Religious Discrimination and Cultural Context: A Common Law Perspective
Cambridge University Press, 11/23/2017
EAN 9781108423052, ISBN10: 1108423051
Hardcover, 566 pages, 23.5 x 15.6 x 3 cm
Language: English
Generations of festering culture wars, compounded by actual wars in predominantly Muslim countries, the terrorism of Isis, and the ongoing migrant crisis have all combined to make religious discrimination the most pressing challenge now facing many governments. For the leading common law nations, with their shared Christian cultural heritage balanced by a growing secularism, the threat presented by this toxic mix has the potential to destabilise civil society. This book suggests that the instances of religious discrimination, as currently legally defined, are constrained by that cultural context, exacerbated by a policy of multiculturalism, and in practice, conflated with racial, ethnic or other forms of discrimination. Kerry O'Halloran argues that many culture war issues - such as those that surround the pro-choice/pro-life debate and the rights of the LGBT community - can be viewed as rooted in the same Christian morality that underpins the law relating to religious discrimination.
Part I. Background
Introduction to Part I
1. Identity, alienation and the law
the twentieth-century legacy
2. Religion, culture and religious discrimination
Part II. Balancing Public and Private Interests
Introduction to Part II
3. Religion
the public and the private
4. The international framework and themes of religious discrimination
Part III. Contemporary Religious Discrimination in Common Law Jurisdictions
The Judicial Rulings
Introduction to Part III
5. England
6. Ireland
7. The US
8. Canada
9. Australia
10. New Zealand
Part IV. Religion and Discrimination
An Overview
Introduction to Part III
11. Themes of jurisdictional commonality and difference
12. Contexting religion, culture and discrimination
Conclusion.