Christmas, Crescents, and Crosses: When Is Symbolic Religious Establishment Permissible?

Abstract

Symbolic religious establishment (SRE), that is, the noncoercive recognition of religion by the state, has become the object of a growing debate in political philosophy. Although SRE is purely symbolic, some have argued that it can be wrong because of the message of political inequality that it sends. The indeterminacy of this expressive argument makes its application problematic, however. The objective of this article is to improve the applicability of the expressivist argument by providing clear guidelines of evaluation of SRE. I develop a three‐step test that helps distinguish permissible from impermissible cases of SRE: religious symbols that are divisive, political, and not appropriately justified are impermissible because of their exclusionary message. One important upshot of the argument is that the appeal to the value of heritage does not provide a plausible justification for the introduction of new religious symbols, and therefore that such neo‐establishment is always impermissible.

Conceptual Approach to Understanding the Social Aspects of the Educational Potential of the Islamic Studies

“…The problem of a conceptual approach to understanding the social aspects of the educational potential of the Islamic studies attracts attention of scientists from different countries and different time periods, and they focus their attention on its separate categories and manifestations. Bardon (2021) raises the topic of relationship between the state and religion. The scientist explores the factor of secular society turning to the spiritual values by introducing the religious symbols (including a new Copyright: ©2024 Open Access/Author/s -Online @ http//: www.pharosjot.com model) into the society life and predicts the possible results of this neo-establishment.…”

Religion, secularity, culture? Investigating Christian privilege in Western Europe

“…2 Thus my argument expands the existing research into Christian privilege, which almost exclusively focuses on the United States (Blumenfeld et al, 2009; Joshi, 2020; Schlosser, 2003). It also adds to the literature in political theory on Christianity in the public sphere, by taking a different approach from studies that draw upon a framework of liberal secularism, republicanism, or multiculturalism (Bardon, 2021; Laborde and Lægaard, 2019; Modood, 2019; Seglow and Shorten, 2019). Although there are points of overlap with these debates, current normative political theory tends to start from normative principles to evaluate forms of religious accommodation and religious establishment, only at times – and often implicitly – inquiring into structures of societal hierarchy as a secondary step.…”