Faith and Worldview Communities and Their Leaders–Inward or Outward Looking?

Religious Diversity in Europe

“…OIID may also act as interlocutors between religious groups and government, so as to help establish which groups are legitimate religious organisations, although in general they do not involve the public authorities in their activities (Griera and Forteza 2013; see also Griera and Nagel 2018). An issue could arise as to whether those speaking in the name of a certain community might legitimately represent the views of all of their 'co-believers' (Furseth et al 2018). OIID, however, mainly engage individuals who are acting in their own personal capacity and not as representatives of institutions, and therefore cannot enter into binding agreements on their behalf.…”

“…Bock suggest, even if they often support the recognition of religious institutions as genuine actors in society and defend their interests, including requesting public funding for their activities. As a recent study on Nordic OIID shows, they also speak out on public issues; they actually behave in the public as many civil societies (Furseth et al 2018). Nevertheless, stimulating dialogue, understood as an exchange of views to promote mutual understanding and respect, is a substantially different goal than the more concrete political and societal objectives pursued by social movements; it does not imply anything close to a conversion nor even increased impact of religion in society (although recognition and respect for religious concerns are an issue).…”

Religious Diversity in Australia: Rethinking Social Cohesion

“…The perception that a sharp increase in diversity presents a threat to social cohesion is an international trend. For example, Furseth et al (2018) trace the growing diversity of religion in the Nordic countries, mostly as a consequence of changed immigration beginning in the 1980s. Calhoun, in his preface to this work, links this trend to social cohesion, "In some of the most interesting and important passages of this book, the authors trace the loss of cohesive values and a shared framework for public discourse" (Calhoun 2018, p. ix).…”

Routes and relations in Scandinavian interfaith forums: Governance of religious diversity by states and majority churches

“…In other words, issues of securitisation and media framing tie in with interreligious dialogue, especially regarding the governance of minority religion and the conduct of citizenship (see Liebmann, 2018). However, the close ties between religious actors and public authorities pose several dilemmas, and they may indeed come to restrict the critical voices and agencies of minority religious actors (Furseth et al, 2017b; Liebmann, 2017).…”

“…The national interfaith organisations in Sweden and Norway tend to use the same models as ecumenical movements, and the two countries have both formed top-down and national structures (cf. Furseth et al, 2017b). Norwegian STL and Swedish SIC both work as interest bodies that lobby the state and local governments.…”