Religious Citizenship

Abstract

This short paper raises one side of a pertinent contemporary debate -that religion is still an important influence in politics. Social science errs by imagining this is a transient phenomenon.The post-Enlightenment presumption that secular and sacred realms should and could be isolated, with political activity uncontrolled by scriptural prescription, was probably never feasible and certainly is not now in those countries where religion plays a large role in political and social life. This realisation seems to demand a reconsideration of theories of citizenship and the erstwhile national constitution of rights and obligations. Law and civic belonging will need to be re-constituted according to multi-faith rather than secular principles, even in countries like Australia.

Conceptualizing lived religious citizenship: a case-study of Christian and Muslim women in Norway and the United Kingdom

“…Moreover, interviewees linked citizenship to an ethics of tolerance, respect, love and care towards others; an ethical outlook which is rooted in religious conviction but transcends religious difference. These views and experiences pose a direct challenge to rights-based approaches to religious citizenship (e.g., Hudson 2003;Permoser and Rosenberger 2009) which tend to silence or neglect the importance of identities, participation, belonging and ethical imperatives about love and care. Rightsbased approaches to religious citizenship also overlook issues surrounding inequalities related to gender and to the majority/minority status of particular religions in specific social contexts.…”

Religion, Gender and Citizenship

“…Inspired by theoretical perspectives that foreground both citizenship and religion as 'lived practice' (see Chapter 2), our research applies a bottom-up perspective grounded in the interview data. Based on our findings, we argue that, in its liberal version, a rights-based approach to 'religious citizenship', suggested by scholars such as Hudson (2003) and Permoser and Rosenberger (2009), is too narrow (see also Chapter 2). A rights-based approach silences inequalities based on gender and ignores the different statuses accorded by states and societies to different religions.…”

“…These two authors foreground three types of rights: the universal right to freedom of religion; group-differentiated rights (related to Islam as a minority religion; e.g., rights to wear religious clothing, praying at work and religious holidays); and what they call 'corporate rights' allocated to a specific organization (the Islamic Faith Community Organisation in Austria) which the state recognizes and cooperates with as the assumed representative of all Muslims in Austria (ibid.). Hudson (2003) also forwards a predominantly rights-based approach to religious citizenship. Nevertheless, Hudson suggests that religious citizenship can be defined in multiple ways, including a nation-state definition, where 'religious citizenship is the citizenship that your nation state allows you to exercise in religious matters' (ibid.…”

“…Moreover, the research participants linked citizenship to an ethic of tolerance, respect, love and care towards othersan ethical outlook which is rooted in religious conviction but transcends religious difference. These views and experiences pose a direct challenge to scholars who foreground religious rights as central to religious citizenship (e.g., Hudson 2003;Permoser and Rosenberger 2009). Rights-based approaches to religious citizenship tend to silence or neglect the importance of identities, participation, belonging and ethical imperatives about love and care -aspects that religious women themselves highlight as important to them.…”

Religious citizenship: the case of the globalised Khōjā

“…Relatedly, the second, more extensive, body of research focuses on how religious minorities, particularly Muslims, are challenging established notions of citizenship in a pluralistic West. (Hudson, 2003;Kymlicka & Norman, 2000;March, 2009;Modood, Zapate-Barrero, & Triandafyllidou, 2006;Ryder, 2006). This article defines 'religious citizenship' in a different and narrower context from the existing literature, focusing on the political evolution the African Khōjā.…”