National Religion

In the past two decades, Québec has been racked by a series of controversies in which the religiosity of migrants and minorities has been represented as a threat to the province’s once staunchly Catholic, and now resolutely secular, identity. In Moments of Crises, Ian Morrison locates these debates within a longer history of crises within – and transformations of – Québécois identity, from the Conquest of New France in 1760 to contemporary times. He argues that rather than seeking to overcome these crises by reconsolidating national identity, Québec should look on them as opportunities to forge alternative conceptions of community, identity, and belonging.

This book looks at the relationship between religion and state in Tanzania as a feature of the Tanzanian social scene, from pre-colonial/colonial times to post-colonial times. It examines the changes in the character of religion and state relations, especially after independence, and the way these changes are experienced in different communities - particularly by African traditionalists, Muslims, and Christians. The book studies the nature of the relationship between religion and state, the way it is conceptualized and experienced, and the implications for the democratic aspirations of pluralist Tanzania. (Series: Interreligious Studies - Vol. 7) [Subject: History, African Studies, Religious Studies, Politics]

This book challenges whether the protection and privilege of religious belief and identity should be prioritized over any other right. By studying the effects of constitutional promises of religious freedom and establishment clauses, the author finds that constitutions provide national religious protection, especially when the legal system is more sophisticated.

This volume approaches the UN as a laboratory of religio-political value politics. Over the last two decades religion has acquired increasing influence in international politics, and religious violence and terrorism has attracted much scholarly attention. But there is another parallel development which has gone largely unnoticed, namely the increasing political impact of peaceful religious actors. With several religious actors in one place and interacting under the same conditions, the UN is as a multi-religious society writ small. The contributors to this book analyse the most influential religious actors at the UN (including The Roman Catholic Church; The Organisation of Islamic Countries; the Russian Orthodox Church). Mapping the peaceful political engagements of religious actors; who they are and how they collaborate with each other - whether on an ad hoc basis or by forming more permanent networks - throwing light at the modus operandi of religious actors at the UN; their strategies and motivations. The chapters are closely interrelated through the shared focus on the UN and common theoretical perspectives, and pursue two intertwined aspects of religious value politics, namely the whys and hows of cross-religious cooperation on the one hand, and the interaction between religious actors and states on the other. Drawing together a broad range of experts on religious actors, this work will be of great interest to students and scholars of Religion and Politics, International Relations and the UN.