Introduction -- 1. You can't please everyone: the secular state, the liberal state, the neutral state / Russell Blackford -- 2. Group rights, individual rights, and the fundamentalist challenge / Paul Cliteur -- 3. Insults to equality: an egalitarian analysis of respect for religious feelings / Austin Dacey -- 4. State (non-)neutrality and conceptions of religious freedom / Alex Deagon -- 5. Dignity in life and death / Jasper Doomen -- 6. Blasphemy's history and the denial of neutrality / David Nash -- 7. Religious freedom as moral freedom / Michael Perry -- 8. Realizing the freedom of religion or belief equally: the case of blasphemy in the liberal democratic state / Mirjam van Schaik -- 9. Should the courts accommodate religion in the workplace?: the secular nature of Europe's legal order and the role of supranational courts / Carla Zoethout -- Index -- About the contributors.
Summary:
Religious Ideas in Liberal Democratic States adds new context to the ongoing debate over the scope of religious freedom, drawing from a variety of perspectives to discuss the meaning of religion itself within a democratic state. This book argues that categorizing religion as a solely private affair is too narrow an interpretation and questions whether ideas like freedom, human dignity, and equality can be truly actualized in a neutral and secular state. The contributors explore the impact of religion, acknowledged or not, on legislation, human rights, and group rights through legal, historical, and sociological lenses--back cover.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.