The Swedish state and educational system are secular, so to say they do not depend on the former protestant state church anymore. Many people in Sweden are also secular. Even so, in school teachers meet students with a religious faith. The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers without a religious belonging experience the encounter with religious students. The method used was semistructured interviews with five teachers in a upper secondary school in a multicultural suburb of Stockholm. In this school, most students have a religious faith and the majority are Muslims or Christians. The prevalent discourses about religion and secularism in Sweden today are found through the teachers speech about the teachers and the students living in two different worlds. The dichotomy is more clearly expressed by the less religious teachers. The meaning of the double assignment of the curriculum is interpreted differently by the different teachers and the teachers have experienced conflicts of values regarding the following subjects: freedom of speech, sexuality (including homosexuality and gender equality), antisemitism and intolerance. The teachers use discussions and debates to handle the conflicts. In their statements, the teachers place the conflicts of value in a public sphere, not in an individual, which means they do not hesitate to act against unscientific approaches and/or antidemocratic views. Thus, the conflicts of values can be used as tools to foster democracy, tolerance and human rights. The teachers believe that they have the assignment to change the students religiously anchored values, but not to influence them to become secular.

<p>Within the context of South Africa&lsquo / s diverging religious, cultural and social backgrounds, new questions on the nature of a multicultural society are raised from the perspective of human rights.&nbsp / The universality and indivisibility of human rights are challenged by this diversity and consequently implies that standards, concepts and structures for implementation have to be reconsidered.&nbsp / International and national standards are being (re)interpreted and attention is not only focused on the contents of the norms but on the limitations imposed thereupon. The debate on whether limits should be set in permitting or accommodating cultural or religious pluralism is becoming extremely relevant. The manner in which these questions are responded to&nbsp / is even more prominent in the light of our history of apartheid which has disregarded respect for religious and cultural diversity. In the scope of this research emphasis will be placed on the&nbsp / right to freedom of religion and in particular the limitation of the right to religion in an attempt to balance conflicting rights and accommodates religious diversity. The right to freedom of religion&nbsp / albeit constitutionally entrenched is subject to reasonable and justifiable limitations. However, no clear guidelines have been formulated on the criteria for limiting the right to freedom of&nbsp / religion. The main aim of this research is to find guiding criteria to facilitate the imposition of limitations on the right to freedom of religion. The limitations of the right to freedom of religion are&nbsp / interrelated with the following research questions: Firstly, the definition afforded to the right to freedom of religion in accordance with national and international standards / secondly, the relationship between culture and religion and any interconnection that exists between these rights. This is followed by the influence of the particular value framework or normative commitments&nbsp / f the judiciary on the interpretation of the right to religion, as well as the relationship between the state and religion. The above issues will be researched both on a national and&nbsp / an international level. The aim is to conduct research that will build on an appreciation of the guidelines that should be employed in ensuring the protection of the right to freedom of religion. To this end comparisons will be drawn with other legal&nbsp / systems, which on the one hand acknowledge the protection of the right to freedom of religion and on the other hand have to find ways in which the right can be balanced in the event of conflict. It is envisaged that the research of the criteria imposed on the limitation of the right to religion both on a national and an international level will assist in suggesting criteria that will influence&nbsp / scholarly debate on the topic. In addition that this debate will allow for the formulation of a transformative approach within the South African context that sanctions the celebration of diversity in all&nbsp / its aspects and in particular the right to freedom of religion.<br /> &nbsp / </p>

<p>Within the context of South Africa&lsquo / s diverging religious, cultural and social backgrounds, new questions on the nature of a multicultural society are raised from the perspective of human rights.&nbsp / The universality and indivisibility of human rights are challenged by this diversity and consequently implies that standards, concepts and structures for implementation have to be reconsidered.&nbsp / International and national standards are being (re)interpreted and attention is not only focused on the contents of the norms but on the limitations imposed thereupon. The debate on whether limits should be set in permitting or accommodating cultural or religious pluralism is becoming extremely relevant. The manner in which these questions are responded to&nbsp / is even more prominent in the light of our history of apartheid which has disregarded respect for religious and cultural diversity. In the scope of this research emphasis will be placed on the&nbsp / right to freedom of religion and in particular the limitation of the right to religion in an attempt to balance conflicting rights and accommodates religious diversity. The right to freedom of religion&nbsp / albeit constitutionally entrenched is subject to reasonable and justifiable limitations. However, no clear guidelines have been formulated on the criteria for limiting the right to freedom of&nbsp / religion. The main aim of this research is to find guiding criteria to facilitate the imposition of limitations on the right to freedom of religion. The limitations of the right to freedom of religion are&nbsp / interrelated with the following research questions: Firstly, the definition afforded to the right to freedom of religion in accordance with national and international standards / secondly, the relationship between culture and religion and any interconnection that exists between these rights. This is followed by the influence of the particular value framework or normative commitments&nbsp / f the judiciary on the interpretation of the right to religion, as well as the relationship between the state and religion. The above issues will be researched both on a national and&nbsp / an international level. The aim is to conduct research that will build on an appreciation of the guidelines that should be employed in ensuring the protection of the right to freedom of religion. To this end comparisons will be drawn with other legal&nbsp / systems, which on the one hand acknowledge the protection of the right to freedom of religion and on the other hand have to find ways in which the right can be balanced in the event of conflict. It is envisaged that the research of the criteria imposed on the limitation of the right to religion both on a national and an international level will assist in suggesting criteria that will influence&nbsp / scholarly debate on the topic. In addition that this debate will allow for the formulation of a transformative approach within the South African context that sanctions the celebration of diversity in all&nbsp / its aspects and in particular the right to freedom of religion.<br /> &nbsp / </p>