Equality, Freedom, and Religion

Equality, Freedom, and Religion
Author: Roger Trigg
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages:
Release: 2012-01-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0191613371

Is religious freedom being curtailed in pursuit of equality, and the outlawing of discrimination? Is enough effort made to accommodate those motivated by a religious conscience? All rights matter but at times the right to put religious beliefs into practice increasingly takes second place in the law of different countries to the pursuit of other social priorities. The right to freedom of belief and to manifest belief is written into all human rights charters. In the United States religious freedom is sometimes seen as 'the first freedom'. Yet increasingly in many jurisdictions in Europe and North America, religious freedom can all too easily be 'trumped' by other rights. Roger Trigg looks at the assumptions that lie behind the subordination of religious liberty to other social concerns, especially the pursuit of equality. He gives examples from different Western countries of a steady erosion of freedom of religion. The protection of freedom of worship is often seen as sufficient, and religious practices are separated from the beliefs which inspire them. So far from religion in general, and Christianity in particular, providing a foundation for our beliefs in human dignity and human rights, religion is all too often seen as threat and a source of conflict, to be controlled at all costs. The challenge is whether any freedom can preserved for long, if the basic human right to freedom of religious belief and practice is dismissed as of little account, with no attempt to provide any reasonable accommodation. Given the central role of religion in human life, unnecessary limitations on its expression are attacks on human freedom itself.

Religious Freedom in an Egalitarian Age

Religious Freedom in an Egalitarian Age
Author: Nelson Tebbe
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2017-02-06
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0674971434

Tensions between religious freedom and equality law are newly strained in America. As lawmakers work to protect LGBT citizens and women seeking reproductive freedom, religious traditionalists assert their right to dissent from what they see as a new liberal orthodoxy. Some religious advocates are going further and expressing skepticism that egalitarianism can be defended with reasons at all. Legal experts have not offered a satisfying response—until now. Nelson Tebbe argues that these disputes, which are admittedly complex, nevertheless can be resolved without irrationality or arbitrariness. In Religious Freedom in an Egalitarian Age, he advances a method called social coherence, based on the way that people reason through moral problems in everyday life. Social coherence provides a way to reach justified conclusions in constitutional law, even in situations that pit multiple values against each other. Tebbe contends that reasons must play a role in the resolution of these conflicts, alongside interests and ideologies. Otherwise, the health of democratic constitutionalism could suffer. Applying this method to a range of real-world cases, Tebbe offers a set of powerful principles for mediating between religion and equality law, and he shows how they can lead to workable solutions in areas ranging from employment discrimination and public accommodations to government officials and public funding. While social coherence does not guarantee outcomes that will please the liberal Left, it does point the way toward reasoned, nonarbitrary solutions to the current impasse.

Getting Over Equality

Getting Over Equality
Author: Steven D. Smith
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 250
Release: 2001-09
Genre: Law
ISBN: 9780814797945

8 Theism and Tolerance

Religion and Equality

Religion and Equality
Author: W. Cole Durham, Jr.
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2016-05-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1317068076

This volume presents an analysis of controversial events and issues shaping a rapidly changing international legal, political, and social landscape. Leading scholars and experts in law, religious studies and international relations, thoughtfully consider issues and tensions arising in contemporary debates over religion and equality in many parts of the world. The book is in two parts. The first section focuses on the anti-discrimination dimension of religious freedom norms, examining the developing law on equality and human rights and how it operates at international and national levels. The second section provides a series of case studies exploring the contemporary issue of same-sex marriage and how it affects religious groups and believers. This collection will be of interest to academics and scholars of law, religious studies, political science, and sociology, as well as policymakers and legal practitioners.

Liberty of Conscience

Liberty of Conscience
Author: Martha Craven Nussbaum
Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2008-02-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0465051642

An analysis of America's commitment to religious liberty uses political history, philosophical ideas, and key constitutional cases to discuss its basis in six principles: equality, respect for conscience, liberty, accommodation of minorities, nonestablishment, and separation of church and state.

Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground

Religious Freedom, LGBT Rights, and the Prospects for Common Ground
Author: William N. Eskridge (Jr.)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 567
Release: 2018-11-22
Genre: Law
ISBN: 1108470157

LGBT, faith, and academic thought-leaders explore prospects for laws protecting each community's core interests and possible resolutions for culture-war conflicts.

Proportionality, Equality Laws, and Religion

Proportionality, Equality Laws, and Religion
Author: Megan Pearson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Equality
ISBN: 9781472456502

Legal frameworks -- Resolving conflicts between religious and other claims -- Interference and justification -- Proportionality -- Religious claims in secular employment -- Discrimination and religious employment -- Religious organisations and services -- The secular marketplace and religious claims

White Christian Privilege

White Christian Privilege
Author: Khyati Y. Joshi
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 286
Release: 2020-07-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1479840238

Exposes the invisible ways in which white Christian privilege disadvantages racial and religious minorities in America The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the Constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.” Religious minorities still struggle for recognition and for the opportunity to be treated as fully and equally legitimate members of American society. From the courtroom to the classroom, their scriptures and practices are viewed with suspicion, and bias embedded in centuries of Supreme Court rulings create structural disadvantages that endure today. In White Christian Privilege, Khyati Y. Joshi traces Christianity’s influence on the American experiment from before the founding of the Republic to the social movements of today. Mapping the way through centuries of slavery, westward expansion, immigration, and citizenship laws, she also reveals the ways Christian privilege in the United States has always been entangled with notions of White supremacy. Through the voices of Christians and religious minorities, Joshi explores how Christian privilege and White racial norms affect the lives of all Americans, often in subtle ways that society overlooks. By shining a light on the inequalities these privileges create, Joshi points the way forward, urging readers to help remake America as a diverse democracy with a commitment to true religious freedom.