Multicultural Secularism, Equality and Faith Schools
Muslim and Non-religious Perspectives
In: Secular StudiesSearch for other papers by Pier-Luc Dupont in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
In The New Governance of Religious Diversity, Tariq Modood and Thomas Sealy endorse the expansion of state funded faith schools as a way to better recognise, accommodate and include religious minorities. Drawing on the case of Britain, this commentary argues that faith schools’ far-reaching exemptions from equality law in fact exacerbate Islamophobia and can hardly be reconciled with the authors’ egalitarian commitments. An alternative approach of removing the exemptions and making all schools religiously diverse would address internal tensions in Muslim demands and clear the path for new political alliances between Muslim and non-religious groups.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Accord Coalition (n.d.a). Our members. https://accordcoalition.org.uk/our-members/, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Accord Coalition (n.d.b) Pupil admissions. https://accordcoalition.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Pupil_Admissions.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Accord Coalition (n.d.c) Employment in faith schools. https://accordcoalition.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Employment_in_faith_schools.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Accord Coalition (n.d.d). Beliefs and values education. https://accordcoalition.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Beliefs_and_Values_Education.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Accord Coalition (n.d.e). Inclusive schools ethos. https://accordcoalition.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Inclusive_Schools_Ethos.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Bosset, Pierre (2013). Mainstreaming religious diversity in a secular and egalitarian state: The road(s) not taken in Leyla Şahin v. Turkey. In E. Brems (Ed.), Diversity and European Human Rights: Rewriting Judgments of the ECHR. Cambridge University Press, pp. 192–217.
-
Department for Education. (2014). The Equality Act 2010 and schools: Departmental advice for school leaders, school staff, governing bodies and local authorities. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7e3237ed915d74e33f0ac9/Equality_Act_Advice_Final.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Dupont, Pier-Luc (2018). Perpetuating Anti-Muslim Discrimination through the Interpretation of Religious Equality in the European Court of Human Rights. Journal of Muslims in Europe, 7(1), 27–46.
-
Dupont, Pier-Luc (2022). Religious governance and the politics of equality in education. Ethnic and Racial Studies 45(5), 966–987.
-
Dupont, Pier-Luc (2025). Anti-Racism, Multiculturalism and Human Rights: Reconceiving the Politics of Diversity in Employment and Education. Palgrave Macmillan.
-
Elshayyal, K. (2018). Muslim Identity Politics: Islam, Activism and Equality in Britain. I.B. Tauris.
-
Elver, Hillal (2012). The headscarf controversy: Secularism and freedom of religion. Oxford University Press.
-
Humanists UK (n.d.). State-funded faith schools. https://humanists.uk/campaigns/schools-and-education/faith-schools/, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Joppke, Christian (2009). Veil: Mirror of identity. Polity.
-
Kymlicka, Will (2003). Multicultural states and intercultural citizens. Theory and Research in Education 1(2), pp. 147–169.
-
Modood, Tariq (2007). Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea. Polity.
-
Modood, Tariq (2019). Essays on Secularism and Multiculturalism. Rowman & Littlefield.
-
Modood, T., and Thompson, S. (2018). Revisiting contextualism in political theory: Putting principles into context. Res Publica 24(3), 339–357.
-
Modood, Tariq and Thomas Sealy (2024). The New Governance of Religious Diversity. Polity.
-
Modood, Tariq, & Thomas Sealy (2022). Developing a framework for a global comparative analysis of the governance of religious diversity. Religion, State and Society 50(4), pp. 362–377.
-
Muslim Council of Britain (2019). British Muslim perspectives at the 2019 general election. https://mcb.org.uk/resources/2019-general-election/, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Muslim Council of Britain (2021). Defining Islamophobia: A contemporary understanding of how expressions of Muslimness are targeted. https://mcb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/FULL-SPREAD-IslamophobiaReport_020321_compressed.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Muslim Engagement and Development (2019). Policy pledges Muslim manifesto. https://www.mend.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MEND-Muslim-Manifesto-2019_15.11.19.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
National Secular Society (2020). Faith-based holes: How religious privilege is undermining equality law. https://www.secularism.org.uk/uploads/faith-shaped-holes-how-religious-privilege-is-undermining-equality-law-17.pdf?v=1688737762, accessed 17 July 2025.
-
Parekh, Bhikhu (2008). A New Politics of Identity: Political Principles for an Interdependent World. Palgrave Macmillan.
-
Rawls, John (1993). Political Liberalism. Columbia University Press.
-
Robert Long, Nerys Roberts and Alpesh Maisuria (2024), Faith Schools: FAQs. House of Commons Library. https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06972/SN06972.pdf, accessed 17 July 2025.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 148 | 148 | 14 |
| Full Text Views | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 9 | 9 | 0 |
Multicultural Secularism, Equality and Faith Schools
Muslim and Non-religious Perspectives
In: Secular StudiesSearch for other papers by Pier-Luc Dupont in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In The New Governance of Religious Diversity, Tariq Modood and Thomas Sealy endorse the expansion of state funded faith schools as a way to better recognise, accommodate and include religious minorities. Drawing on the case of Britain, this commentary argues that faith schools’ far-reaching exemptions from equality law in fact exacerbate Islamophobia and can hardly be reconciled with the authors’ egalitarian commitments. An alternative approach of removing the exemptions and making all schools religiously diverse would address internal tensions in Muslim demands and clear the path for new political alliances between Muslim and non-religious groups.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 148 | 148 | 14 |
| Full Text Views | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 9 | 9 | 0 |
