An IASH Work-in-Progress seminar, delivered by Dr A. Sophie Lauwers (IASH-Alwaleed Postdoctoral Fellow, 2025-26)
Secularism, Hegemony and the Paradoxes of State Recognition
At first glance, Western European countries such as France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom are characterized by religious equality. Religious discrimination is against the law, and governments claim to be neutral towards all religious and non-religious groups. At the same time, we cannot speak of full equality: religion is often said to belong in the private sphere, so as not to ‘disturb the project of a modern, secular enlightened Europe’ (Casanova, 2006: 67); while, somewhat paradoxically, school curricula teach primarily Christian history, Christian architecture can be recognized in almost every city and village, the Christian calendar is used pervasively, and many Christian holidays are institutionalized as national holidays. The first half of this talk examines such patterns of secular and Christian hegemony, and how they can feed into the marginalisation of (often racialized) religious minorities. The second half then looks at a possible solution often proposed in policy circles: extending state recognition to religious minorities. Can state-religion dialogue forums like the Islam Conference (in Germany), or state funding for Catholic, Protestant and Jewish schools (as in Flandres) deliver the equality and inclusion they promise, or do they (also) reinforce hegemonic norms?
Meeting ID: 384 971 962 716 1
Passcode: nV6Rg79e