The issues discussed in this book all stand at the crossroads of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In some cases, the two rights clash when somebody practising their right to freedom of speech affects others' rights to freedom of religion, as in instances of blasphemy and hate speech. In other cases, the two rights, reinforcing one another, together provide protection for the individual. Not even this joint protection, however, is always sufficient to prevent state intervention, for example, the restriction of rights in wearing religious symbols or religious advertising rules. A question of a third type is when the state, or a state body, enters the public space and becomes the 'speaker' on matters of religion, in which case the state might be subject to special restrictions. Although their ideological and constitutional foundations seem stable, the extent of freedom of religion and freedom of speech have repeatedly been the subject of public debates because of social and political changes in a dynamically transforming Europe. Identifying the precise demarcation lines between these rights by means of the law is not a task that has been accomplished completely or for all time. The increasing rate of immigration, with a resulting involuntary cohabitation of various religious cultures, as well as the continual weakening of the Christian character of the continent make it critical to find the right responses to the questions discussed in this book, both in the individual European legal systems and at the level of the European community of states and of the European system of protecting human rights. The first and second chapters of the book discuss the appearance of religions in the public sphere and in public education. Traditionally, the state is not a subject of fundamental rights, and yet it takes a position on questions relating to religion, which-no matter how we explain it-is a type of 'speech'. This raises the question of how such speech can be restricted, or 'where are the limits on the "freedom of speech" of the state'? The role of the state might be to defend or even shape the community identity of its citizens. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the restriction of opinions with religious content. Chapter 3 analyses the restrictions on wearing symbols and clothing imposed by both the state and private entities, whereas Chapter 4 discusses the regulation of publishing religious advertisements in the media. Unlike the issues related predominantly to Christianity discussed in the first two chapters, the questions of wearing symbols and clothing also involve the restrictions of opinions expressed by followers of Islam. Chapter 5 of the book is dedicated to questions relating to defamation of religions and blasphemy. The topicality and significance of these issues became obvious after the tragic events in Paris on January 2015, where many were killed in an attack against the editorial offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo. The books touches upon certain types of conduct which are rooted in religious conviction and may have legal consequences, but which, in the absence of an expressive content, do not belong to the sphere of freedom of speech. Examples of this include doctors refusing to carry out an abortion, or registrars unwilling to administer the marriage of same-sex couples. since we do not regard such types of conduct as relating to the freedom of speech, they are not discussed in this book. Andras Koltay's seminal monograph tackles these and other issues. It is a magisterial work, possibly the best exposition of the subject available today.

" ... discusses the legal debates surrounding the use of religious symbols in schools, public places and media advertising, the freedom of the state in integrating religious studies in public education, the limitations on wearing religious clothing and symbols and the restriction of blasphemy laws"--Publisher's website.

This book presents a human rights-based assessment of the various modes of state–religion identification and of the various forms of state practice that surround and characterize these different state–religion models. This book makes a case for the recognition of a state duty to remain impartial with respect to religion or belief in all regards so as to comply with people’s fundamental right to be governed, at all times, in a religiously neutral manner.

Comparing policy in America, France, and Turkey, this book analyzes the impact of ideological struggles on public policies toward religion.

"Drawing on a wealth of scholarship by second-wave feminists and historians of religion, race, and colonialism, Scott shows that the gender equality invoked today as a fundamental and enduring principle was not originally associated with the term "secularism" when it first entered the lexicon in the nineteenth century. In fact, the inequality of the sexes was fundamental to the articulation of the separation of church and state that inaugurated Western modernity. Scott points out that Western nation-states imposed a new order of women's subordination, assigning them to a feminized familial sphere meant to complement the rational masculine realms of politics and economics. It was not until the question of Islam arose in the late twentieth century that gender equality became a primary feature of the discourse of secularism"-- Publisher's description

With a clear statement of the theoretical issues in the debates about secularization and post-secularism, 'Religion and the State: A Comparative Sociology' considers a number of major case studies - from China, Europe, Singapore and South Asia - in order to understand the rise of public religions in the modern state. By distinguishing between political secularization - the separation of state and religion - and social secularization - the transformation of the everyday practice of religion - this volume offers an integrating framework within which to analyze these different societies.

This book seeks to explain the political and religious factors leading to the economic reversal of fortunes between Europe and the Middle East.