Religion as Empowerment

Global legal perspectives
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4724-3759-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 338 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 612 g

Reihe: ICLARS Series on Law and Religion

This volume shows how and why legal empowerment is important for those exercising their religious rights under various jurisdictions, in conditions of legal pluralism. At the same time, it also questions the thesis that as societies become more modern, they also become less religious.

The authors look beyond the rule of law orthodoxy in their consideration of the freedom of religion as a human right and place this discussion in a more plurality-sensitive context. The book sheds more light on the informal and/or customary mechanisms that explain the limited impact of law on individuals and groups, especially in non-Western societies. The focus is on discussing how religion and the exercise of religious rights may or may not empower individuals and social groups and improve access to human rights in general.

This book is important reading for academics and practitioners of law and religion, religious rights, religious diversity and cultural difference, as well as NGOs, policy makers, lawyers and advocates at multicultural jurisdictions. It offers a contemporary take on comparative legal studies, with a distinct focus on religion as an identity marker.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Topidi, Kyriaki

Fielder, Lauren

Fachgebiete

• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables

List of Contributors

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1: Introduction– Werner Menski & Kyriaki Topidi

Part I: Religion AS Law

Chapter 2: Islam as legal (dis)-empowerment: The dynamic interplay between Italian legal provisions and shariah-compliant norms – Federica Sona

Chapter 3: South African Women’s Legal Experiences of Muslim Personal Law – Waheeda Amien

Chapter 4: Decoding Diversity: Experiences with Personal Law in the Lower Courts of Maharashtra – Kalindi Kokal

Chapter 5: When courts do not finish contentious causes: Revisiting the value of religious laws in the Rainbow Nation – Dennis Bonginkosi Xulu

Chapter 6: Shari’a Deconstructed: A New Definition of Islamic Constitutionalism and its enforcement through Positive Law –Pietro Longo

Part II: Religion IN Law

Chapter 7: Engaging Religious Laws, Players and Communities: Confronting Religious Dis-Empowerment – Amos Israel - Vleeschhouwer

Chapter 8: Negotiating religious orthodoxy, state neutrality and religious freedom: The case of the Ahmadiyah controversy in post-Suharto Indonesia – Supriyanto Abdi

Chapter 9: Must the infringement of women’s rights within religions be tolerated? A Swiss perspective – Adrian Loretan

Chapter 10: Polygyny in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Practice that empowers or disempowers women? – Lauren Fielder

Chapter 11: Tolerance of Liberal Values in Romania: Anti-Abortion from Strategies between Religious Belief and Civil Society Mobilisation – Bodgan Mihai Radu and Cosmina Paul

Chapter 12: Public Education and Religious Rights: A Comparative Analysis – Kyriaki Topidi

Chapter 13: Conclusion: The Normative Dialogue between Religion and Law as a Cultural Endeavour: A Plea for Complexity and Context - Kyriaki Topidi

Über Autor(innen)

Dr Kyriaki Topidi is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law of the University of Lucerne, Switzerland. She is also associate director of the Centre of Comparative Constitutional Law and Religion at UNILU. She teaches and researches on comparative constitutional law with emphasis on religious rights, on which she has published widely.

Lauren Fielder is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Law at the University of Texas, USA. She teaches, writes and speaks about human rights issues in Africa.