movements, and changes in more established religions Explores the ethical and philosophical concepts as well as the practical, everyday consequences of European post-secularism Challenges widespread assumptions about the secular nature of the modern public sphere Offers analytical tools as well as practical policy recommendations on a range of issues including media, regulation, gender, conflict and peacebuilding, immigration and humanitarianism. Designed to move research findings from academic journals to the realm of public discourse, Religion and European Society: A Primer is a valuable source of information for practitioners within and outside of Europe of religious studies, politics, and international affairs.

Religion, Rights and Secular Society
Religion, Rights and Secular Society

Author: Peter Cumper

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2012-01-01

Total Pages: 353

ISBN-13: 178195349X

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ÔReligion, Rights and Secular Society by Peter Cumper and Tom Lewis is a both timely and important publication. In a series of highly interesting and well-written essays Ð some of which are case studies covering many different European nations whereas others are more theoretical Ð the book looks at a key paradox in contemporary Europe: the relatively high levels of secularity in most European countries on the one hand, and the marked resurgence of religion in public debates on the other. While never pretending that there are ready answers to the problems of reconciling secular and religious values in Europe, the contributors make it quite clear that Europeans need to return to questions about religion that they had previously regarded as being settled. This is food for thought at a very high level!Õ Ð Helle Porsdam, University of Copenhagen, Denmark This topical collection of chapters examines secular society and the legal protection of religion and belief across Europe, both in general and more nation-specific terms. The expectations of many that religion in modern Europe would be swept away by the powerful current of secularization have not been realised, and today few topics generate more controversy than the complex relationship between religious and secular values. The Ôreligious/secularÕ relationship is examined in this book, which brings together scholars from different parts of Europe and beyond to provide insights into the methods by which religion and equivalent beliefs have been, and continue to be, protected in the legal systems and constitutions of European nations. The contributorsÕ chapters reveal that the oft-tumultuous legacy of EuropeÕs relationship with religion still resonates across a continent where legal, political and social contours have been powerfully shaped by faith and religious difference. Covering recent controversies such as the Islamic headscarf, and the presence of the crucifix in school class-rooms, this book will appeal to academics and students in law, human rights and the social sciences, as well as law and policy makers and NGOs in the field of human rights.

Religion and the Public Order of the European Union
Religion and the Public Order of the European Union

Author: Ronan McCrea

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2010-10-07

Total Pages: 315

ISBN-13: 0191616516

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Ronan McCrea offers the first comprehensive account of the role of religion within the public order of the European Union. He examines the facilitation and protection of individual and institutional religious freedom in EU law and the means through which the Union facilitates religious input and influence over law. Identifying the limitations on religious influence over law and politics that have been required by the Union, it demonstrates how such limitations have been identified as fundamental elements of the public order and prerequisites EU membership. The Union seeks to balance its predominantly Christian religious heritage with an equally strong secular and humanist by facilitating religion as a form of cultural identity while simultaneously limiting its political influence. Such balancing takes place in the context of the Union's limited legitimacy and its commitment to respect for Member State cultural autonomy. Deference towards the cultural role of religion at Member State level enables culturally-entrenched religions to exercise a greater degree of influence within the Union's public order than "outsider" faiths that lack a comparable cultural role. Placing the Union's approach to religion in the context of broader historical and sociological trends around religion in Europe and of contemporary debates around secularism, equal treatment, and the role of Islam in Europe, McCrea sheds light on the interaction between religion and EU law in the face of a shifting religious demographic.

Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe
Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe

Author: Anders Bäckström

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-02-24

Total Pages: 256

ISBN-13: 1134758472

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Historically, European churches have played a large part in the provision of welfare. Responsibility, however, has gradually shifted to the state - a shift that forms an integral part of the process of secularization and one that has been readily accepted by European populations. But what happens when the state itself begins to recede - a process that is occurring in most, if not all, European societies for a wide variety of reasons? The implications for welfare are considerable, not least for the role of the churches which begin to resume the responsibilities previously shed but in new and different ways. This book looks at the connections between religion and welfare in Europe, exploring in detail eight European societies - Finland, Norway, Sweden, England, Germany, France, Italy and Greece. The different theological traditions, different church-state relationships and different welfare regimes are all examined. The analysis is based on first hand empirical research which considers not only the changing situation on the ground, but attitudes towards this within a range of different constituencies - the churches, local government and the general public. Particular attention is paid to the significance of gender in both the process of change and in attitudes towards this. Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 1 represents comparative research at its best and highlights key policy implications for the future. A companion book, Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 2 explores thematically the changing nature of religion and welfare and the new relationships that are emerging between the religious and the secular, and between church and state in the 21st century.