The Constitutional Dynamics of Religious Manifestations

Abstract

The justification grounds for a special right to religious freedom have been scrutinized in the public and the scholarly debates across liberal democracies. In the public debate, the legal admissibility of some religious manifestations has been challenged for reasons that suggest religious manifestations have been favored in law qua religious. In the scholarly debate, the focus has been on the “specialness” of religion and the justification grounds for singling out religion qua religion for a favored treatment in law. However, recent developments show that religion has also been singled out qua religion for a disfavored treatment. This project pays attention to both angles of the debate on law and religion. To this end, it combines the outcomes of six separate articles, each touching upon a different aspect of this debate. As such, it elaborates in the first four articles on the question whether religion qua religion deserves special legal solicitude. Subsequently, it explores in the last two articles on singling out religion qua religion for a disfavored treatment in law.

Keywords: Law and Religion; Religion in Liberal Political Philosophy; Freedom of Religion; First Amendment; Non-Establishment Clause