Controversies on religion and secularity in recent political debates I

Abstract

Contrary to expectations of secularization theorists of the 20st century, religion has remained an important and contested issue in political controversies in the 21st century. First, this can be traced back to increasing religious pluralization or, more concretely, to the establishment of Muslim communities and the enhanced visibility of their religion in societies which have por-trayed themselves as Christian and/or secular. Second, religion has increasingly become a secu-rity issue against the backdrop of terrorist attacks particularly committed by religious extrem-ists. Third, changing moral concepts in liberal democracies with regard to, for instance, family values, gender equality or LGBT rights have prompted actors such as religious parties to defend their more conservative point of views against liberalizing reform efforts by progressive parties. This panel focuses on political debates on issues that have contributed to the revival of the religious-secular cleavage. The aim is to get a better understanding of recent discourses on these issues and patterns of political controversies along this cleavage. Researchers that deal with politics on issues such as the accommodation of religious pluralization, morality politics or religious extremism are invited to submit a proposal. Empirical papers applying single case studies are as welcome as those employing comparative perspectives.

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