Conflicts involving religion and equality have been salient in many countries in recent years. Although such conflicts are far from new, they have taken new forms. This novelty is partly due to the rise of conservative populism and the way it correlates with religious affiliation, and partly due to local specificity. Whatever the cause, courts and lawmakers have developed new approaches to free exercise as clashes have shifted and intensified. And experts - in law, politics, religion, and philosophy - have kept pace by developing new frameworks for understanding such problems as well as new proposals for solutions.
At least two dynamics are in play: claims of discrimination by religious groups and claims of discrimination against them. On the one hand, religious actors seek exceptions from laws and policies that guarantee equality, while on the other hand, religious actors may seek the protection of antidiscrimination rules. These two dynamics together raise deep questions of political theory. Is religious freedom best conceptualized as a liberty right or as an equality right, or both? Exactly what kind of equality should be afforded to religious actors-protection against discriminatory intent, discriminatory effects, or something more powerful than either of these? Should religion be given special constitutional or political solicitude, as compared to secular conscientious commitments, or is such consideration itself unequal and unwarranted?
This volume interrogates these questions from diverse perspectives, putting into conversation scholars who work in different fields of study and who live in various countries across Europe and North America. Together, its chapters capture the cutting edge of scholarship on questions of religion and equality.
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