Byse Workshop – Legal Debates over Secularism and Religious Freedom in Comparative Contexts

Session IV: Constitutional Theocracies and Modern Entanglements – The Case of Europe

In his book, Constitutional Theocracy, Ran Hirschl proposes a departure from traditional conceptions of ideal types of secular and theocratic states and argues that entanglement is the norm. Even in contexts where there is no de jure endorsement of an official religion, Hirschl argues that the political, historical or symbolic influence of religion and religious groups continues to blur the line between religion and politics. In this session, we will consider what these entanglements of religion and politics has meant for the formulation, articulation and protection of religious freedoms of religious minorities in Europe.

This workshop has no pre-requisites and is open to all students.

For more information and workshop materials, visit: https://canvas.harvard.edu/courses/53563