Against the backdrop that multiculturalism has failed in Western Europe, this thesis argues that minority rights standards should be applied to Western European Muslims. Western European States have consistently excluded Muslims from minority rights protection under international law on the basis that they constitute 'new minorities'. However, this thesis asserts that the justifications given by States for the exclusion of Western European Muslims from minority rights protection no longer hold true and have the potential to undermine the object and purpose of the minority rights regime – security and justice. Furthermore, by considering the content of both generally applicable human rights standards and minority rights standards in the light of the situation and specific claims made by Muslim minorities in Western Europe, in relation to the preservation of their identity, this thesis proves that there is an added-value to minority rights protection for these communities. Minority rights standards and multiculturalist policies adopt a similar approach to the accommodation of societal diversity. Thus, given the exclusion of Western European Muslims from the additional protection offered by minority rights standards, this thesis submits that multiculturalist approaches to the accommodation of European Muslims have not failed; insufficient measures have been adopted to ensure their success. If a multiculturalist approach to the accommodation of diversity is to be pursued in Western Europe, States must allow Muslim minorities to benefit from the protection available under minority rights standards.

The Diploma thesis "Freedom of religion: constitutional and statutory regulation and reflection in the judgments of the Constitutional Court" focuses on the constitutional and statutory regulation of freedom of religion in the Czech legal order, and also on the case law of the Constitutional Court concerning various aspects of freedom of religion. The thesis is divided into three parts, the first part is focused on the sources of statutory regulation. Besides the constitutional and statutory regulation also the relevant international conventions on human rights are mentioned. Among the statutory regulation the main attention is put on the Act on churches and religious societies, which implements the constitutional regulation, and also on the Antidiscrimination act, which constitutes the main statutory source of protection against discrimination. The second part analyses various forms of freedom of religion, specifically the autonomy of churches, the right to refuse the military service for religious reasons, the freedom of religion in the relationship between parents and children, the freedom of religion in the context of education and at last the question of religious symbols in public space. The aspects of freedom of religion mentioned above are analysed from the view of their constitutional and...

This thesis deals with the constitutional and statutory regulation of freedom of religion in the Czech Republic. The aim is to describe and evaluate the current state of legal regulation and analyse some of its aspects considering the judgements of the Constitutional Court and of the European Court of Human Rights. The thesis is composed of four chapters. The introductory chapter consists of three parts. The first part defines the basic terminology used in the following parts of the thesis. The second part examines constitutional and statutory regulation. Relevant international treaties are also mentioned. The third part focuses on the relationship between the state and religious communities, and its effect on the level of religious freedom. The second chapter concentrates on the inner dimension of freedom of thought, conscience and religion (the so-called forum internum) as an expression of inviolability of the inner life of a human. It also addresses the right to change religion or belief and problems which may result from proselytism. The third chapter deals with outer displays of religion or belief (the so-called forum externum). It describes the forms of outer displays of religion or belief, namely worship, teaching, practice and observance, enshrined not only in the Charter of Fundamental...

Le système juridique des Etats de droit musulman est composé de règles et de principes hétérogènes. A côté du droit positif codifié, les règles religieuses constituent une source de référence pour le législateur et pour le juge. La constitutionnalisation de l’islam comme religion officielle et comme source de législation dans les Etats de droit musulman, développe ce pluralisme juridique. La coexistence des différentes sources de droit, positive et religieuse, est accentuée par le système de personnalité des lois. Dans ce contexte, l’effectivité de la liberté de religion proclamée par la Constitution des Etats de droit musulman est remise en cause. Le principe d’égalité sans discrimination fondée sur la religion, la liberté de pratiquer librement sa religion ou encore le droit de changer de religion sont encadrés par la législation ou par la jurisprudence. Bien que tous les Etats aient amorcé le processus de constitutionnalisation, les juges constitutionnels peinent à affirmer leur autonomie par rapport au pouvoir exécutif. Le droit musulman est instrumentalisé par les pouvoirs politiques pour asseoir leur autorité sur une légitimité religieuse. Toutefois, la jurisprudence avant-gardiste de la Haute Cour constitutionnelle égyptienne qui a affirmé son indépendance et la jurisprudence civile des tribunaux tunisiens qui ont interprété l’article 1er de la Constitution tunisienne, sont le signe encourageant d’un changement possible. / The legal system in states governed by Islamic law is comprised of a set of heterogeneous rules and principles. Alongside its codified, positive law, religious laws serve as a referential source for the legislature and judiciary. The constitutionalization of Islam as both an official religion and a legislative source in Islamic law states nurtures this legal plurality. The coexistence of these different sources of law, positive and religious respectively, is further accentuated by the subjective variability of law. In this context, the existence of freedom of religion, as enshrined in the constitutions of these Islamic law states, is called into question. The principle of equality without discrimination on grounds of religion; the liberty to freely practice one’s religion; or, indeed, the right to change one’s religion, are framed by legislation or jurisprudence. Although all states have begun the process of constitutionalization, constitutional judges still struggle to assert their autonomy over the executive branch. Islamic law is being exploited by political powers wishing to anchor their authority in religious legitimacy. Nonetheless, encouraging signs of change are evident in the forward-thinking jurisprudence of certain jurisdictions.

This thesis examines the conditions under which a defense of religious freedom can be successfully argued before the courts. It is acknowledged that freedom of religion has long existed in Canada but the defense of religious freedom in criminal prosecutions has not often been accepted by the Canadian Courts. The author thinks that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms puts the defense of religious freedom in a more favourable position by making it possible for Canadian judges to proceed to a balancing test that up to now they have been reluctant to use. Besides the question of the balancing test, various problems revolve around the defense of religious freedom in criminal prosecutions. The first section examines the social and historical context of religious freedom in Canada. The second section is located in a more legal perspective. A survey of the Canadian cases is made in order to comprehend the answers that Canadian judges have given in the criminal prosecutions where the defense of religious freedom was raised. In looking at the Canadian decisions on that issue, four basic problems call for solutions. The following sections deal respectively with those questions. Section 3 raises the issue of the definition of religion and religious activities. Section 4 points out a new understanding of the concept of infringement. In Section 5, the notion of balancing test is examined in light of American decisions and its application to the defense of religious freedom is considered. Finally, the necessity of a theory justifying the defense of religious freedom is explored in Section 6. In conclusion, this study stresses the impact the Charter will have upon the acceptance of the defense of religious freedom by Canadian courts. To the problems that have been identified, the author proposes some solutions, bearing in mind that the future of the defense of religious freedom in Canada depends on whether or not Canadian judges will consider that the Charter has introduced a new era in the exercise of fundamental freedoms in Canada. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

“The Politics of Devotion” is a social, political, and intellectual history of Catholicism in the Spanish colonies of Cuba and Puerto Rico during the last third of the nineteenth century. Against the backdrop of persistent quarrels about freedom of religion and political independence in which Liberals and Freemasons played a central role, the project argues that the twin threats of secularism and separatism pushed Catholicism to become a militant political stance in the island colonies. Faced with debates about would-be independent nations where Catholicism would be dethroned as the State religion, it became clear to both common Catholics and ecclesiastics that for Catholicism to survive, it was imperative that the Spanish Empire prevail. The dissertation therefore details how Catholics confronted and engaged novel ideas that called their faith into question and shows how Catholicism, traditionally espoused as a matter of private belief, transformed into a political and public position. It explores how the faithful organized themselves around Catholicism to safeguard both their fate and the fate of their islands, and made religion a key element in civic life, whereby one was either a patriot and a good Catholic or a separatist and a godless individual. The project also reevaluates the development of civil societies in Cuba and Puerto Rico, reinserting Catholicism into a narrative of political struggle that eschews religion in favor of political philosophies and intellectual movements understood as modern at the time, and proposes that the expansion of these civil societies was achieved alongside, rather than in spite of, discussions about the centrality of Catholicism and its practices.

Univ., Diss.--Köln, 2002. / Literaturverz. S. [326] - 351.

Thesis (LLD)--University of Stellenbosch, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The central issue which is considered in this thesis is the meaning of the constitutional guarantees of religious rights and freedoms in South Africa. In other words, it is concerned with the functions of the state, through its laws or conduct, in respect of religion and with its relationship towards the institutional church or religious community. It is argued that religious freedom is, in fact, a bundle of rights and freedoms. The "essential rights and freedoms of religion" which constitute this "bundle" are identified in the context of the historical development of religious rights. It is shown that religious rights theories have developed in the West which include concepts of freedom of conscience, the right to freely exercise religion, accommodation of pluralism of a confessional and institutional nature, equality of all religions before the law, nondiscrimination on the grounds offaith, institutional separation of church and state and some separation of state (or law) and religion. It is maintained that no single principle could by itself guarantee religious freedom and that these rights and freedoms are mutually. supportive of and mutually subservient to the highest goal of guaranteeing religious freedom. These essential rights and freedoms are therefore treated as constituting minimum standards for the protection of religious freedom and it is argued that religious freedom as protected in the South African Constitution should be interpreted to incorporate these multiple principles. It is shown that, prior to the promulgation of the interim Constitution the essential rights and freedoms of religion were not adequately protected in South Africa and that the constitutional entrenchment of these essential religious rights was necessitated by various factors in the preconstitutional South African society. The position with regard to religious rights and freedoms in post-Constitutional South Africa is considered by briefly sketching the broader constitutional context and by assessing the constitutional clauses protecting religious rights to determine whether the essential rights are protected. The religious rights provisions in the Constitution are analysed in detail in order to determine how they should be interpreted and implemented to ensure adequate protection of the essential rights and freedoms of religion in South Africa. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die sentrale vraagstuk wat in hierdie proefskrif ondersoek word is die betekenis van godsdiensregte en vryhede wat in die Grondwet verskans word. Dit ondersoek die funksie van die staat, hetsy deur wetgewing of staatsoptrede, ten opsigte van godsdiens en ten opsigte van kerke of godsdiensgroepe. Daar word geargumenteer dat godsdiensregte inderdaad uit 'n aantal regte, oftewel, 'n bondel regte, bestaan. Die essensiële regte en vryhede van godsdiens wat hierdie bondelopmaak word geïdentifiseer met verwysing na die historiese ontwikkeling van godsdiensregte. Teorieë van godsdiensregte het in die Weste ontwikkel wat die volgende essensiële regte en vryhede insluit: vryheid van gewete, die reg om godsdiens vrylik te beoefen, akkommodasie van pluralisme, gelykheid van alle godsdienste en nie-diskriminasie op grond van godsdiens, institusionele skeiding van kerk en staat en gedeeltelike skeiding van staat en godsdiens. Die argument lui verder dat 'n enkele beginsel nie opsigself godsdiensvryheid kan waarborg nie en dat hierdie regte en vryhede mekaar wedersyds ondersteun en tesame die doel van godsdiensvryheid dien. Die essensiële regte en vryhede van godsdiens word daarom behandel as minimum standaarde vir die beskerming van godsdiensvryheid en daar word 'n saak uitgemaak dat godsdiensvryheid in die Suid-Afrikaanse Grondwet geïnterpreteer behoort te word as synde hierdie veelvuldige beginsels in te sluit. Die proefskriftoon dat die essensiele regte en vryhede nie voor die inwerkingtreding van die interim Grondwet in Suid-Afrika genoegsame beskerming geniet het nie en dat die konstitusionele verskansing daarvan deur verskeie faktore in die pre-konstitusionele Suid- Afrika genoodsaak is. Die posisie na die inwerkingtreding van die Grondwet word geëvalueer deur kortliks die breë grondwetlike konteks te skets en vas te stelof die artikels in die Grondwet wat met godsdiens handel, inderdaad die essensiele regte en vryhede van godsdiens beskerm. Hierdie artikels word in diepte geanaliseer ten einde te bepaal hoe hulle geïnterpreteer en geïmplementeer behoort te word ten einde die essensiele godsdiensregte en vryhede genoegsaam te beskerm.

I en demokrati är yttrandefriheten en grundbult. Men ett demokratiskt samhälle innefattar även religionsfriheten, som skyddar individers eller gruppers rättighet att utöva religion. Religiösa utövare placerar ofta religionen över allt annat och individens frihet att yttra sig uppfattas därmed som sekundärt. Det resulterar ofta i att religion blir måltavla för kränkande yttringar, något som av de religiösa uppfattas som otillåtligt. Den 19 augusti 2007 publicerades Lars Vilks blyertsteckning ”Profeten Muhammed som rondellhund.” Karikatyren spred sig snabbt och extremister placerade Vilks på sin officiella dödslista. Vilks testar gränser och de religiösa reagerar, ett tydligt exempel på den turbulens som kan skapas mellan yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet. Genom en analys av de argument som förs fram i debatten om Lars Vilks, är vårt syfte att skapa en ökad förståelse för det ambivalenta förhållandet mellan yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet. Vår frågeställning består av två delar: Vilka är de mest frekventa för- och motargumenten som förs fram i debatten kring Lars Vilks i samband med yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet? Hur kan vi, genom dessa för- och motargument, skapa förståelse för det ambivalenta förhållandet mellan yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet? Studien bygger på en argumentationsanalys, som fokuserar på debatten om Lars Vilks i samband med yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet. Empirin utgörs av 62 åsiktsartiklar, hämtade från tidningarna Dagens Nyheter och Expressen från åren 2007, 2010 samt 2015. För att ha ett påstående att förhålla oss till urskilde vi vår huvudtes: Religion får inte inskränka yttrandefriheten i en demokrati. Utifrån det identifierade vi fyra argument som understödjer tesen: I en demokrati får man kränka religion, Ett demokratiskt samhälle ska inte tystas av hot och rädsla, Yttrandefriheten är grundläggande i en demokrati och Religion måste utmanas för att samhället ska utvecklas, samt två som undergräver tesen: Yttranden om religion bör inte användas omdömeslöst och Yttrandefrihet ska inte utnyttjas i syfte att kränka religion. Anhängarna argumenterar för att alla åsikter får yttras. En vädring av obekväma yttranden anses vara avgörande för det demokratiska samhället. Opponenterna anser att oförnuftiga yttranden leder till ett mer konfliktfyllt samhälle och att de därför bör begränsas. Det ambivalenta förhållandet belyses extra i och med att majoriteten argumenterar för att yttrandefriheten är grundläggande i en demokrati, men att utlåtanden kräver ett personligt ansvar. Det personliga ansvaret är dock subjektivt, och en gränsdragning för vad som bör och inte bör sägas blir svår, framför allt i ett samhälle som känner sig hotat av extremister. För att förstå det ambivalenta förhållandet mellan yttrandefrihet och religionsfrihet är det nödvändigt att begripa konflikten mellan de legala rättigheterna och de moraliska förpliktelserna.

Thesis (DTh (Ecclesiology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The central theme of this thesis is the historic unfolding of the concept of freedom of religion and its manifestation according to the canonical law of the Dutch Reformed Church since 1962. Two issues were considered, the first being the historic development of freedom of religion while the second issue concerns the status and understanding of freedom of religion since 1962 and the canonical implication for the Dutch Reformed Church between 1962 and 2007. The historic research into the origin of freedom of religion starts with the biblical view of the concept and gives a synopsis of the development until it reaches worldwide recognition as a fundamental constitutional right. Prior to the final understanding of the concept of freedom of religion, different forms and meanings were given to the concept. At first freedom of religion was historically developed and understood as a God-given right of every man. Later on, to protect the society from infringement of human and religious rights, it became necessary to establish freedom of religion worldwide as a recognized constitutional right. It is argued that freedom of religion is in fact the most fundamental right of all the human rights. The research shows the development of religious freedom in the Dutch Reformed Church between 1962 and 2007. From as far as 1652 the Christian religion was a privileged religion in South Africa. The privileged situation of the Dutch Reformed Church in its relation to the state made it unnecessary for them to discuss or define the concept of freedom of religion. Consequently the church gave silent consent to the state’s limited application of religious freedom. In and outside the church there was an ongoing debate that helped the church to formulate its role in religious freedom, which resulted in the document “Church and Society” (1986–1990). With the new Constitution of South Africa in 1996, a new situation developed for the Dutch Reformed Church as well as other churches. The church realized that it must define and take up its own legal position on religious freedom, which is guaranteed in the Constitution of South Africa. The church has the right to express their religious identity in a plural society. The relationship between church and state is expressed in matters such as conditions of employment, church property; matrimony, education, ordinances, religious organisation, etc. These are all issues of religious freedom that are guaranteed in the Constitution. The conclusion of this research will be helpful for churches and religious communities in their capacity of canonical as well as civil law. Religious communities must make optimum use of the provision made by the Constitution for freedom of religion.