Religious Symbols and the Intervention of the Law

Religious Symbols and the Intervention of the Law

Author: Sylvie Bacquet

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-06-11

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1317357310

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In contemporary pluralist states, where faith communities live together, different religious symbols and practices have to coexist. This may lead to conflicts between certain minority practices and the dominant majority, particularly around the manifestation of belief in the public domain which may be seen both by the religious and secular majorities as a threat to their cultural heritage or against the secular values of the host country. The law has to mitigate those tensions in order to protect the public from harm and preserve order but in doing so, it may where necessary have to limit citizens’ ability to freely manifest their religion. It is those limitations that have been disputed in the courts on grounds of freedom of religion and belief. Religious symbols are often at the heart of legal battles, with courts called upon to consider the lawfulness of banning or restricting certain symbols or practices. This book analyses the relationship between the state, individuals and religious symbols, considering the three main forms of religious expression, symbols that believers wear on their body, symbols in the public space such as religious edifices and rituals that believers perform as a manifestation of their faith. The book looks comparatively at legal responses in England, the U.S.A and France comparing different approaches to the issues of symbols in the public sphere and their interaction with the law. The book considers religious manifestation as a social phenomenon taking a multidisciplinary approach to the question mixing elements of the anthropology, history and sociology of religion in order to provide some context and examine how this could help inform the law.


Manual on the Wearing of Religious Symbols in Public Areas

Manual on the Wearing of Religious Symbols in Public Areas

Author: Malcolm David Evans

Publisher: Council of Europe

Published: 2009-01-01

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 9789287166166

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This manual explores how the European Convention on Human Rights relates to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. It identifies the key concepts which can be found in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and examines the role and responsibilities of both state and citizen. The central issue addressed is the wearing of religious symbols in public areas. For this purpose, the author first looks at a number of fundamental topics, including the rs"visibility' of religions and beliefs in the public sphere, and the notion of rs"wearing religious symbols'. The essential questions policy makers need to ask when addressing issues concerning the wearing of religious symbols are then listed. Finally, the manual seeks to apply these principles and approaches to a number of key areas such as state employment, schools and universities, the private sector and the criminal justice system.


Religion in Public Spaces

Religion in Public Spaces

Author: Dr Sabrina Pastorelli

Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.

Published: 2012-10-28

Total Pages: 602

ISBN-13: 1409483339

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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.


Law and the Wearing of Religious Symbols in Europe

Law and the Wearing of Religious Symbols in Europe

Author: Erica Howard

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-09-23

Total Pages: 415

ISBN-13: 0429603797

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Written in accessible language, this book provides a comprehensive analysis of a topical subject that is being widely debated across Europe. The work presents an overview of emerging case law from the European Court of Human Rights and the Court of Justice of the European Union, as well as from national courts and equality bodies in European countries, on the wearing of religious symbols in public spaces. The author persuasively argues that bans on the wearing of religious symbols constitutes a breach of an individual’s human rights and contravene existing anti-discrimination legislation. Fully updated to take account of recent case law, this second edition has been expanded to consider bans in public spaces more generally, including employment, an area where some of the recent developments have taken place.


Religion in Public Spaces

Religion in Public Spaces

Author: Silvio Ferrari

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-08

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 1317067533

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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.


Religion in the Public Space

Religion in the Public Space

Author: Rinaldo Cristofori

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-12-05

Total Pages: 578

ISBN-13: 135190499X

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Religion in the public sphere is one of the most debated issues in the field of law and religion. This volume brings together articles which address some of the more prominent recent cases relating to religion and education, religion and the workplace, family law and religious symbols. The essays discuss the meaning of secularism today and the difficult issue of religion in the public sphere and reflect a wide variety of viewpoints. This volume maps the key elements of this multi-faceted problem, offers essential material and provides an important starting point for an understanding of the issues in this century old debate.


Presence of the Cross in Public Spaces

Presence of the Cross in Public Spaces

Author: Marta Ordon

Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing

Published: 2017-03-07

Total Pages: 270

ISBN-13: 1443878669

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The judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Lautsi vs. Italy (3 November 2009 and 18 March 2011) served as a catalyst for the debate on the presence of the cross in the public space in a number of European states. What are the effects of this debate? What is the meaning attributed to so-called negative religious freedom viewed in relation to the right to manifest religion and protect tradition and culture? Answers to these and related questions are provided in this volume by experienced contributors, who adopt diversified research perspectives and viewpoints. The analyses presented here concern not only the established democracies of Western Europe, but also post-communist states. Owing to the multifaceted approach thus offered, the book will prove to be helpful in distinguishing the implications of respect for the freedom of thought, conscience and religion from the consequences of diversified constitutional norms adopted in individual states, and also from subjective expectations.


Religious Clothing in Public Spaces

Religious Clothing in Public Spaces

Author: Pete Schauer

Publisher: Greenhaven Publishing LLC

Published: 2018-07-15

Total Pages: 138

ISBN-13: 1534503536

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We live in a global society, but that doesn't mean our attitudes toward other cultures have caught up. Debates about the wearing of religious apparel have raged in countries around the world, including the United States. The diverse viewpoints in this resource address topics such as how tolerance for the wearing of religious clothing differs around the world and whether or not religious clothing should be allowed in public schools. Readers will decide for themselves whether this is an issue of freedom of expression and religion or if it should be viewed as a threat.


Freedom of Religion. A Comparative Law Perspective

Freedom of Religion. A Comparative Law Perspective

Author: Grzegorz Blicharz

Publisher: Wydawnictwo Instytutu Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 8366344142

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Freedom of Religion. A Comparative Law Perspective consists of five chapters, looking at freedom of religion, particularly the display of religious symbols, in Poland, Italy, Hungary, and the United States. It provides a concise and very insightful look into the legal regimes of four nations, allowing reader to get a solid comparative view of public religious displays in these countries. Each chapter has sufficient depth and overall this edited volume will be a useful resource to scholars and jurists in this area. Dr. James C. Phillips, Stanford University’s Constitutional Law Center The presented volume leads to an in-depth reflection on the issue of the display of religious symbols in the public sphere, which is widely discussed today. Most of the articles prove that secularism of the contemporary state ruled by law targets Christian symbolism (cross, cradle, the Decalogue). Christian religious symbols shall always be inscribed in the temporal order, otherwise they have no chance to be displayed in the public sphere. In this way, the rights of Catholic believers, as one of the dominant religious groups, are restricted in the name of the protection of religious and areligious minorities. As a result, the aim is to bring about the actual equality of all religions and – ultimately – the final removal of the Christian tradition from Western culture. Against this background, Polish (as well as Hungarian and Italian) judicial decisions present a different approach, which – as the authors of the volume prove – presents a position in favour of the presence of religious symbolism in the public sphere. The multifaceted evaluation of the inconsistency, casuistry and nuance of the jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court is extremely creative and interesting. It allows to conclude that the jurisprudence of the US Supreme Court, which usually limits the presence of religious symbols in the public forum, has not yet become universally binding. The pluralism of philosophical and religious attitudes still constitutes the axiological core of American democracy. Prof. dr hab. Andrzej Dziadzio, Jagiellonian University in Kraków