Globalisation, migration, and (de-)secularisation have fundamentally transformed the concepts of religion, state, and law during the last decades. The main goal of this interdisciplinary approach is to clarify the multifaceted theoretical and practical challenges of religious diversity and socio-political pluralism in Europe.
In twenty-two chapters, the contributions to this volume revisit basic concepts, structures and institutional settings such as sovereignty; the dogma of the separation of state, church and/or religion; human and minority rights; gender and religion; varieties of fundamentalisms; interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding; and, not least, religious education.
Joseph Marko, Dr. juris, Mag.phil. (1977), University of Graz, is Professor emeritus of Public Law and Political Sciences at that university. He has published monographs, edited volumes and more than 120 articles on comparative constitutional law and politics, nationalism, power-sharing and minority protection, recently Human and Minority Rights Protection by Multiple Diversity Governance. History, Law, Ideology and Politics in European Perspective (Routledge, 2019, co-edited with S. Constantin).
Maximilian Lakitsch, Ph.D. (1982), University of Graz, is Lecturer at the Institute of the Foundations of Law (Department of Global Governance). He has published monographs and articles on the issues of authority, legitimacy, religion, and violence in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies.
Wolfgang Weirer, Dr. theol. (1993), University of Graz, Associate Professor for Religious Education at the University of Graz. His most important publications deal with the topic of "Interreligious Education" and the further development of RE in Austria.
Franz Winter, DDr. (1999 and 2005), is Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Graz. He has published monographs, edited volumes, and articles on the entangled religious history of Asia and Europe from antiquity to modernity, including the Handbook of East Asian New Religious Movements (edited together with Lukas Pokorny; Brill, 2018).
Kerstin Wonisch, Ph.D. (2022), University of Graz, is researcher at Eurac Research Bolzano and holds a background in law (Mag.jur. 2015) and religious studies (MA 2017). Her research focuses on the governance of religious diversity, as well as on religion and gender. She has published several edited volumes and scholarly articles on these topics in international journals.
1âIntroduction: State, Law, and Religious Diversity
ââJoseph Marko, Maximilian Lakitsch, Wolfgang Weirer, Franz Winter and Kerstin Wonisch
Part 1 Religion, State, Law, and Secularism
2âHuman Rights and the Osmosis between Secular and Religious Legal Systems The Post-modern European Right to Freedom of Religion through the Prism of the Islamic Veil
ââAlessandro Ferrari
3âProtection or Persecution? The State, the Law, and Minority Religion
ââEileen Barker
4âHistoricizing the Secularization Debate A Helpful Illustration from Bosnia and Herzegovina
ââDino AbazoviÄ
5âRussian Conservatism and Human Rights in Europe
ââMikhail Antonov
Part 2 Islamic Concepts of Law and Politics
7âBeyond the State Law Versus Godâs Law Dilemma: A Genealogical Approach to Islamic Concepts of Law, Politics, and Sovereignty
ââJocelyne Cesari
8âReligious Diversity, Secularisms, and Ideologies Comparing Western and Muslim Countries
ââAhmet T. Kuru
9âIs a Comparative History of Western and Islamic Political Thought Possible?
ââJoseph Marko
Part 3 The Varieties of Religious Fundamentalisms
10âIslamic Fundamentalism: Beyond Islamism, Extremism, and Political Islam
ââRüdiger Lohlker
11âFundamentalisms Old and New? Intra-religious Developments and Inter-denominational Alliances in the New Christian Right in Austria
ââKatharina Limacher
12âThe Varieties of Fundamentalism: A Comparative Approach to the Use of a Very Popular Term with a Buddhist Side-Step
ââFranz Winter
Part 4 Gender and Religion
13âReligion, Gender, and Law: A Tense Relationship
ââKerstin Wonisch
14âCritical Reflections on the Androcentrism of Religious Norms: The Heteronomy of the Female Body
ââDana El-Omari
15âCanon and Tradition in Transition: The Case of Gender in Israel
ââHenriette Dahan Kalev
Part 5 Religion and Education
16âReligion, Human Rights and Education in Pluralistic Societies Re-visiting John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas
ââManfred L. Pirner
17âThe Question of Truth within the Context of (Religious) Plurality A Challenge for Religious Education
ââAndrea Lehner-Hartmann
18âPluralistic Society as a Challenge for Islamic Education An Example from Austria
ââZerkirija Sejdini
19âReligious Education in a Pluralistic Society Opportunities, Challenges, and Legal Conclusions
ââWolfgang Weirer
Part 6 Interreligious Dialogue and Peacebuilding
20âReconsidering the Transnational Dimension of Religion and Conflict
ââMaximilian Lakitsch
21âInterreligious Dialogue in a Pandemic Reality Between Priority and Luxury
ââMohammed Abu-Nimer
22âReligious Perspectives and their Relevance for Peace: A Few Concluding Remarks on Interreligious Dialogue
ââMaximilian Lakitsch and Franz Winter
Index
Academics (from students to professors) and practicioners with a background in the humanities, law, and social sciences and an interest for the inter- and transdisciplinary issues of religious diversity and cultural pluralism in the political world of the 21st century.