The workplace is a key forum in which the issue of religion and its position in the public sphere is under debate. Desires to observe and express religious beliefs in the workplace can introduce conflict between employees and employers. This book addresses the role the law plays in the resolution of these potential conflicts.

The book considers the definition and underlying motives of religious expression, and explores the different ways it may impact the workplace. Andrew Hambler identifies principled responses to workplace religious expression within a liberal state and compares...

Each Anglican cathedral in England is an icon of cultural heritage and identity, a key setting for continuing religiosity, and a seat of national spirituality in transition. It is also a regulated sacred space. This book explains and evaluates the regulatory framework applicable to cathedrals and considers how this regulatory framework is perceived and experienced. Using an interdisciplinary and socio-legal approach Norman Doe evaluates of how the regulations and norms governing cathedrals are experienced and whether they fulfil the the needs of cathedral staff and users, as well as...

This book examines the existing constitutional and legal system in England, Wales and Scotland, through the prism of its treatment of religion.　 The study encompasses questions of Church/State relations, but pushes far beyond these.　 It asks whether the approach to religion which has spread out from establishment to permeate the whole legal framework is a cause of concern or celebration in relation to individual and collective freedoms.

The primary focus of the work is the synergy between the religious dimension of the juridical system and the fundamental...

In both Europe and North America it can be argued that the associational and institutional dimensions of the right to freedom of religion or belief are increasingly coming under pressure. This book demonstrates why a more classical understanding of the idea of a liberal democracy can allow for greater respect for the right to freedom of religion or belief.

The book examines the major direction in which liberal democracy has developed over the last fifty years and contends that this is not the most legitimate type of liberal democracy for religiously divided societies. Drawing on...

The right to freedom of religion or belief, as enshrined in international human rights documents, is unique in its formulation in that it provides protection for the enjoyment of the rights "in community with others." This book explores the notion of the collective dimension of freedom of religion or belief with a view to advance the protection of this right.

The book considers Turkey which provides a useful test case where both the domestic legislation can be assessed against international standards, while at the same time lessons can be drawn for the improvement of the standard...

In contemporary society there are several issues making for a divisive atmosphere in regard to religion. The decreasing level of spirituality in the West it can be argued has created a wide divide between the 'faithful' and groups such as agnostics, atheists and those of mixed spirituality. In addition throughout the world where strong connections to religion remain a central part of nation's identities, these connections can and often are misused in the secular public sphere In such a divided world, both secular and non-secular 'forces' tend to lock themselves into positions of 'pure...

In contemporary pluralist states, where faith communities live together, different religious symbols and practices have to coexist. This may lead to conflicts between certain minority practices and the dominant majority, particularly around the manifestation of belief in the public domain which may be seen both by the religious and secular majorities as a threat to their cultural heritage or against the secular values of the host country. The law has to mitigate those tensions in order to protect the public from harm and preserve order but in doing so, it may where necessary have to limit...

With its increasingly secular and religiously diverse population Australia faces many challenges in determining how the state and religion should interact. Australia is not unique in facing these challenges. States worldwide, including common law countries with shared legal and religious heritages, have also been faced with the question of how the state and religion should relate to one another. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and the United States have all had to grapple with how to manage the state-religion relationship in the present day.

This...

In the context of political upheaval, terrorist violence and theological-legal confusion in the Muslim-majority world, that impacts upon the whole world, there is an urgent need for a clear philosophical-legal differentiation of different types of religious-legal phenomena that all have an Islamic complexion. This book draws on critical realism in order to set out a typology and analytical framework to enable distinctions to be made between phenomena which all have an Islamic complexion and yet are philosophically, theologically and legally different, namely: traditional Islam, political...