Religion and State in Secular Europe Today: Theoretical Perspectives and Case Studies (Annua Nuntia Lovaniensia)

The relation between religion and state in modern European history is characterized by a dual exercise: safeguarding freedom of religion for all citizens and simultaneously guaranteeing civil governance free from domination by religious authorities. While both religion and state have potential power to suppress personal freedom and development and to keep societies in a deadlock, the present volume notes that in recent decades political and academic discourse has increasingly focused on the potential negative influence of religion. By consequence, historical attitudes of benevolence of European states towards religion are replaced by suspicion and historical religion-state relations are questioned and torn down. Meanwhile, a so-called secular humanist worldview is presented in the public arena as not just an alternative to religions, but as actually superior to religious worldviews. In this cross-disciplinary volume, ten scholars critically scrutinize these developments in two sections. First, theoretical considerations aim to rethink what healthy relations between religion and state should look like in contemporary secularized Europe. Ongoing negotiations on the meaning of terms such as secularity, neutrality and laicite are analyzed and the purview of the right to religious freedom is reconsidered. Second, case studies from throughout Europe demonstrate the effects of past and ongoing societal developments on religious agents and their communities, which seek to take up their place in society. As a joint effort, this book aims to contribute to ongoing scholarly debate, not by providing simple and direct answers, but by asking questions and offering nuanced perspectives on the topics at hand.