UCL FACULTY OF LAWS

UCL Laws Semester in London

Where modules run over two terms as a 30 credit module, SIL students will attend and be assessed on the contents of term 1. Please note that some modules reflect this with an additional "A" in their module code, but this is not the case for all of them due to special assessment arrangements for SIL students.
All assessments are graded on a pass/fail basis.

RELIGION, STATE AND LAW (LAWSG161)
Credit value: 15 credits (6 ECTS)
Module Convenor:
Dr Ronan McCrea
Intercollegiate teaching: No
Teaching Method: 10 x two-hour seminars
Who may enrol: LLM students, SIL students
Prerequisites: None
Barred module combinations: None
Core module for specialism: Comparative Law, Public Law, Human Rights Law
Assessment
Practice Assessment: to be confirmed
Assessment method for LLM students: 3,000 word coursework essay
Assessment method for SIL students: 3,000 word coursework essay
Module Overview

Module summary

This module will examine the main issues arising in context of the contemporary relationship between religion, the individual, the law and the state. The module will involve comparative analysis of the principle patterns of regulating such relationships. It will also address the major debates around the relationship between theories of egalitarian liberal democracy and secularism. This analysis will focus on theoretical debates around the admissibility of religious arguments in lawmaking, the complicated relationship between freedom of and freedom from religion and the role of religion in non-discrimination law.

Module syllabus

1. Key Concepts.

2. Freedom of Religion

3. Freedom from Religion

4. The Secular State

5. Religion in the Political Arena

6. Blasphemy and Free Speech

7. Religion, Culture and State

8. Immigration

9. Comparative Analysis of Church/State Arrangements in Europe

10. Revision Session

Recommended materials

There is no set text. Various journal articles and book chapters will be assigned for each seminar and posted in Moodle (virtual learning environment).

Preliminary reading

Mark Lilla, The Stillborn God, (New York, Knopf, 2007).

Juergen Habermas, ‘Religion in the public sphere’. European Journal of Philosophy, 14/1, 2006:1-25

Richard Rorty, 1994 “Religion as Conversation-Stopper.” Common Knowledge 3:1 (Spring), 1–6.

Michael Perry, Religious arguments in public political debate, (1996) 29 Loyola Law Review 1411

Nicholas Hatzis, Personal religious beliefs in the workplace: How not to define indirect discrimination (2011) 74 Modern Law Review 287

Ronan McCrea, Religion and the Public Order of the European Union (Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2010) chapters 6 and 7
Other information: N/A
Prizes for this module: There are currently no prizes available for this module.