The relation between religion and state in modern European history is
characterized by a dual exercise: safeguarding freedom of religion for
all citizens and simultaneously guaranteeing civil governance free from
domination by religious authorities. While both religion and state have
potential power to suppress personal freedom and development and to keep
societies in a deadlock, the present volume notes that in recent decades
political and academic discourse has increasingly focused on the
potential negative influence of religion. By consequence, historical
attitudes of benevolence of European states towards religion are
replaced by suspicion and historical religion-state relations are
questioned and torn down. Meanwhile, a so-called secular humanist
worldview is presented in the public arena as not just an alternative to
religions, but as actually superior to religious worldviews. In this
cross-disciplinary volume, ten scholars critically scrutinize these
developments in two sections. First, theoretical considerations aim to
rethink what healthy relations between religion and state should look
like in contemporary secularized Europe. Ongoing negotiations on the
meaning of terms such as secularity, neutrality and laicité are
analyzed and the purview of the right to religious freedom is
reconsidered. Second, case studies from throughout Europe demonstrate
the effects of past and ongoing societal developments on religious
agents and their communities, which seek to take up their place in
society. As a joint effort, this book aims to contribute to ongoing
scholarly debate, not by providing simple and direct answers, but by
asking questions and offering nuanced perspectives on the topics at hand.
Creemers
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