Battles Over Symbols: The “Religion” of the Minority Versus the “Culture” of the Majority

Abstract

Moreover, with the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to identify in the constant central core of Christian faith, despite the inquisition, despite anti-Semitism and despite the crusades, the principles of human dignity, tolerance and freedom, including religious freedom, and therefore, in the last analysis, the foundations of the secular State.A European court should not be called upon to bankrupt centuries of European tradition. No court, certainly not this Court, should rob the Italians of part of their cultural personality.In March, 2011, after five years of working its way through various levels of national and European courts, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights decided that a crucifix hanging at the front of a classroom did not violate the right to religious freedom under Article 34 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Specifically, Ms. Soile Lautsi had complained that the presence of the crucifix violated her and her children's right to religious freedom and that its presence amounted to an enforced religious regime. The Grand Chamber, reversing the lower Chamber's decision, held that while admittedly a religious symbol, the crucifix also represented the cultural heritage of Italians.

Universal or Particular … or Both? The Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Cross-Cultural Perspective

“…The idea of "religion" embodied in the right to FoRB, they argue, also emphasizes the individual and cognitive aspects of belief, a highly Westernized, Christian (arguably Protestant) way of conceptualizing religion that does not necessarily resonate across other contexts. The lack of a universally agreed upon definition of "religion" means that in legal cases involving potential violations of FoRB, it is often the personal view of the judges regarding what "religion" is and what "essential" religious practice is that can determine how a case is decided (Sullivan 2005;Berger 2007;Beaman 2013). The highly subjective nature of FoRB, then, leaves it open to abuse and manipulation by different actors in practice, however noble the intention of the right in theory may be.…”

Sexuality, Law, and Religion in Latin America: Frameworks in Tension

“…In general, these works tend to present a critical understanding of the secular; one that traces its connections with the religious. With a focus on sexuality, Jakobsen and Pellegrini (2003) or Beaman (2013), for example, have considered the overlapping of and imbrications between religious (Christian) ideas about sex and legal regulations.…”

Managing Religion and the Judicialization of Religious Freedom

“…These and other court decisions in America and other nations, and by important regional courts such as the ECtHR, clearly demonstrate that religious freedom is being reinterpreted in new and different ways, and is being contested everywhere in the West. And it is not hard to find evidence that the debate over the meaning of religious freedom pervades non‐Western societies, as well (Beaman Durham and Scharffs ; Hertzke ; Van der Vyver and Witte ; Yang ).…”

“…A somewhat less optimistic view of ECtHR's rulings dealing with minority faiths can be found in Christians () and in Beaman (–2013).…”