Unequally Yoked: The Antinomies of Church–State Separation in Europe and the USA

Abstract

The ongoing secularisation debate(s) rarely focus on state secularisation, seemingly because of the assumption that the state is definitionally secular and so logically not subject to secularisation. From a less compromised perspective, the secular state appears as an American late-eighteenth century invention while the present day states of Europe retain significant features inherited from the formative period of the modern state when it took a distinctively confessional form -that is, they remain still in part religious.

Is it Really God's Century? An Evaluation of Religious Support and Discrimination from 1990 to 2008

“…Toft et al (2011) find similarly for civil wars between 1940 and 2010. Madeley (2009) finds that a similar number of states in Europe support religion in 2000 as did in 1900 but there are more “secular” states in 2000. However, this study focuses primarily on whether or not states have official religions.…”

“…Interestingly, earlier versions of the argument that religion is returning mostly focus on either conflict (Juergensmeyer 1993; Fox 2002; Huntington 1993; 1996) or religious fundamentalism (Appleby 2000; Esposito 1998; Marty and Appleby 1991). More recently this discussion has expanded to include religious freedom (Grim and Finke 2011; Fox 2008) state religion policy (Fox 2008; Philpott 2007; Toft et al 2011), and international relations (Fox and Sandler 2004; Madeley 2009; Philpott 2002; 2007; Thomas 2005). Others focus almost exclusively on why political scientists ignored religion, with little discussion of whether religion had resurged or has always been present (Philpott 2009; Wald and Wilcox 2006).…”

A historical theory of organization and management in Europe's Orthodox East: A Weberian re-enchantment of disenchanted rationalization

“…The situation may be different in canonically autonomous churches under the jurisdiction of strong autocephalous churches. Many but not all Orthodox autocephalies and autonomies stand out as established state churches or traditional or national churches of their host countries (Madeley 2009; Roudometof 2008; Runciman 1968).…”

“…Many but not all Orthodox autocephalies and autonomies stand out as established state churches or traditional or national churches of their host countries. (Runciman 1968, 320-337;Roudometof 2008;Madeley 2009).Orthodox governance of relationships between politics and religion -the throne and the altarderives its roots from Emperor Justinian's 529 declaration of the politico-theological norm symphonia -, literally, agreement. The Orthodox canons continue to include -legitimated with reference to the scriptural principle 'neither Jew nor Greek' but 'all one in Christ' (Galatians 3:28)the 1872 Constantinople Synod condemnation of ethnophyletism -, religious ethnocentrism.…”

The Challenges of the Early Twenty-First Century

“…As the papers by Green (2009), Klausen (2009), Laurence (2009) and Madeley (2009 show, transatlantic comparisons are complex, but what they do make clear is the growing significance in public life in both cases of the claims and demands of organised religious groups of whatever kind. This might worry academics for reasons that are rather similar to what we have said are the reasons why targets and performance-based funding might worry them.…”