Religious Accommodation and its Limits

This book examines the limitations on the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief in secular liberal democracies and how religious claims can harm the autonomy of others. It proposes an original model of religious accommodation and offers criteria for guiding the implementation of equality and diversity policies.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 20 April 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This book offers an innovative model of religious accommodation that can be applied in secular liberal democracies where religious diversity has been a contentious issue. Addressing the complex question of limitations to the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief and how these limitations might be determined, it examines how religious claims can harm the autonomy of others and emphasizes the need for an appropriate balancing of competing interests. Drawing on a range of case study examples from jurisdictions including the US, Canada, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Union's Court of Justice, the UK, Germany, and France, this is a timely contribution to the debate on how a legal duty or policy approach in favor of religious accommodation can be applied in practice. Moreover, the proposed model offers criteria that may be used to guide the implementation of equality and diversity policies in contexts such as employment and education. The book will be of interest to academics, legal practitioners, and policy-makers in the field.

This book proposes an original model of religious accommodation that can be applied in secular liberal democracies where religious diversity has been a hotly contested issue. Addressing the complex question of limitations to the right to Freedom of Religion or Belief and how these limitations might be determined, it examines how religious claims can harm the autonomy of others and emphasizes the need for an appropriate balancing of competing interests. Drawing on a range of case study examples from jurisdictions including the US, Canada, the European Court of Human Rights, the European Union's Court of Justice, the UK, Germany, and France, this is a timely contribution to the debate on how a legal duty or policy approach in favor of religious accommodation can be applied in practice. Moreover, the proposed model offers criteria that may be used to guide the implementation of equality and diversity policies in contexts such as employment and education. The book will be of interest to academics, legal practitioners, and policy-makers in the field.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781509937103