Belief, law and politics : what future for a secular Europe?

This edited collection gathers together the principal findings of the three-year RELIGARE project, which dealt with the question of religious and philosophical diversity in European law. Specifically, it covers four spheres of public policy and legislation where the pressure to accommodate religious diversity has been most strongly felt in Europe: employment, family life, use of public space and state support mechanisms. Embracing a forward-looking approach, the final RELIGARE report provides recommendations to governance units at the local, national and European levels regarding issues of religious pluralism and secularism. This volume adds context and critique to those recommendations and more generally opens an intellectual discussion on the topic of religion in the European Union. The book consists of two main parts: the first includes the principal findings of the RELIGARE research project, while the second is a compilation of 28 short contributions from influential scholars, legal practitioners, policy makers and activists who respond to the report and offer their views on the sensitive issue of religious diversity and the law in Europe.

The RELIGARE report : religion in the context of the European Union : engaging the interplay between religious diversity and secular models / Marie-Claire Foblets and Katayoun Alidadi -- Freedom of religion or belief : anachronistic in Europe? / Heiner Bielefeldt -- Proceeding from combat to concept in religious freedom and equality policies in Europe / Michael Germann -- The right to religious freedom : a modern pattern of differentiation and its development / Matthias Koenig -- It's all about relationships / Jane Mair -- Religious freedom and accommodation in the United Kingdom / Maleiha Malik -- Religion, law and state in contemporary Europe : key trends and dilemmas / Ronan McCrea -- Religious diversity and EU action : the overwhelming impact of subsidiarity on legislative instruments / Juana M. Astigarraga Zulaica and Eduardo J. Ruiz-Vieytez -- The what, the why and the how / Russell Sandberg -- Freedom of thought, conscience and religion : a policy priority for the Council of Europe / Stephanos Stavros -- The relationship between religious diversity and secular models : an equality-based perspective / Lucy Vickers -- Reflections on the recognition of a right to reasonable accommodation in EU law / Frédérique Ast -- The reasonable accommodation of conservative religious beliefs and the protection of LGBT rights in the workplace / Peter Cumper -- The effective protection of the freedom of religion, the ECtHR's variable margin of appreciation regarding religion- state relations, and the rule of law / Kristin Henrard -- Religious accommodation and inclusive even-handedness / Cécile Laborde -- Reasonable accommodation for religion and belief : can it be accommodated in EU law without an express duty? / Andreas Stein -- Seeking soft measures : complementing law and policy as a strategy for responding to diversity / Lori G. Beaman -- Traditional African religions : culture or religion? / Tom Bennett -- Notes towards connecting the disconnect : the role of the religion-national identity link / Effie Fokas -- The "inclusive state neutrality" normative paradigm / Eugenia Relaño Pastor -- RELIGARE : reflections on research and policy recommendations / Adam B. Seligman -- Religion in the European Union : comments on the RELIGARE project / Christian Joppke -- RELIGARE : the central conflict / Lorenzo Zucca -- Critical remarks on the pro-religion apriority of the RELIGARE project / Patrick Loobuyck -- RELIGARE, believers and non-believers : but where is the citizen? / Koen Lemmens -- An ill-disguised defence of religious privilege / David Pollock -- Coherence (and consistency) or organised hypocrisy? : religious freedom in the law of the European Union / Pasquale Annicchino -- Improving justice in the "burqa ban" debates : group vulnerability and procedural justice / Eva Brems, Saïla Ouald Chaib and Lourdes Peroni -- Recent developments in relation to the RELIGARE project report / Eric Roux.