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Religion in Liberal Democracy as a Form of Life advances a theory to deal with the challenges connected to the liberal democratic ideal that all people are free to codetermine the future of their society and equally entitled to their religion and beliefs, given the historical bias towards Christianity in politics and culture within many European societies.Religious diversity and social and political participation are in fact fiercely contested issues. Critical scholars from philosophy and cultural theory contest that liberal political theories of freedom of religion can adequately deal with issues connected to an increasingly diversified and secularized religious field in historically Christian societies. Consequently, they claim that politics based on such theories cannot deliver on the promise to ensure conditions that allow all members of society equal religious freedom and political participation. By outlining historical developments, and by closely examining case studies of recent controversies about religious diversity in Germany and the Netherlands, this book identifies shortcomings of the currently predominant liberal account of freedom of religion or belief. Based on this analysis, the author proposes a more complex theory of liberal democracy as a form of life, with religion and religious freedom as components of it. This takes into account that informal norms, social structures, and predominant notions of belonging can function as powerful obstacles to freedom and equality, even if formal legal and political institutions prohibit discrimination based on religion. Construing liberal democracy as a “form of life”—that is, as a set of social practices, attitudes, and their institutional manifestations and material expressions—shifts the focus of critical analysis from the law to informal structures and components. This provides an understanding of the dynamics of (culturalized) religion in society, which has often been missing in political philosophical theories. The theory proposed in this book provides normative criteria for building liberal democracies that are tolerant with respect to religious differences and solidaric in terms of ensuring conditions that allow all members of society to codetermine, as equals, the future of society, irrespective of their religion or beliefs.This book will appeal to scholars of political theory, social and political philosophy, religious studies, sociology, and anthropology.

Exposes the threats to our personal and political identity in the age of surveillanceIt has become alarmingly clear that our online actions are less private than we're led to believe. Our data is routinely sold and shared with companies who want to sell us something, political actors who want to analyze our behavior, and law enforcement who seek to limit our actions.The Private is Political explores the failure of existing legal systems and institutions to protect our online presence and identities. Examining the ways in which the digital space is under threat from both governments and private actors, Ray Brescia reveals how the rise of private surveillance prevents individuals from organizing with others who might help to catalyze change in their lives. Brescia argues that we are not far from a world where surveillance chills not just our speech, but our very identities. This will ultimately stifle our ability to live full lives, realize democracy, and even shape the laws that affect our privacy itself.Beyond merely identifying the harms to individuals from privacy violations, Brescia furthers our understanding of privacy by identifying and naming political privacy and the integrity of identity as central to democracy. The Private is Political empowers consumers by outlining a roadmap for a comprehensive privacy regime, leveraging various institutions to collectively safeguard privacy rights.

This book presents a systematic account of the relationship between political parties and deliberative democracy.It shows which parties prefer deliberation, how intra-party deliberation takes place in practice beyond theoretical models and general descriptions, and how political elites and party members perceive deliberative democracy. Specifically, the book answers how party characteristics influence the use of deliberation by political parties, why intra-party deliberation differs in its use and functioning across parties, and how politicians and party members see deliberation.This book is of key interest to scholars and students of party politics, deliberative democracy, democratic innovations, political theory, and, more broadly, comparative politics.