Contemporary challenges to the regulation of religions in Europe

Abstract

Contemporary Challenges to the Regulation of Religions in Europe sheds light on the relationship between the state and religion in late modern society, offering new analyses of how religion is regulated, taking into account both formal and informal aspects of this regulation. This book brings together contributions from scholars of law, sociology and other social sciences, who discuss religious regulation in late modern society. The relationship between the state and religion is an important issue for contemporary democratic societies characterised by increasing plurality. Their analysis, however, has most often focused on models centred on the majority/minority dichotomy, which supposedly explains the diversity of national strategies of religious regulation. This book, on the contrary, is based on a plural approach, and aims to expose the elements that allow a broader definition of the configuration of the contemporary religious field. It sheds light on the relationship between the state and religion in late modern society, offering new analyses of how religion is regulated, taking into account both formal and informal aspects of this regulation.