Susanna Mancini - Böcker

Politicized Religion and the Reframing of Fundamental Rights provides a systematic account of how recent politicization of religion has been used by proponents of illiberal nationalism and populism to reframe constitutional and human rights in exclusionary anti-pluralist ways. This reframing enhances the rights of those who belong to the majority religion or are steeped in its culture, at the expense of the rights of women, sexual minorities, and adherents to minority religions. The book is composed of two parts. Part I draws on history as well as political and constitutional theory to examine the ideal of 'institutional secularism' as an areligious means to safeguard pluralism by separating the state from religion. Illiberal nationalists and populists attack institutional secularism as anti-religious and tend to equate it with 'ideological secularism', a conception of the good that rejects transcendence. Part II deploys comparative constitutional analysis to understand the ways in which fundamental rights have been illiberally reframed throughout a wide array of jurisdictions ranging from Europe to Russia, the United States, India, Turkey, and several African states. Special emphasis is also placed on the increasing role of transnational NGOs in spreading and coordinating such illiberal reframing. Through these combined approaches it becomes clear that the politicization of religion undertaken by contemporary nationalists and populists differs significantly from previous attempts to inject more religion into the affairs of the state, most notably in its new appropriation of the language of constitutional rights. Nevertheless, the book argues that pluralism can still be safeguarded through a renewed recourse to institutional secularism or by insistence on the staunch protection of ideological secularism to match its religions counterparts.

The global movement of culture and religion has brought about a serious challenge to traditional constitutional secularism. This challenge comes in the form of a political and institutional struggle against secular constitutionalism, and a two pronged assault on the very legitimacy and viability of the concept. On the one hand, constitutional secularism has been attacked as inherently hostile rather than neutral toward religion; and, on the other hand, constitutional secularism has been criticized as inevitably favouring one religion (or set of religions) over others.The contributors to this book come from a variety of different disciplines including law, anthropology, history, philosophy and political theory. They provide accounts of, and explanations for, present predicaments; critiques of contemporary institutional, political and cultural arrangements, justifications and practices; and suggestions with a view to overcoming or circumventing several of the seemingly intractable or insurmountable current controversies and deadlocks.The book is separated in to five parts. Part I provides theoretical perspectives on the present day conflicts between secularism and religion. Part II focuses on the relationship between religion, secularism and the public sphere. Part III examines the nexus between religion, secularism and women's equality. Part IV concentrates on religious perspectives on constraints on, and accommodations of, religion within the precincts of the liberal state. Finally, Part V zeroes in on conflicts between religion and secularism in specific contexts, namely education and freedom of speech.

In this work, Professors Mancini and Rosenfeld have brought together an impressive group of authors to provide a comprehensive analysis on the greater demand for religions exemptions to government mandates. Traditional religious conscientious objection cases, such as refusal to salute the flag or to serve in the military during war, had a diffused effect throughout society. In sharp contrast, these authors argue that today's most notorious objections impinge on the rights of others, targeting practices like abortion, LGTBQ adoption, and same-sex marriage. The dramatic expansion of conscientious objection claims have revolutionized the battle between religious traditionalists and secular civil libertarians, raising novel political, legal, constitutional and philosophical challenges. Highlighting the intersection between conscientious objections, religious liberty, and the equality of women and sexual minorities, this volume showcases this political debate and the principal jurisprudence from different parts of the world and emphasizes the little known international social movements that compete globally to alter the debate's terms.

In this work, Professors Mancini and Rosenfeld have brought together an impressive group of authors to provide a comprehensive analysis on the greater demand for religions exemptions to government mandates. Traditional religious conscientious objection cases, such as refusal to salute the flag or to serve in the military during war, had a diffused effect throughout society. In sharp contrast, these authors argue that today's most notorious objections impinge on the rights of others, targeting practices like abortion, LGTBQ adoption, and same-sex marriage. The dramatic expansion of conscientious objection claims have revolutionized the battle between religious traditionalists and secular civil libertarians, raising novel political, legal, constitutional and philosophical challenges. Highlighting the intersection between conscientious objections, religious liberty, and the equality of women and sexual minorities, this volume showcases this political debate and the principal jurisprudence from different parts of the world and emphasizes the little known international social movements that compete globally to alter the debate's terms.