Accommodating Religious Communities in Contemporary Europe

This workshop will examine the character of the contemporary European state in its relation with religions and religious pluralism, and the general policies developed by states to address religious affairs. With an increasing diversity in attitudes towards religious commitments manifest in today's Europe, liberal democratic governments are increasingly under pressure to define how they should accommodate their citizens qua religious believers or non-believers. The key questions which the state in principle regarded perhaps by most as a secular and neutral authority faces regard the extent to which policies are to address religious communities and their demands. How are majority religions established churches enshrined within constitutional settlements and what implications does that have for the secularist attributes of modern European states? Is a minimum common denominator of liberal toleration of all religions sufficient? Can the state truly aspire to a universally accepted neutrality or will its secularity be regarded by the religious as fundamentally hostile to religions whatever is claimed to the contrary? Should the state attribute special rights to religious groups, particularly where they are minority communities facing assimilationist pressures, or grant formal recognition to them? CONTACT University College London (UCL) Gower Street WC1E6BT London, United Kingdom Phone: +44 20 7679 2000 Uta Staiger Email: u.staiger@ucl.ac.uk