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Diane Sainsbury - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Jeroen Temperman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • State-Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law: Towards a Right to Religiously Neutral Governance
    2010
    Co-Authors: Jeroen Temperman
    Abstract:

    [This book presents a human rights-based assessment of the various modes of State–Religion identification and of the various forms of State practice that surround and characterize these different State–Religion models. This book makes a case for the recognition of a State duty to remain impartial with respect to Religion or belief in all regards so as to comply with people’s fundamental right to be governed, at all times, in a religiously neutral manner., This book presents a human rights-based assessment of the various modes of State–Religion identification and of the various forms of State practice that surround and characterize these different State–Religion models. This book makes a case for the recognition of a State duty to remain impartial with respect to Religion or belief in all regards so as to comply with people’s fundamental right to be governed, at all times, in a religiously neutral manner.]

  • 7. Preliminary Legal Questions Concerning Establishment Of Religion And State Atheism
    State–Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law, 2010
    Co-Authors: Jeroen Temperman
    Abstract:

    This chapter argues that a close assessment of human rights law substantiates that, notwithstanding the fact that human rights law on the face of it appears fairly indifferent as to the issue of State-Religion identification, legal principles can in fact be extrapolated that have a profound and direct bearing on State-Religion relationships in terms of their (il) legitimacy. It will be clear that these observations aim at the more extreme ends of the spectrum of StateReligion identification, namely clear-cut establishment of Religion on the one hand and clear-cut State atheism on the other. Based on the principles of subsidiarity and State sovereignty, human rights law would appear to largely leave it up to the individual States to design a political system that is capable of adequate human rights protection.Keywords: human rights; Religion; State atheism; State-Religion identification

  • 2. Religious States, State Religions & State Churches
    State–Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law, 2010
    Co-Authors: Jeroen Temperman
    Abstract:

    This chapter aims at providing a comprehensive comparative legal analysis of the different ways in which States relate to Religion. In order to do justice to important nuances, a comprehensive spectrum of State-Religion relationships should focus on the different discernible forms of State identification with Religion, as well as the different secular forms of identification. As a first step in drawing up such a spectrum of State-Religion identification, the chapter enquires into the unequivocal forms of 'positive identification' of the State with Religion: the focus will be on so-called 'religious States', 'State Religions' and 'State churches'. These terms are, strictly speaking, not interchangeable. Focusing on the exact degree of interrelation between the State and Religion, a comprehensive overview of the main legal ramifications that delineate the different religious States and other regimes of 'positive State-Religion identification' will be provided in a separate section.Keywords: religious States; State churches; State Religions

  • 12. Towards Religiously Neutral Governance
    State–Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law, 2010
    Co-Authors: Jeroen Temperman
    Abstract:

    This study addresses the question of how the different modes of State-Religion identification affect the State's scope for compliance with human rights. The systemic objections raised by this study amount to a dismissal of State intervention with the observance of religious laws. In this study it is contended that an assessment of establishment of Religion on the basis of the autonomous 'equality before the law' principle shows most conclusively that legal establishment of a Religion is very problematic and would indeed appear to be incompatible with human rights law. It is concluded that a constitutional promise of non-denominationalism, for both present and future reference, best equips States to fully implement and mainstream fundamental rights. States must respect everyone's right to religiously neutral governance.Keywords: human rights law; religious laws; religiously neutral governance; State-Religion identification; systemic objections

  • 3. State Support & State Acknowledgement Of Religion
    State–Religion Relationships and Human Rights Law, 2010
    Co-Authors: Jeroen Temperman
    Abstract:

    This chapter focuses on precise ramifications. It outlines that some forms of constitutional State support can and indeed should be distinguished from the far-reaching implications of systems of positive State-Religion identification, whilst other forms, though de jure presented as 'State support', approximate to the establishment of Religion. In the latter case the choice to avoid the terminology of 'State' or 'official' Religion would appear to be a political one. Some States constitutionally acknowledge certain religious phenomena, or simply acknowledge the historical role of a Religion or the position of a Religion as predominant Religion. It is contended that some forms of 'State acknowledgement' are preferential while other forms are purely non-preferential in nature. It will often be necessary to go beyond constitutional terminology and take into account statutory law and State practice as well.Keywords: State acknowledgement; State support; State-Religion relationship

Subrata Kumar Mitra - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Desecularising the State: Religion and Politics in India after Independence
    Comparative Studies in Society and History, 1991
    Co-Authors: Subrata Kumar Mitra
    Abstract:

    The relationship of Religion and politics is continuously fascinating and elusive, not least because it is rarely posed in a direct way. In stable democracies, incidents which are rather out of the ordinary, such as publishing the Satanic Verses in the United Kingdom or sporting the Islamic headscarf in a French State school, might push the issue temporarily to the centre of the political arena until the categories of normal politics, such as class, region, language or ethnicity, incorporate it or contrive to edge it beyond public visibility. In developing countries, one is accustomed to the more salient presence of Religion in the public sphere: for example, the broad sweep of an Islamic revolution in Iran, popular jihad in the Middle East, the militant Sikhs in the Punjab, or the battle for the birthplace of Rama in North India. However, the intelligentsia in these countries who speak with the authority of modern science and the modern State see these events, important as they are, as the expression of primordial sentiments, and indicative of the underdeveloped nature of the people concerned, rather than as the political expression of unresolved issues, ill concealed by the fabric of normal politics and not articulated by political institutions.

Carl R. Gwin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • religious freedom and the unintended consequences of State Religion
    Southern Economic Journal, 2004
    Co-Authors: Charles M. North, Carl R. Gwin
    Abstract:

    1. Introduction"[A] union of government and Religion tends to destroy government and degrade Religion."So wrote Justice Hugo Black in the majority opinion in Engel v. Vitale,1 a 1962 school prayer case decided by the United States Supreme Court. Today, church-State issues continue to rise to the forefront of American politics. In recent years alone, disputes have arisen over public school vouchers and prayers, the phrase "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance, the display of the Ten Commandments in public meeting halls and courthouses, and the proper scope of President Bush's recent Faith-Based and Community Initiative. Across the Atlantic, William Carey, the recently retired Archbishop of Canterbury, argued in April 2002 that establishment strengthens the Church of England by allowing it to build a comprehensive network of parishes throughout the entire country, and he denied that establishment has constrained "the prophetic voice of the Church."2 In contrast, Carey's successor Rowan Williams, who became Archbishop of Canterbury in July 2002, has in the past advocated the disestablishment of the Church of England.3 In Sweden, where the Church of Sweden had been the State church since 1593, the parliament passed a statute providing for the formal disestablishment of the church on January 1, 2000.4In the United States, the strongest advocates for giving Religion a more prominent role in governmental settings have often been religious conservatives, whereas the strongest opponents are often political liberals. For example, in the recently decided Cleveland school voucher case,5 Christian organizations like Focus on the Family, the Christian Legal Society, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops filed briefs in support of the program, which allowed public funds to pay tuition in private schools (including religious schools). Among the organizations filing briefs in opposition to the program were the NAACP and various public education lobbies, whereas the American Civil Liberties Union, People for the American Way, and Americans United for Separation of Church and State provided legal representation for some of the plaintiffs challenging the voucher program. Interestingly, however, several religious organizations also filed briefs in opposition to the voucher program, including the American Jewish Committee, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs, the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), and two regional Seventh-Day Adventist organizations. Except for the NCC, these organizations represent the interests of religious groups that are (or in the case of the Baptists, once were) distinctly in the religious minority.A growing body of research suggests that any positive benefits to the church with direct support from the State are outweighed by indirect effects that undermine the church's autonomy and its authority with the general populace. (For an excellent introduction to this research, see Stark and Finke 2000, chapter 9). If such research is correct, then the advocates of governmental endorsement of Religion may be undermining the very institutions they seek to support. In this article, we use cross-country survey responses to assess the impact of religious freedom and the separation of church and State on the health of Religion throughout the world. Using survey responses on the frequency of attendance at religious services, we find that government establishment of State Religion reduces religious attendance, whereas enduring constitutional protection of Religion increases religious attendance.Adam Smith recognized that establishment could ultimately undermine the State Religion. In The Wealth of Nations, Smith discussed the impact of establishing a Religion on the fervor and effectiveness of the clergy in that Religion:The teachers [of Religion], in the same manner as other teachers, may either depend altogether for their subsistence upon the voluntary contributions of their hearers; or they may derive it from some other fund to which the law of their country may entitle them; such as a landed eState, a tythe or land tax, an established salary or stipend. …

  • Religious Freedom and the Unintended Consequences of State Religion
    Southern Economic Journal, 2004
    Co-Authors: Charles M. North, Carl R. Gwin
    Abstract:

    We use a cross-section of 59 countries to examine the impact of State Religion and of constitutional protection of Religion on the degree of religiosity within a country. Our measure of religiosity is the percentage of the population who attend religious services at least once a week. We find that both establishment of a State Religion and constitutional protection of Religion have significant (and opposing) effects. The existence of a State Religion reduces attendance by 14.6–16.7% of the total population, whereas each decade of constitutional protection increases attendance by approximately 1.2% of the population. We also find that other measures of religious regulation have significant negative effects on attendance. Ironically, the motive behind establishment of a particular State Religion usually is to strengthen that Religion, but the effects are ultimately to undermine the vitality of the established Religion.

Rachel M. Mccleary - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • The Formation of the Tibetan State Religion: The Geluk School 1419-1642
    2007
    Co-Authors: Rachel M. Mccleary, Leonard W. J. Van Der Kuijp
    Abstract:

    Monopolistic competition of Tibetan Buddhism by the eleventh-twelfth century allowed for many schools and sects to develop with little differentiation in religious products. The rise of the Ming dynasty (1368-1424) represented a significant shift in Yuan foreign policy toward Tibetan affairs. Ming disengagement of China in Tibet translated into a liberalization of local politics with one major pattern emerging: a shift from secular politics and clan wealth to ecclesiastical monastic institutions. The Geluk sect formed during this period, successfully introducing superior technology in its organizational characteristics (celibacy, ordained abbots, casuistical adherence, scholastic training and doctrinal orthodoxy). The club model formation of the Gelukpa distinguished it from other schools and sects, reinforcing the technological superiority of its organization. With the loss of its major Tibetan patron, the Gelukpa facing extinction by its fiercest competitor, the Karmapa, raised the stakes by introducing the incarnate position of the Dalai Lama and his labrang (financial eState). The introduction of the incarnate Dalai Lama represented a technological improvement in that the Gelukpa could now directly compete for wealthy patrons with their fiercest competitor, the Karmapa. By forming an alliance with a foreign power (Mongols), the Gelukpa were willing to use extreme violence to become the State Religion.

  • Which Countries Have State Religions
    The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 2005
    Co-Authors: Robert J. Barro, Rachel M. Mccleary
    Abstract:

    For 188 independent countries in 2000, 72 had no State Religion in the years 2000, 1970, and 1900; 58 had a State Religion at all three dates; and 58 had some kind of transition. Among the 58 transitional countries, 12 had two transitions, 4 of which (former Soviet Republics in Asia) involved two forms of State Religion. The probability of having a State Religion in 2000 or 1970 depends strongly on the status of State Religion in 1900 but much more so for countries that experienced no major change in political regime during the 20th century. Communist governments tend not to have State Religion - only one Communist country (Somalia in 1970) had a State Religion in the usual sense. However, a past history of Communism does not have much influence on the probability of State Religion. Greater concentration of religious adherence is positively related to State Religion, and most of this relation seems to reflect causation from religious concentration to State Religion, rather than the reverse. Theoretically, State Religion is more probable when the population adheres to a monotheistic Religion. We find this effect for Muslim adherence, but the relationship is not robust. State Religion is less likely in sub-Saharan Africa, possibly because of the intense competition for converts in this region among the major world Religions. The probability of State Religion does not differ significantly between former colonies and non-colonies but is higher for British colonies than for Spanish and Portuguese colonies. Variables that have little effect on the probability of State Religion include per capita GDP, country size, and the extent of democracy, civil liberties, and the rule of law.