Religion in a Liberal State

As religion has become more visible in public life, with closer relations of co-operation with government as well as a force in some political campaigns, its place in public life has become more contested. Fudged compromises of the past are giving way to a desire for clear lines and moral principles. This book brings the disciplines of law, sociology, politics and theology into conversation with one anther to shed light on the questions thrown up by 'religion in a liberal state'. It discusses practical problems in a British context, such as the accommodation of religious dress, discrimination against sexual minorities and state support for historic religions; considers legal frameworks of equality and human rights; and elucidates leading ideas of neutrality, pluralism, secularism and public reason. Fundamentally, it asks what it means to be liberal in a world in which religious diversity is becoming more present and more problematic.

Introduction; 1. Religion in a liberal state Raymond Plant; 2. The European Court of Human Rights and religious neutrality Ian Leigh; 3. Religion and sexual orientation: conflict or cohesion? Maleiha Malik; 4. Liberal religion and illiberal secularism Linda Woodhead; 5. Moderate secularism in liberal societies? Derek McGhee; 6. Excluded, included or foundational? Religions in liberal democratic states Veit Bader; 7. Justificatory secularism Cécile Laborde; 8. What lacks is feeling: Hume versus Kant and Habermas John Milbank; 9. Arguing out of bounds: Christian eloquence and the end of Johannine liberalism John Perry.

Gavin D'Costa is Professor of Catholic Theology, Religion and Theology at the University of Bristol.
Malcolm Evans is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Bristol.
Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol.
Julian Rivers is Professor of Jurisprudence at the University of Bristol Law School.