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Religion, State and Law (LAWS0319)

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

•    Key Concepts
•    Freedom of Religion
•    Freedom from Religion
•    The Secular State
•    Religion in the Political Arena
•    Blasphemy and Free Speech
•    Religion, Culture and State
•    Immigration
•    Comparative Analysis of Church/State Arrangements in Europe

Recommended Materials

•    Mark Lilla, The Stillborn God, (New York, Knopf, 2007).
•    Ronan McCrea, Religion and the Public Order of the European Union (Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press, 2010) chapters 6 and 7
•    Ronan McCrea, The Ban on the Veil and European Law (2013) Human Rights Law Review 13(1) 57-97
•    Cecile Laborde Liberalism’s Religion (Harvard University Press, 2018), (Introduction and Part I, Section 1). 
Module reading lists and other module materials will be provided via online module pages, available at the beginning of term once students have enrolled.

Prelimenary Reading

•    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
•    Ronan McCrea “Secularism before the Strasbourg Court: Abstract Constitutional Principles as a Basis for Limiting Rights” Modern Law Review 79(4) (2016) 691-705

Key Information

Module information
Credit value:22.5 Credits (225 Learning Hours)
Convenor:

Ronan McCrea

Other Teachers:None
Teaching Delivery:Teaching for all LLM modules in 2020-21 will be delivered through a combination of pre-recorded and synchronous live teaching
Who may enrol:LLM Students Only
Prerequisites:None
Must not be taken with:None
Qualifying module for:

LLM in Human Rights Law; 
LLM in Public Law;

Assessment
Practice Assessment:TBC
Final Assessment:3,000 Word Essay (100%)