Accommodating Religious Communities in Contemporary Europe:
Constitutional and Philosophical Dimensions
UCL, Old Refectory
10 February 2012, 10-17:00
This one-day workshop, the second of a four-part series on Negotiating
Religion, will examine the character and general policies of the
contemporary European state in its relation with religions and religious
pluralism.With an increasing diversity in attitudes towards religious
commitments manifest in today's Europe, liberal democratic governments
are increasingly under pressure to define how they should accommodate
their citizens qua religious believers or non-believers. The key
questions the state facesregard the extent to which policies are to
address religious communitiesand their demands. How are majority
religions enshrined within constitutional settlements and what
implications does that have for the secular attributes of modern
European states? Is a minimum common denominator of liberal toleration
of all religions sufficient? Can the state truly aspire to a universally
accepted neutrality or will its secularity be regarded by the religious
as fundamentally hostile to religions? Should the state attribute
special rights to religious groups, particularly where they are minority
communities facing assimilationist pressures, or grant formal
recognition to them?
Sessions will examine the phenomenon of church establishment in Europe
generally (John Madeley, LSE) and in the UK in particular (Bob Morris,
UCL,with discussants Jim Beckford, Warwick, and Lucian Leustean, Aston),
andhow far multiple religious jurisdictions may be tolerated (Gillian
Douglas, Cardiff, with discussants Mark Hill QC and Frank Cranmer, Durham).
Concentrating on the philosophical and legal dimensions will be sessions
considering how far liberal democratic states can and/or ought to follow
policies of religious neutrality (Lorenzo Zucca, KCL and Saladin
Meckled-Garcia, with Ronan McCrea, UCL, as discussant), and how far
religious exemptions may be justified (Stuart White, Oxford, and
Jonathan Seglow, Royal Holloway, with discussant Jonathan Quong,
Manchester).
Conveners: Professor Cécile Laborde (UCL Political Science), Dr Robert
Morris (UCL Constitution Unit), Dr Uta Staiger (UCL European Institute).
For more information and to register:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/events/religion
See also related seminar:
Cécile Laborde, 'Egalitarian Theories of Religious Freedom'
UCL Colloquium in Legal and Political Philosophy
1 February 2012
Moot Court, Laws Department, 4-7pm.
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Professor Richard Bellamy
Department of Political Science
School of Public Policy
University College London
29/30 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9QU
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7679 4980 (UCL internal extension number: 24980)
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7679 4969
Mobile 07763 174423
email: [log in to unmask]
Skype richardb483
Professor of Political Science
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/people/richard-bellamy
Director, European Institute
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/european-institute/
Co-editor, Critical Review of International Social and Political
Philosophy (CRISPP)
http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13698230.asp
View selected past and recent papers on my SSRN Author page:
http://ssrn.com/author=368588
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