What Is Neutrality?

Pierik, Roland; Burg, W. van der

doi:10.1111/raju.12057

Cited by 21 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…It makes sense to lift the distinction between religious and non-religious claims for exemptions, because it does not fit with current, more secular ideals that governments should be neutral towards various (religious and non-religious) ideas of the good life. 31 Moreover, the original distinction led to many odd exceptions. For example, although many secular claims were not even taken into consideration, an exemption claimed by a Jewish parent was allowed by a US court, even though nothing in Judaism objects to vaccinations.…”

Section: The Principle Of Proportionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory Vaccination: An Unqualified Defence

Pierik

2016

J Applied Philosophy

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The 2015 Disneyland outbreak of measles in the US unequivocally brought to light what had been brewing below the surface for a while: a slow but steady decline in vaccination rates resulting in a rising number of outbreaks. This can be traced back to an increasing public questioning of vaccines by an emerging anti-vaccination movement. This article argues that, in the face of diminishing vaccination rates, childhood vaccinations should not be seen as part of the domain of parental choice but, instead, as a non-negotiable legal obligation. The first part of the article formulates and defends two arguments in favour of unqualified mandatory childhood vaccination laws. First, government should not permit parents to put their children at avoidable risk of death and suffering; second, government should guard the common good of herd immunity to protect vulnerable persons. The second part rejects legal and pragmatic objections against such mandatory vaccination laws.

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Section: The Principle Of Proportionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandatory Vaccination: An Unqualified Defence

Pierik

2016

J Applied Philosophy

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“…Based on theoretical underpinnings and previous studies (e.g. Bader, 2007;Carens, 2000;Pierik and van der Burg, 2014), this study hypothesised that two main approaches, namely, an inclusivist and an exclusivist orientation towards the representations of religions in school, would be identified in the data. The analysis confirmed the existence of the two factors entitled 'Religiously responsive approach' that comes close to Bader's (2007) idea of associative democracy and 'Secularist approach' that includes the ideas of political secularism that favour the minimal representation of religion in public spaces (see also Casanova 2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Including or excluding religion and worldviews in schools? Finnish teachers’ and teacher students’ perceptions

Niemi

Kimanen

Kallioniemi

2019

Journal of Beliefs & Values

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How schools navigate between the demands presented by secularisation and the increasing plurality of religious traditions has become a very topical issue in many European countries, including Finland, in recent decades. The question is both practical and philosophical by nature because the ways in which various beliefs and values are represented in school practices and teaching content profoundly concern the educational mission of the schools. However, despite the topicality of the issue, little attention has been given to teachers' perceptions on whether public schools should, or should not, provide space for various religions and worldviews to become visible within the school life, and how schools should respond in practice to the perceived needs. In order to gain new knowledge on the topic, this study investigated Finnish teachers' and university students' (N=181) perceptions of the representations of religions and worldviews, based on the perspectives of inclusion and exclusion. The statistical analysis revealed three factors titled as 'Religiously responsive approach', 'Secularist approach' and 'Equal visibility approach'. According to the main findings, current and future educators show various degrees of inter-religious sensitivity but principally supported the equal visibility of various traditions, rather than favouring strongly inclusivist or exclusivist practices.

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“…Related to these discussions, Pierik and van der Burg (2014) have proposed two different approaches to reach neutrality when discussing the representations of different faiths and worldviews in public spaces: exclusive neutrality refers to the idea of eliminating all religious symbols from public places and spaces in the name of neutrality, whereas an inclusive neutrality can be created by including various types of habits and customs, such as religious ones, in the public sphere of life (see Pierik and van der Burg 2014). As both of these approaches require fundamental discussions about the core values that the society regards as favourable, it is central to note that neither of them is genuinely a 'neutral' approach.…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion as a Human Right and a Security Threat—Investigating Young Adults’ Experiences of Religion in Finland

2019

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The emergence of religiously motivated terrorist attacks and the increasing xenophobia expressed in Europe concern religions in many ways. Questions related to religion also lie at the core of educational aims and practices used to create national cohesion and understanding about different types of values and worldviews. However, despite the topicality of the issue, we have little knowledge about the ways in which young adults experience religions in a secular state. In order to contribute to the discussion regarding the relationships between religion, nationality, security, and education, this study focuses on investigating how politically active young adults experience the role of religions in Finnish society. The qualitative data of this study were collected from young adults (18–30-year-olds) through an online questionnaire distributed through political youth organisations. The content analysis of the responses (altogether 250 respondents) identified five main orientations towards religions. The findings highlight the importance of providing young people with education about different faiths and worldviews for reducing prejudices, especially those related to Islam. The findings also highlight the need to address in education and society the possible but not as self-evident relationship between violence and religion, and to do this more explicitly than is currently done.

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What Is Neutrality?

Cited by 21 publications

References 13 publications

Mandatory Vaccination: An Unqualified Defence

Mandatory Vaccination: An Unqualified Defence

Including or excluding religion and worldviews in schools? Finnish teachers’ and teacher students’ perceptions

Religion as a Human Right and a Security Threat—Investigating Young Adults’ Experiences of Religion in Finland

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