Desecularisation and Sexual Equality

Abstract

There has been a rise in the political power of organised religions in both western countries and the non-west in the last two decades. There has been desecularisation of the public sphere in countries such as the UK and Australia which takes the form of deliberate government policy both to consult with 'faith communities' and to create an influential role for them in policy formation. These developments are likely to endanger sexual equality because the religious organisations are usually discriminatory with respect to gender and sexuality, both in their employment practices and their ideologies. This article will examine the ways in which desecularisation has been taking place in the UK and Australia and the implications of this for sexual equality.

Public relations and the Northern Ireland peace process: Dissemination, reconciliation and the ‘Good Friday Agreement’ referendum campaign

“…Jeffreys (2001) has assessed the problems, revolving around power and patriarchy, which have bedevilled recent initiatives in ‘interfaith dialogue’– initiatives that have been backed with substantial government funding in states such as the UK and Australia. Jeffreys suggests that one key problem, amongst many, is that ‘interfaith activity presents particular difficulties of exclusion for women … The promotion of interfaith dialogue is a problem for sexuality because it is likely to exclude those who are unrecognised by male community leaders, including women and lesbians and gays who may not feel safe to speak’ (2011: 372). In respect to public relations and, we would argue, much political public relations practice, the problem in trying to position dialogue as a central concept is that it bears little relation to the activity as it is actually practised.…”

Faith-Based Organisations as Welfare Providers in Brazil: The Conflict over Gender in Cases of Domestic Violence

“…Hjelm (2015) has called for a critical approach to religion as expedient, pointing out what he called "the little-examined, unexpected consequences of these increased state-religion partnerships" (Hjelm, 2015, p. 9). For example, some feminist researchers such as Sheila Jeffreys (2011) argue that religions should not be included in government consultations or given contracts for the delivery of public services because "religions are usually discriminatory with respect to gender and equality" (Jeffreys, 2011, p. 364). This is because FBOs that partner with the state are supposed to support state values, aid in community integration and not infringe the rights of citizens.…”

Women’s Coalitions beyond the Laicism–Islamism Divide in Turkey: Towards an Inclusive Struggle for Gender Equality?

“…Recent contributions in gender studies scholarship have widely documented, in Western and non-Western countries alike, the tension between politicized religion and gender equality struggles (e.g., Dhaliwal & Yuval-Davis, 2014;Jeffreys, 2011;Razavi & Jenichen, 2010;Tadros, 2015). Simultaneously, feminist movements in many contexts seek strategies to reclaim gender equality while challenging the divisions between secularism and religion (e.g., Cuesta & Mulinari, 2018;Martinsson, 2016;Moghadam, 2017).…”