Gender Relations and Morality in Dispute - Panel dedicated to Istar Gozaydin

Abstract

Social movements and politics attempting to change or regulate gender roles and other morally sensitive issues such as abortion, same-sex-partnerships or embryonic research touch upon the core of religious doctrines. Whereas more permissive regulations are particularly disputed by conservative or traditionalist religious actors, who, as the Catholic Church, unanimously defend the right to life, actors defending a liberal interpretations of religious moral teachings are more likely to give priority to a politically granted right to individual choice. This panel investigates disputes around such policies on local, national and transnational level in Europe and beyond. The ECPR standing group on 'Religion and Politics' dedicates this panel to Istar Gozaydin. Prof. Gozaydin, a prominent member of the standing group, has been jailed - at the time of writing this abstract - for almost three months, on grounds regarded as questionable by many who know her academic work and her effort as a human rights activist. This dedication aims at raising attention on her cause, and on the broader issue of academic freedom in today's Turkey.