Religion in Liberal Democracy as a Form of Life: Free and Equal (Routledge Studies in Religion and Politics)

Religion in Liberal Democracy as a Form of Life advances a theory to deal with the challenges connected to the liberal democratic ideal that all people are free to codetermine the future of their society and equally entitled to their religion and beliefs, given the historical bias towards Christianity in politics and culture within many European societies. Religious diversity and social and political participation are in fact fiercely contested issues. Critical scholars from philosophy and cultural theory contest that liberal political theories of freedom of religion can adequately deal with issues connected to an increasingly diversified and secularized religious field in historically Christian societies. Consequently, they claim that politics based on such theories cannot deliver on the promise to ensure conditions that allow all members of society equal religious freedom and political participation. By outlining historical developments, and by closely examining case studies of recent controversies about religious diversity in Germany and the Netherlands, this book identifies shortcomings of the currently predominant liberal account of freedom of religion or belief. Based on this analysis, the author proposes a more complex theory of liberal democracy as a form of life, with religion and religious freedom as components of it. This takes into account that informal norms, social structures, and predominant notions of belonging can function as powerful obstacles to freedom and equality, even if formal legal and political institutions prohibit discrimination based on religion. Construing liberal democracy as a “form of life”―that is, as a set of social practices, attitudes, and their institutional manifestations and material expressions―shifts the focus of critical analysis from the law to informal structures and components. This provides an understanding of the dynamics of (culturalized) religion in society, which has often been missing in political philosophical theories. The theory proposed in this book provides normative criteria for building liberal democracies that are tolerant with respect to religious differences and solidaric in terms of ensuring conditions that allow all members of society to codetermine, as equals, the future of society, irrespective of their religion or beliefs. This book will appeal to scholars of political theory, social and political philosophy, religious studies, sociology, and anthropology. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Part I 1 Religious diversity in liberal democratic societies 2 Self-determination and the predominant liberal account of religious freedom Self-determination Freedom of religion or belief: the predominant liberal account Challenges to the predominant liberal account The cultural nationalist challenge The critical religion challenge Part II Introduction to Part II 3 Historical developments of policies of religion Historical developments of policies of religion in Germany Historical developments of policies of religion in the Netherlands 4 Recent developments of the religious field Secularization, unchurching, and the culturalization and heritagization of religion Pluralization of the religious field New forms of religiosity and unaffiliated spirituality Judaism and Jewish communities Islam 5 Systematic reflections on past and present policies of religion Part III 6 Temporal religious forms: holidays The social and political significance of temporal religious forms Good Friday as a silent public holiday in Germany An Islamic public holiday in Germany? Philosophical reflections 7 Material religious forms: crosses, a crescent, and anti-Jewish sculptures The social and political significance of material religious forms Crosses and a crescent Anti-Jewish sculptures on church facades Philosophical reflections 8 Bodily practices—(not) shaking hands with people of the opposite sex The handshake and Islamic modesty regulations Arguments for shaking hands with men and women Muslims dealing with the handshake issue in everyday life Philosophical reflections 9 Pictures and norms concerning acts of expression Offence and moral injury Damaged civic status and anti-religious racism Philosophical reflections Part IV 10 Taking stock: the liberal account of freedom of religion or belief and liberal democracy as a form of life 11 Religion in liberal democracy as a form of life Bibliography Index