Search

Previous research has indicated a decreased use of textbooks among religious education teachers, while students with a religious background perceive themselves as a vulnerable minority in classrooms. It also points to a post-Christian society where schools now take responsibility for knowledge about the Christian faith and how it should be understood. Simultaneously, secularization is increasing in society, and people express a secularist attitude towards religion. The aim of this essay is to examine the representation of Christianity in religious education textbooks for upper secondary school based on secular and secularist discourses, and analyze how the results can be interpreted in terms of the concepts of alliance, othering, positive essentialism, and negative essentialism. The theories that were utilized included modified secularization theory, discourse theory, and essentialism in religious education. These were combined with the methods of discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. The conclusion from this study is that in the selected books, positive and negative essentialism occurred to varying degrees, indicating a lack of objectivity. There were also numerous alliances and instances of othering, which in several cases suggested secular and secularist discourses.

Previous research has indicated a decreased use of textbooks among religious education teachers, while students with a religious background perceive themselves as a vulnerable minority in classrooms. It also points to a post-Christian society where schools now take responsibility for knowledge about the Christian faith and how it should be understood. Simultaneously, secularization is increasing in society, and people express a secularist attitude towards religion. The aim of this essay is to examine the representation of Christianity in religious education textbooks for upper secondary school based on secular and secularist discourses, and analyze how the results can be interpreted in terms of the concepts of alliance, othering, positive essentialism, and negative essentialism. The theories that were utilized included modified secularization theory, discourse theory, and essentialism in religious education. These were combined with the methods of discourse analysis and critical discourse analysis. The conclusion from this study is that in the selected books, positive and negative essentialism occurred to varying degrees, indicating a lack of objectivity. There were also numerous alliances and instances of othering, which in several cases suggested secular and secularist discourses.

Doctor of Ministry (DMin), Since 1989, The Leadership Institute (TLI) has guided Christian leaders from around the globe through a two-year process of abiding deeply in Jesus. Hundreds of participants have described the profound impact it makes on their emotional maturity, psychological paradigms, relational motives, professional goals, planning processes, and spiritual connection with God and people. They often transition from hearing Jesus’s commands to abide in him, love others, and bear witness to actually doing so, empowered by him. Yet as they conclude the two-year process, many struggle to maintain the rhythms and practices of Jesus. Competing internal motives choke good intentions. Kingdom- averse practices constrain Godly priorities. One’s internal idols couple with society’s idolatrous systems to distract and deter many. This doctoral project is an attempt to unveil these idols and systems, discern ways to dethrone them, and develop a ministry that liberates and empowers TLI alumni to live the John 15 lifestyle. In this spiritual battle, it is God’s power that reigns over the powers of darkness. The question is: What is humanity’s cooperative role with God? By practicing spiritual disciplines and meeting together regularly to listen, learn, and lean on God, the aim of this project is to discern how people collaborate with God in his work of setting captives free. Part One of this paper presents the ministry context and challenges that this project, “Pilgrim Circles,” was designed to explore. Part Two offers a literary review of key texts from three experts on spiritual leadership, four on societal secularization, and five on various aspects of implementing change. It also presents the project’s core themes as addressed by Old Testament, New Testament, historical, and TLI theology. Part Three elaborates on the implementation details of the project and concludes with a review of the data, findings, insights, and an evaluation of the project.

This text aims to study the processes that took place between the Church of Sweden and the state between the years 1995-2000, when the Church of Sweden’s parishes continued to be responsible for maintaining cemeteries. Through an empirical research method a committee directive, an official report by the government, a government bill, a report from the constitutional committee and the motions that were laid in the process are analysed. The paper aims to answer: (1) How are claims to justice in relation to the burial sites articulated by the various actors and (2) how does the structure of cemetery maintenance affect actors at different levels: the state, religious organisations, members and non-members of the Church of Sweden? The understanding of religious freedom between those who are positive and those who are negative to the proposal differentiates. The remaining relationship between the state and the Church of Sweden is different than between the state and other religious organisations. The relational change meant that the Church of Sweden has gained an indisputable place in society regardless of society's development. It risks reproducing a hierarchy in which members of the Church of Sweden are invited to influence in the general and non-members in the particular.

Doctor of Ministry (DMin), The purpose of this project is to bridge the wisdom and faith stories of the members of Richmond’s First Baptist Church to the young adults in the surrounding neighborhoods who, while spiritual, no longer feel an obligation to commit to organized religion. The project took place in three stages. In stage one, a group of church members participated in a four-week study on the decline of Christendom and the new landscape of faith in a post-Christendom era. In stage two, a cohort of young adults, ages twenty to thirty-five, participated throughout the fall in an urban hiking group that explored faith through the spiritual practice of pilgrimage. The cohort considered journey stories found in both biblical narratives and stories from adult members of Richmond’s First Baptist Church. Young adults were encouraged to discover how faith is embodied in walking and how God is present and active along the journey. They were asked to find intentional ways to incorporate the lessons of the road in their day-to-day lives. In stage three, both cohorts participated in a combined group study about pilgrimage as experienced through the Old Testament story of Naomi and Ruth. This group discovered how the shared journey of two women representing different generations and cultures, through liminal space and time, changed both women and the future of the Hebrew people. The group then applied the story to their time and context, imagining how a similar shared journey could make an impact in their lives, church, and community.

Iqbal had a substantial understanding of both Islamic and contemporary Western philosophy. The magnitude of gaging Iqbal's ideas in light of current events is accentuated throughout this research paper. Iqbal asserts that among all the world's religions, Islam has the most thorough conception of people as unique individuals with limitless potential who can carry out deeds that enhance their sense of ‘Khudi’ or Self. In this instance, the idea of "Will" served as the link between truth and action rather than intelligence and comprehension. This research adopted a qualitative methodology. Content analysis of Iqbal's works has been done to understand his idea of ‘Khudi’ or Self to challenge and reconcile modernity and nationalism. The article finds that the conception of self and community are associated with the phenomenon of modernity. Iqbal did not accept Western civilization and Western-oriented modernity, rather Iqbal suggests Muslims to choose the path of modernity from Islamic history and the Quran.

This thesis aims to describe American Military Chaplains’ thoughts and concerns on secularism and religious pluralism in the Millennial generation. The goal is to analyze how a potential change in this generation affects the chaplain’s role. The method is in-depth semi-structured interviews with three chaplains from different service branches. The main finding is that they detect a substantial decrease in religiousness, which follows overall trends in society. Their experience is not that pluralism is gaining substantial ground, rather it is that a large portion of the troops are indifferent to religion. Even so, they do not experience a decrease in interest or need for their services, since counselling is an increasing part of their workload. The ambiguity of their role is mostly perceived as a challenge to balance their religious task with non-religious counselling/coaching and practical duties as an officer.

This thesis aims to analyse how do students at Nantes University understand the principle of laïcité. Indeed, this principle has been a major subject of debate in France since the 1980s in both political and academic spheres. Following a social constructivist approach to science and Baubérot’s developments on the subject, this thesis focuses on the personal perception of students, their definition of laïcité and how they build this definition. The combination of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis reveals a process through which students reach an understanding. The main sources (educational system, political discourse and mediatic spheres) through which laïcité is first exposed to students are often criticized since they are based on controversial concepts. However, through the mediating role of their identities and personal experiences, students critically examine the different definitions of laïcité and build their own, often based on principles of non-discrimination rather than focusing on religious symbols.

This thesis aims to describe American Military Chaplains’ thoughts and concerns on secularism and religious pluralism in the Millennial generation. The goal is to analyze how a potential change in this generation affects the chaplain’s role. The method is in-depth semi-structured interviews with three chaplains from different service branches. The main finding is that they detect a substantial decrease in religiousness, which follows overall trends in society. Their experience is not that pluralism is gaining substantial ground, rather it is that a large portion of the troops are indifferent to religion. Even so, they do not experience a decrease in interest or need for their services, since counselling is an increasing part of their workload. The ambiguity of their role is mostly perceived as a challenge to balance their religious task with non-religious counselling/coaching and practical duties as an officer.

This paper aims at from the perspective of the social exchange theory (SET) gaining an understanding of how promotion of halal concept in Sweden is perceived by Swedish hoteliers. A mixed-methods approach has been used consisting of 62 completed surveys with closed-ended and open-ended questions, follow-up comments and five in-depth interviews with hoteliers in the mid-Sweden region. Content analysis has been employed. Three categories of meanings are the main findings: general perception, safeguarding Swedish secular values and financially unjustifiable have been discovered. Most of the respondents have been sceptical towards halal and Muslim-friendly hotel concepts due to financial and cultural challenges these two concepts have for the Swedish tourism and hotel industries. Based on the SET, this entails more costs than benefits and is especially at odds with Swedish-rooted secular values. This study provides practical implications and increased knowledge for tourism stakeholders including hotels in Sweden. This is one of the very few studies on halal tourism in Scandinavia and the first Scandinavian study on hoteliers' attitudes towards halal tourism.

This thesis aims to analyse how do students at Nantes University understand the principle of laïcité. Indeed, this principle has been a major subject of debate in France since the 1980s in both political and academic spheres. Following a social constructivist approach to science and Baubérot’s developments on the subject, this thesis focuses on the personal perception of students, their definition of laïcité and how they build this definition. The combination of semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis reveals a process through which students reach an understanding. The main sources (educational system, political discourse and mediatic spheres) through which laïcité is first exposed to students are often criticized since they are based on controversial concepts. However, through the mediating role of their identities and personal experiences, students critically examine the different definitions of laïcité and build their own, often based on principles of non-discrimination rather than focusing on religious symbols.

The conservation of place-based memory is pivotal for both tangible and intangible heritage; however, the unyielding momentum of urban dynamics frequently propels cities into transformation, often overlooking the integration and assessment of personal and collective memories within urban preservation efforts. This investigation is propelled by the necessity to comprehend the complex functions of public spaces—not simply as physical locations but as vaults of shared memory, stages for political dialogue, and settings for social and cultural exchanges.This analysis posits that select public spaces function as dynamic platforms where the political narratives and societal dialogues of a nation are prominently displayed. In examining the case of Taksim Square, the objective is to illuminate the tangled processes through which public domains are vivified and acknowledged in scholarly debate as venues for discourse, demonstration, political participation, and contention., AR2A011, Architectural History Thesis, Architecture, Urbanism and Building Sciences

The nature of truth affects beliefs in such a way that all worldviews are left on a level playing field, each with no more of an objective claim to truth than any other. As a result, no one worldview has an intrinsic right to dominate the government or, through it, other worldviews. Furthermore, philosophical secularism’s noble notion of protecting individual freedoms by limiting the influence of moral values in the government has led to a loss of intergroup bonding and a value vacuum in public life. At the same time, because beliefs constitute some of the most profound aspects of a person’s identity, and every person possesses a worldview, each categorical worldview should have a say in how the government operates without these worldviews operating the government. Thus, I contend that a form of consociationalism in which the shared moral values of each worldview present in America are incorporated into governmental operations is not only more favorable than the exclusion of such values but rationally necessary. To practically accomplish this task, I suggest that the federal government convene a temporary Worldview Council comprised of an equal number of representatives from each major worldview in American society. These representatives, joined by teams of researchers, would compromise on a Values Charter detailing the moral values common to all worldviews in America. These values will serve as a guide to governmental legislation and institutional operations. I conclude with an initial list of values that I believe are common to all the worldviews in America and discuss how they might guide future institutions in a Shared Values Society.

This article explores how Christian heritage is engaged with, strengthened, and contested in and through Swedish newspapers and in the annual Swedish Christmas calendar. Although Sweden is perceived as highly secular and characterized by an increased distance between the former state church and the Swedish population, ideas about Swedish cultural heritage are still tied to notions of a Christian past. Previous research has highlighted Christmas as particularly salient for Swedes' understanding of their cultural heritage and national identity, which includes perceptions of Christmas as 'merely' a tradition. Using theories of nostalgia and banal religion, this article addresses how Swedishness is constructed in the Christmas calendar, as well as through its framing in Swedish newspapers. While the narrative of the Calendar does not normally include overt references to Christian parables, it frequently uses Christian and folkloric symbolism to effect a backdrop of nostalgia. I argue that the Calendar and its framing in newspapers play on conceptions of Swedishness that are inextricably linked to ideas of 'secularized' Christianity, and by extension to constructions of what counts as national belonging in contemporary Sweden.

This article explores how Christian heritage is engaged with, strengthened, and contested in and through Swedish newspapers and in the annual Swedish Christmas calendar. Although Sweden is perceived as highly secular and characterized by an increased distance between the former state church and the Swedish population, ideas about Swedish cultural heritage are still tied to notions of a Christian past. Previous research has highlighted Christmas as particularly salient for Swedes' understanding of their cultural heritage and national identity, which includes perceptions of Christmas as 'merely' a tradition. Using theories of nostalgia and banal religion, this article addresses how Swedishness is constructed in the Christmas calendar, as well as through its framing in Swedish newspapers. While the narrative of the Calendar does not normally include overt references to Christian parables, it frequently uses Christian and folkloric symbolism to effect a backdrop of nostalgia. I argue that the Calendar and its framing in newspapers play on conceptions of Swedishness that are inextricably linked to ideas of 'secularized' Christianity, and by extension to constructions of what counts as national belonging in contemporary Sweden.

The aim of this study is to investigate where young people in Sweden encounter life questions in a country that is secularized and where many struggle with their mental health. The study also investigates what impact this encounter with life questions has to young peoples mental health. Lastly the study discusses what space this subject gets in the Swedish religious education. In order to answer the questions this study is about; interviews were held with six different students of high school education in Sweden. They were interviewed about where they encounter life questions and they also got questions about where they search for answers and explanations to their life questions. No student had a religious background, but they did in some instances believe there is something bigger in the world. Something that can give them purpose to what happens after death or give them some sort of deeper meaning to life to cope with their life questions that they do not find answers to. The interviewed students then got to reflect about how their search for answers affect their mental wellbeing in a time when many young people in Sweden struggle with their mental health. They also got to reflect about if schools could have taught them more about how to cope with difficult life questions and if they needed more time to work with these skills. The results showed that young people in Sweden are affected by their search for answers to their life questions. It seems that few has gotten the skills they need to cope with life questions that has no clear answers and that seems also to be a reason to young peoples struggle with their mental health in Sweden.

This study examines how an existentialistic perspective in a secular context can be enforcedby interpretations of the Self from a Christian martyr narrative. The existentialistic perspective being the questioning of meaning of life and death. The purpose of is to see how different interpretations can attribute a meaning of Christian martyrdom by using a Christian tradition of self-identification. Two martyr stories are further explored, the story of Kayla Mueller and the story of Father Jacques Hamel. This study presents an analysis of the two martyr narratives, consisting of different perspectives of interpreting the construction of a martyr narrative and a shaping of a narrative self. The two narratives are used to test a theoretical landscape of approaching an ability to attribute meaning of martyrdom and, thus, a meaning of life. Based on theories of the narrative Self, identity and meaning by Ricoeur, Heidegger, Derrida and Taylor, a theoretical framework of pragmatist hermeneutics is applied. An analysis method of mediated narrative analysis by Bamberg (2008) and Page (2018) is used, for the purpose of including situation and interaction in the stories told about the martyrs. The results show that an application of a pragmatist hermeneutic approach is relevant and possible to relate to, also in a contemporary and secular context. This is possible by assuming a process of self-identification, which, by some, is identified as a natural part in a Christian confession. Therefore, a Christian tradition of self-identification is relevant and possible to apply, also in a secular context, when questioning the meaning of life and death.

This article explores how Christian heritage is engaged with, strengthened, and contested in and through Swedish newspapers and in the annual Swedish Christmas calendar. Although Sweden is perceived as highly secular and characterized by an increased distance between the former state church and the Swedish population, ideas about Swedish cultural heritage are still tied to notions of a Christian past. Previous research has highlighted Christmas as particularly salient for Swedes' understanding of their cultural heritage and national identity, which includes perceptions of Christmas as 'merely' a tradition. Using theories of nostalgia and banal religion, this article addresses how Swedishness is constructed in the Christmas calendar, as well as through its framing in Swedish newspapers. While the narrative of the Calendar does not normally include overt references to Christian parables, it frequently uses Christian and folkloric symbolism to effect a backdrop of nostalgia. I argue that the Calendar and its framing in newspapers play on conceptions of Swedishness that are inextricably linked to ideas of 'secularized' Christianity, and by extension to constructions of what counts as national belonging in contemporary Sweden.

The aim of this study is to investigate where young people in Sweden encounter life questions in a country that is secularized and where many struggle with their mental health. The study also investigates what impact this encounter with life questions has to young peoples mental health. Lastly the study discusses what space this subject gets in the Swedish religious education. In order to answer the questions this study is about; interviews were held with six different students of high school education in Sweden. They were interviewed about where they encounter life questions and they also got questions about where they search for answers and explanations to their life questions. No student had a religious background, but they did in some instances believe there is something bigger in the world. Something that can give them purpose to what happens after death or give them some sort of deeper meaning to life to cope with their life questions that they do not find answers to. The interviewed students then got to reflect about how their search for answers affect their mental wellbeing in a time when many young people in Sweden struggle with their mental health. They also got to reflect about if schools could have taught them more about how to cope with difficult life questions and if they needed more time to work with these skills. The results showed that young people in Sweden are affected by their search for answers to their life questions. It seems that few has gotten the skills they need to cope with life questions that has no clear answers and that seems also to be a reason to young peoples struggle with their mental health in Sweden.

This study examines how an existentialistic perspective in a secular context can be enforcedby interpretations of the Self from a Christian martyr narrative. The existentialistic perspective being the questioning of meaning of life and death. The purpose of is to see how different interpretations can attribute a meaning of Christian martyrdom by using a Christian tradition of self-identification. Two martyr stories are further explored, the story of Kayla Mueller and the story of Father Jacques Hamel. This study presents an analysis of the two martyr narratives, consisting of different perspectives of interpreting the construction of a martyr narrative and a shaping of a narrative self. The two narratives are used to test a theoretical landscape of approaching an ability to attribute meaning of martyrdom and, thus, a meaning of life. Based on theories of the narrative Self, identity and meaning by Ricoeur, Heidegger, Derrida and Taylor, a theoretical framework of pragmatist hermeneutics is applied. An analysis method of mediated narrative analysis by Bamberg (2008) and Page (2018) is used, for the purpose of including situation and interaction in the stories told about the martyrs. The results show that an application of a pragmatist hermeneutic approach is relevant and possible to relate to, also in a contemporary and secular context. This is possible by assuming a process of self-identification, which, by some, is identified as a natural part in a Christian confession. Therefore, a Christian tradition of self-identification is relevant and possible to apply, also in a secular context, when questioning the meaning of life and death.

This article explores how Christian heritage is engaged with, strengthened, and contested in and through Swedish newspapers and in the annual Swedish Christmas calendar. Although Sweden is perceived as highly secular and characterized by an increased distance between the former state church and the Swedish population, ideas about Swedish cultural heritage are still tied to notions of a Christian past. Previous research has highlighted Christmas as particularly salient for Swedes' understanding of their cultural heritage and national identity, which includes perceptions of Christmas as 'merely' a tradition. Using theories of nostalgia and banal religion, this article addresses how Swedishness is constructed in the Christmas calendar, as well as through its framing in Swedish newspapers. While the narrative of the Calendar does not normally include overt references to Christian parables, it frequently uses Christian and folkloric symbolism to effect a backdrop of nostalgia. I argue that the Calendar and its framing in newspapers play on conceptions of Swedishness that are inextricably linked to ideas of 'secularized' Christianity, and by extension to constructions of what counts as national belonging in contemporary Sweden.

This article contributes to the internationalization of survey methodology by discussing a case from a totalitarian state, the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2020, GAMAAN (The Group for Measuring and Analyzing Attitudes in Iran) conducted an online survey on religion. The survey had 50,000 participants, around 90 percent of whom lived in Iran. This article discusses the result that, after weighting, 8 percent identified as Zoroastrian—many times the number of Zoroastrians as recorded by scholarship on Iranian Zoroastrianism. We dub this phenomenon “Survey Zoroastrianism” and offer an explanation for this finding. After describing the position of Zoroastrianism in modern Iran and adding two further online surveys conducted by GAMAAN in 2022, we discuss the Survey Zoroastrians’ demographics and their religious and political views. The analysis shows that participating in surveys beyond the government's control provided affordances for performing alternative identity aspirations tied to notions of nationalism and civilizational heritage.

This dissertation develops a theoretical vocabulary to interpret and discuss ‘sociocultural interventions.’ This term refers to acts of public, political expression other than deliberative argument, such as rallies, public fasts, street art and vigils, which performatively alter elements of the social imaginary that structures political life. Although sociocultural interventions can profoundly affect the relationships between differently positioned political actors as well as the outcomes of collective decision-making processes, they have not typically received the political philosophical attention that they deserve. This is due in part to the great influence of theories of the public sphere that almost exclusively focus on the public justification of political positions by means of deliberative argument. Taking sociocultural interventions into account helps us to approach the public sphere not exclusively as a site where citizens seek to convince people subscribing to other points of view, but also as a site where political actors engage with historical traditions of existential meaning-making in creative, innovative ways. This is also important from the vantage point of a commitment to principles of democratic equality. Sociocultural interventions can serve to challenge widely held perceptions of which social groups are recognized as equal members of society and as legitimate participants in public debate. Moreover, they can also change the way in which resonant cultural elements that play an important role in political discourse are widely understood. Finally, sociocultural interventions can enable political actors belonging to marginalized groups within society to strengthen the resolve, sense of purpose and collective identity within these groups. Drawing upon Hannah Arendt’s reflections on action, authority, and augmentation, the dissertation argues that political actors stand in a dual relation to the perceived authority of the cultural elements that their so

In Western societies, generalized prejudice and anti-Muslim sentiments can be major drivers of the rejection of Muslim religious practices. However, people can also reject such practices for other reasons, such as concerns about civil liberties or the secular nature of the state. With national samples of German and Dutch majority members (N = 3,703), we used a multiple-acts-multiple-actors design to simultaneously examine attitudes toward four religious practices of three religious groups. Latent profile analysis revealed a subgroup of people that used a double standard and more strongly rejected Muslims than Christians and Jews engaging in the same practices (discriminatory rejection, 16.3%). However, four other subgroups responded to the practices independently of religious group (equal acceptance, 18.3%; equally moderate, 35%; equal rejection, 17.3%; and partial equal rejection, 13.1%). The five subgroups differ on key psychological correlates and self-reported reasons for rejection. We conclude that a multiple-acts-multiple-actors design provides a more nuanced understanding of how majority members evaluate Muslim minority practices in Western nations.

The relationship between Sweden and religion serves as a case of how its secular mode of governance has become an increasingly pervasive ideology that is not only encroaching on the rights of its religious community but is also on a mission to produce a homogenous civic nation, rather than allowing for plurality. Through its increased regulation of religion, particularly evident within the area of education, the case is made by focusing on Christianity and its differing values. A discourse analysis of the two most authoritative documents, the Education Act 2010 and the National Curriculum of Compulsory Schools 2011 is conducted. Based on the theoretical assumptions of social constructionism, this research seeks to make the case that through the state’s authoritative power, its ideologies and values are the most dominant in directing, determining, and maintaining the discriminatory and oppressive structural and social context. Through critical discourse analysis (CDA), which posits that language and discourse are not ‘neutral’, this research finds there is a deliberate project on the state’s part to bring about the secularization of its faith-schools. The texts sustain a social system that ‘others’ the religious and discriminates against their ways of life and thought. The analysis of the Education Act 2010 and the National Curriculum display a very strong bias toward secular thought that is not accommodative of religious beliefs, values and practices. These documents display through its restrictions, allowances, its inclusions and exclusions, an attempt on the part of the state to create an education context which is devoid of religion and enforces one worldview, that of secular liberal thought and seeks to socialise students in this way. This, in its essence is in fact ‘illiberal’

The relationship between Sweden and religion serves as a case of how its secular mode of governance has become an increasingly pervasive ideology that is not only encroaching on the rights of its religious community but is also on a mission to produce a homogenous civic nation, rather than allowing for plurality. Through its increased regulation of religion, particularly evident within the area of education, the case is made by focusing on Christianity and its differing values. A discourse analysis of the two most authoritative documents, the Education Act 2010 and the National Curriculum of Compulsory Schools 2011 is conducted. Based on the theoretical assumptions of social constructionism, this research seeks to make the case that through the state’s authoritative power, its ideologies and values are the most dominant in directing, determining, and maintaining the discriminatory and oppressive structural and social context. Through critical discourse analysis (CDA), which posits that language and discourse are not ‘neutral’, this research finds there is a deliberate project on the state’s part to bring about the secularization of its faith-schools. The texts sustain a social system that ‘others’ the religious and discriminates against their ways of life and thought. The analysis of the Education Act 2010 and the National Curriculum display a very strong bias toward secular thought that is not accommodative of religious beliefs, values and practices. These documents display through its restrictions, allowances, its inclusions and exclusions, an attempt on the part of the state to create an education context which is devoid of religion and enforces one worldview, that of secular liberal thought and seeks to socialise students in this way. This, in its essence is in fact ‘illiberal’

This thesis explores the Twitter discourse surrounding French secularism, referred to as laïcité, and its interplay with Islam in France. The research aims to provide an in-depth synchronic analysis of patterns and Twitter users’ language and rhetoric when discussing the principle. Moreover, it attempts to examine the variations of these discussions based on their contextual relevance and Twitter’s algorithm. To achieve this, I conducted a Critical Discourse Analysis on three data sets containing the hashtag #laïcité and pertaining to discussions on France and Islam: The first set is a compilation of tweets from the 26th of March to the 1st of April 2023; the second set is a compilation of tweets following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, from the 8th of January to the 14th of January 2015; and the third set is a compilation of “Top Tweets” initiated by Twitter’s algorithm retrieved on the 4th of May 2023. The findings show a frequent instrumentalisation of laïcité to place the principle in elite and ideological discourses, discriminating against French Muslims. I identify two common discourses on #laïcité. First, laïcité is often associated with conservative France and is employed as a justification for propagating hate speech towards Islam and Muslims, especially on Twitter, where the platform's features and algorithm amplify this negative rhetoric. Second, laïcité is viewed as a critical aspect of French identity that frames the assimilation of French Muslims as the only way to comply with this principle.

Secularism in Mexico (laicidad) has been characterized by its anticlerical origin, liberal-radical ideology, and inclination for strict legal surveillance and control of religious expressions. Some authors report that such secularism is increasingly accepted among Mexicans. However, the high rates of religious affiliation in the country and the ambiguity of the statistical indicators used so far suggest that these claims may not be completely accurate. In this thesis, I problematize whether Mexicans agree with the model of secularism instituted in the country, looking at its specific policies. Using multivariate analysis techniques and data from the ENCREER/RIFREM 2016, I classify Mexicans' attitudes towards secularism, breaking them down into four groups of religious self-identification: Catholics; Protestants/Evangelicals; Biblical; and Non-religious. I propose that among the study subjects, there are four typical attitudes: 1) partial or strategic adherence; 2) systematic opposition; 3) "free market"; and 4) greater support. The group most opposed to Mexican secularism represented almost half of the sample (48%), while only 7% belonged to the subgroup most supportive of this type of regime. Beyond the acceptance of laicidad, I argue that these results suggest its polysemy, as well as different ways of imagining religion in the public sphere.

This action research project aims to assist believers in the Eglise Evangelique Baptiste de Draguignan in France to maximize their evangelistic efforts despite the pressures and adverse effects of laïcité. The work rests on the historical and French legal definition of laïcité that parallels the biblical doctrine of the separation of church and state. This doctrine supports the libertarian approach of laïcité and opposes the restrictive definition growing in French culture. A group of eleven individuals participated in an intervention to assist believers in their understanding of laïcité, evangelism, and the practice of evangelism. This six-week intervention combined teaching times, practical exercises, and accountability components to counteract the negative effects of laïcité on evangelism. This research will be helpful to believers seeking to be faithful in their evangelism in the context of French laïcité, as well as pastors desiring to stimulate evangelism in a society that discourages it.

If a public school is to be secular, it is often assumed, then confessional religious education should not be allowed. In this article, I show how the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court rejected such implication, hence allowing religious confessional education in public schools. The article argues that the Court abandoned core constitutional values, substituting the republican function underlying the introduction of religious education in public schooling for a function that offers assistance to families in fulfilling their task of providing moral and religious education. To offer support to this claim, I identify the four main arguments presented by the Court in favor of its decision. The first one is the Facultative Argument. It argues that non mandatory confessional religious education is sufficient for guaranteeing basic liberal-democratic values. The second one is the Constitutive Argument. It maintains that only confessional education can be genuine religious education. The third one is the ‘Religion is a basic right’ argument, which maintains that confessional religious education must be permitted in public schools because access to religion is a basic right. The fourth argument is the Historical Argument. It defends the absence of strong reasons for forsaking the status quo of state – religions cooperation and mutual official recognition., Com frequência entende-se que se a escola pública é laica o ensino religioso confessional não pode ser permitido. Neste artigo analiso como o Supremo Tribunal Federal brasileiro rejeita essa ideia, permitindo o ensino religioso confessional na escola pública. Pondero se o tribunal abriu mão de valores políticos fundamentais na ordem institucional instaurada na Constituição política, e se abandonou a função republicana presente na inclusão do ensino religioso na escola pública, adotando uma função de acordo com a qual o ensino público assiste na formação moral-religiosa dos discentes. Para apoiar esta tese identifico e avalio os quatro argumentos mais relevantes oferecidos pelo tribunal para apoiar sua decisão, a saber: o argumento facultativo, de acordo com o qual o fato do ensino confessional ser optativo garante a proteção dos valores políticos de uma democracia liberal; o argumento constitutivo, defendendo que só o ensino confessional pode ser ensino religioso; o argumento de acordo com o qual receber ensino religioso confessional é um direito básico; e o argumento histórico, que ressalta o fato de não haver razões suficientes para transformar o status quo de cooperação e reconhecimento da religião por parte do Estado. Ressalto que o ensino religioso confessional não é entendido como constitutivo da formação de virtudes democráticas, mas como assistência ao interesse das famílias em brindar educação religiosa a seus filhos e filhas. Defendo, portanto, que o tribunal não abriu mão da escola laica, mas tomou distância de uma concepção da escola laica que propõe a formação cidadã, e não a formação religiosa ou moral, como um dos seus propósitos fundamentais.

U ovom radu autori nastoje da ponude pregled različitih učenja koja se svrstavaju pod kapu humanizma. Mada se rad prevashodno usredsređuje na humani- stičke doktrine, teoriju humanizma često nije jednostavno razlučiti od huma- nizma u praksi, te će svakako biti referisano na različite praktične programe humanizma. I u jednom i u drugom slučaju ispostavlja se da je humanizam toliko razuđen, ako ne i bezobalan pojam, da je možda uputnije govoriti o humanizmima, u množini. Iako jedan pregledni članak ne može da predoči podrobnu i sveobuhvatnu istoriju (ideje) humanizma i sve varijacije kroz koje je on prošao i prolazi kod svojih značajnih zastupnika, autori veruju da čitaocima može pružiti osnov za razumevanje i okvir za dalja istraživanja i promišljanja humanizma/humanizama., In this paper, the authors have offered an overview of various teachings that fall under the umbrella of humanism. Although the paper primarily focuses on the humanist doctrine, it is often not easy to distinguish the theory of humanism from humanism in practice. In both cases, it turns out that humanism is such a wide-ranging concept that perhaps it is instructive to talk about humanisms instead. Although a single review article cannot present a detailed and comprehensive history of (the idea of) humanism and all the variations it has gone through, the authors believe that this work can provide readers with a basis for understanding and a framework for further research and reflection on humanism/humanisms.

U ovom radu autori nastoje da ponude pregled različitih učenja koja se svrstavaju pod kapu humanizma. Mada se rad prevashodno usredsređuje na humani- stičke doktrine, teoriju humanizma često nije jednostavno razlučiti od huma- nizma u praksi, te će svakako biti referisano na različite praktične programe humanizma. I u jednom i u drugom slučaju ispostavlja se da je humanizam toliko razuđen, ako ne i bezobalan pojam, da je možda uputnije govoriti o humanizmima, u množini. Iako jedan pregledni članak ne može da predoči podrobnu i sveobuhvatnu istoriju (ideje) humanizma i sve varijacije kroz koje je on prošao i prolazi kod svojih značajnih zastupnika, autori veruju da čitaocima može pružiti osnov za razumevanje i okvir za dalja istraživanja i promišljanja humanizma/humanizama., In this paper, the authors have offered an overview of various teachings that fall under the umbrella of humanism. Although the paper primarily focuses on the humanist doctrine, it is often not easy to distinguish the theory of humanism from humanism in practice. In both cases, it turns out that humanism is such a wide-ranging concept that perhaps it is instructive to talk about humanisms instead. Although a single review article cannot present a detailed and comprehensive history of (the idea of) humanism and all the variations it has gone through, the authors believe that this work can provide readers with a basis for understanding and a framework for further research and reflection on humanism/humanisms.

Race and Religion. Re-membering their Displacements, Supersessions, and Geographies The racial dimension of ‘Europe’s Muslim Question’ is often conceptualized in terms of ‘racialization of religion’: meaning that religious markers start to function as ‘race’. Race and religion then are approached as two separate formations, in which the one can obtain characteristics of the other. This dissertation however, departs from (re)conceptualizations of ‘religion’ (as coupled to the secular), and ‘race’ that takes seriously the theological underpinnings of both formations: of race-making (Anidjar 2014, Jennings 2010, Heschel 2008, Topolski 2018, Maldonado-Torres 2014, Chidester 2016) and of religio-secularism as the separation between ‘religion’ and the ‘secular’ ( Asad 2003, Masuzawa 2005, Carter 2008, Jansen 2013, Mahmood 2015). The crux is that religio-secularism makes ungraspable these very connections, since it separates theology (religion) from politics (secular) and religion from race. To re-member these divides, this dissertation centers a theological concept, Christian supersessionism, as a lens to establish new relationalities between political formations such as race/whiteness, religion/secularism, gender/sexuality, coloniality, ‘secular’ scholarship, and property in the re-making of ‘Europe’, the ‘New World’, (diasporic) ‘Africa’ and the ‘Orient’. The dissertation introduces amalgamated terms such as 'racial supersessionisms', 'supersessionist geographies', and 'supersessionist religio-secularisms' to re-connect theology and its political implications. This not only helps to investigate the interrelations between Christian supersessionism, race, gender, coloniality, and religio-secularism. These terms also help to differentiate between what is now merged under the rubric of ‘religion’: enabling distinctions between Christian supersessionism (as implicated in race-making and religio-secularism) and non-Christianity, or non-‘proper’-Christianity, as possible sourc

The research article elucidates and critically evaluates the prominent ideologies and perspectives articulated by Shashi Tharoor in his seminal book, Why I Am a Hindu He presents a cogent narrative on the diverse philosophical tenets of Hinduism, and accentuates their relevance in nurturing a secular and peaceful society. The crux of his exposition lies in the contention that Hinduism, as a religion, embodies pluralism, tolerance, and a non-dogmatic approach, which can be the catalysts for fostering peace in an increasingly polarized world. Not only in ancient era but also in modern scenario, here everyone is playing the “religious and communal card” to achieve the desired supremacy in society. Some innocent believers of religion believe that the condition of their religion is extremely in danger and there is an urgent need to be the revival and protection of it. In act of protection of their religious ethics, they can inter any extreme to be under the political umbrella. There are many literary minds who wrote against such religious extremist who crossed the boundary constitutional secularism. Tharoor’s adeptness in contrasting the philosophical underpinnings of Hinduism with the prevailing notions of religious chauvinism is emphasized, particularly in the Indian context. To him, the Hinduism began in the Indian subcontinent and spread other parts of the world through the migrants and immigrants. The central core of Hindu religion is that it respects every religion in tolerable limits. The novel is divided into three parts and each part of it well described the concept of Hinduism and Hindutva. It is all about tolerance and peace and not about supremacy to other religions. The article investigates the position of religious tolerance and tries to explore the challenge of radical extremism as a source of national disharmony that spares the opportunities of national unity. The focal point is the elucidation of how Tharoor propagates and transcends parochial boundaries

The research article elucidates and critically evaluates the prominent ideologies and perspectives articulated by Shashi Tharoor in his seminal book, Why I Am a Hindu He presents a cogent narrative on the diverse philosophical tenets of Hinduism, and accentuates their relevance in nurturing a secular and peaceful society. The crux of his exposition lies in the contention that Hinduism, as a religion, embodies pluralism, tolerance, and a non-dogmatic approach, which can be the catalysts for fostering peace in an increasingly polarized world. Not only in ancient era but also in modern scenario, here everyone is playing the “religious and communal card” to achieve the desired supremacy in society. Some innocent believers of religion believe that the condition of their religion is extremely in danger and there is an urgent need to be the revival and protection of it. In act of protection of their religious ethics, they can inter any extreme to be under the political umbrella. There are many literary minds who wrote against such religious extremist who crossed the boundary constitutional secularism. Tharoor’s adeptness in contrasting the philosophical underpinnings of Hinduism with the prevailing notions of religious chauvinism is emphasized, particularly in the Indian context. To him, the Hinduism began in the Indian subcontinent and spread other parts of the world through the migrants and immigrants. The central core of Hindu religion is that it respects every religion in tolerable limits. The novel is divided into three parts and each part of it well described the concept of Hinduism and Hindutva. It is all about tolerance and peace and not about supremacy to other religions. The article investigates the position of religious tolerance and tries to explore the challenge of radical extremism as a source of national disharmony that spares the opportunities of national unity. The focal point is the elucidation of how Tharoor propagates and transcends parochial boundaries

We have re-created the catalog of the publishing house founded by Ángel Estrada in 1877, which would focus on the school texts market, and we study the company trajectory up to 1900. Seen as another product in the series of goods destined for business offices and schools, the books are mainly merchandise. Choosing the school market meant a commercial strategy that address a growing need thanks to national policies of mass alphabetization and mandatory education. Nonetheless, specific analysis of the published authors and titles can show an ideological selection guided by Christian morality. Within the general framework of the political discussions about secularism in public education taking place at the time, this choice becomes a willful and strategic intervention in the public arena, even after the debate was considered finished., A partir de la reconstrucción del catálogo de la editorial fundada por Ángel Estrada en 1877, concentrada en el mercado de los libros escolares, estudiamos la trayectoria de su empresa hasta el año 1900. Considerados un insumo más de la variedad de productos para oficinas y escuelas, estos libros son en primer lugar una mercancía y la elección del público escolar refleja una estrategia empresarial de privilegio de un mercado en pleno auge gracias a las políticas oficiales de alfabetización masiva y escolarización obligatoria. Sin embargo, en el análisis concreto de los autores y títulos publicados puede encontrarse también una selección ideológica que privilegia la moral cristiana. En el marco de las discusiones en torno al laicismo de la educación pública que se dan en el período, esa opción aparece como una estratégica y deliberada intervención en el debate, aun después que este se considere cerrado.

This text analyses the turn to secularism [laïcité] by the National Front/National Rally as a legitimation strategy, and also examines the party’s place in French political debate on this issue. To do so, a thematic analysis is carried out of party programmes presented for the presidential elections since Marine Le Pen assumed leadership in 2011. It concludes by showing how, in contrast to liberal conceptions that prioritise equal rights, a substantive, identity-based version of secularism has gradually been imposed in public policies established in France. It is this vision of secularism that has allowed the party to appropriate the issue, presenting itself as the true defender of the Republic and its values in the face of a supposed threat from Muslim immigration., Este texto analiza el recurso a la laicidad por parte del Frente Nacional/Agrupación Nacional como estrategia de legitimación y su ubicación en el debate político francés sobre esta cuestión. Para ello se realiza un análisis temático de los programas presentados para las elecciones presidenciales desde que Marine Le Pen asumiera su liderazgo en 2011. Concluye mostrando cómo, frente a concepciones liberales, que priorizan la igualdad de derechos, en las políticas desarrolladas en Francia se ha ido imponiendo progresivamente una versión sustantiva, identitaria, de la laicidad. Y es esa visión de la laicidad lo que ha permitido a la derecha radical apropiarse del tema, presentándose a sí misma como la auténtica defensora de la República y sus valores frente a la supuesta amenaza de la inmigración musulmana.

L’art. 1 dell’Accordo di Villa Madama, dopo aver tenuto la Repubblica e la Chiesa cattolica al “pieno rispetto” delle rispettive sfere di sovranità esclusiva, impegna le Parti a una “reciproca collaborazione per la promozione dell’uomo e il bene del Paese”. Questo lavoro intende indagare se questo puntuale referente normativo possa considerarsi espressione di un principio “di sistema”. In particolare, occorre domandarsi se la reciproca collaborazione, emancipandosi all’occorrenza dall’ambito limitato della regolamentazione pattizia dei “rapporti” tra la Repubblica e la Chiesa (art. 7, c. 2, Cost.), possa assurgere a canone di portata generale, idoneo a orientare ogni forma di “relazione”, intesa in senso ampio, tra i due enti sovrani. Ancora – e in misura forse ancor più pregnante –, bisogna anche chiedersi se un analogo dovere collaborativo sia postulabile in capo alle confessioni diverse dalla cattolica, pur nel difetto di un impegno pattizio analogo a quello contratto dalla Chiesa. L’ipotesi di ricerca che si intende suffragare è che la reciproca collaborazione trovi la propria più appropriata collocazione sistematica quale particolare declinazione del principio solidaristico espresso dalla Carta costituzionale (art. 2 Cost.). In questa prospettiva, tutte le confessioni religiose, siccome soggetti indipendenti e sovrani su un ordine loro proprio, si trovano chiamate a coltivare, assieme alla Repubblica, una collaborazione in chiave solidaristica, ordinata secondo criteri di responsabilità. Essa tempera, in questo modo, il potenziale eversivo insito nelle loro prerogative sovrane imponendone un coordinamento, purché a ordini invariati e distinti, con quelle dell’ordinamento secolare. Lo studio impone di indagare quali affinità e differenze intercorrano tra la reciproca collaborazione tra la Repubblica e le confessioni religiose e altri principi che, rispetto a essa, presentano un certo grado di prossimità semantica: è questo il caso dei canoni di “leale c, Art. 1 of the Villa Madama Agreement, after having bound the Republic and the Catholic Church to ensure a “full respect” of their spheres of exclusive sovereignty, commits the Parties to a “mutual collaboration for the promotion of man and the good of the Country”. This work aims to investigate whether this precise normative referent could be considered an expression of a general principle. In particular, one may wonder whether, emancipating itself, if necessary, from the limited scope of art. 7, c. 2, Constitution, it could rise to a canon of general application, suitable for orienting every form of “relations”, understood in a wider sense, between the two sovereign entities. Again – and perhaps to an even more meaningful extent – it must be investigated whether a similar collaborative duty can be postulated on the part of denominations other than the Church, even in the absence of a commitment similar to that contracted by the latter. The research hypothesis is that mutual collaboration finds its most appropriate systematic place as a particular declination of the principle of solidarity expressed by the Constitutional Charter (art. 2 Cost.). In this perspective, all religious denominations, as independent and sovereign subjects on an exclusive sphere, are called to cultivate, together with the Republic, a collaboration in solidarity, according to criteria of responsibility. In this way, mutual collaboration tempers the subversive potential inherent in their sovereign prerogatives by imposing their coordination with those of the secular order, provided that they are unchanged and distinct from them. The study requires to investigate what affinities and differences exist between the mutual collaboration between the Republic and the religious denominations and principles that, with respect to it, present a certain degree of semantic proximity: this is the case of the principles of “loyal collaboration” (today mentioned, inter alia, by art. 120 Cost.) and horizontal

This thesis explores the Twitter discourse surrounding French secularism, referred to as laïcité, and its interplay with Islam in France. The research aims to provide an in-depth synchronic analysis of patterns and Twitter users’ language and rhetoric when discussing the principle. Moreover, it attempts to examine the variations of these discussions based on their contextual relevance and Twitter’s algorithm. To achieve this, I conducted a Critical Discourse Analysis on three data sets containing the hashtag #laïcité and pertaining to discussions on France and Islam: The first set is a compilation of tweets from the 26th of March to the 1st of April 2023; the second set is a compilation of tweets following the Charlie Hebdo attacks, from the 8th of January to the 14th of January 2015; and the third set is a compilation of “Top Tweets” initiated by Twitter’s algorithm retrieved on the 4th of May 2023. The findings show a frequent instrumentalisation of laïcité to place the principle in elite and ideological discourses, discriminating against French Muslims. I identify two common discourses on #laïcité. First, laïcité is often associated with conservative France and is employed as a justification for propagating hate speech towards Islam and Muslims, especially on Twitter, where the platform's features and algorithm amplify this negative rhetoric. Second, laïcité is viewed as a critical aspect of French identity that frames the assimilation of French Muslims as the only way to comply with this principle.

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar o posicionamento pró-Rússia na Grécia e naRomênia no aspecto religioso. A hipótese é de que o ambiente secular da União Européiafavorece um distanciamento desses países em relação à organização. Essa percepçãodiferente do papel da religião na vida pública contribui para uma percepção favorável daRússia como protetora dos cristãos ortodoxos no mundo. O referencial teórico foi compostoprincipalmente pelo construtivismo crítico e o debate referente ao papel da religião nasRelações Internacionais. Os métodos utilizados foram o process-tracing interpretativo deGuzzini e a análise de conteúdo. Keywords: Religion. Secularism. International Relations. Orthodox Christianity. Russia., Esta investigación tuvo como objetivo analizar la postura prorrusa en Grecia y Rumania enel aspecto religioso. La hipótesis es que el ambiente secular de la Unión Europea favoreceun distanciamiento de estos países de esta última.. Esta percepción diferente del papelde la religión en la vida pública contribuye a una percepción favorable de Rusia comoprotectora de los cristianos ortodoxos en el mundo. El marco teórico estuvoteórico estuvocompuesto principalmente por el constructivismo crítico y el debate sobre la religión en lasRelaciones Internacionales. Los métodos utilizados fueron el interpretive process tracingde Guzzini y el análisis de contenido. Palabras clave: Religión. Secularismo. Relaciones Internacionales. Cristianismo Ortodoxo. Rusia., This research aimed to analyze the pro-Russia stance in Greece and Romania in the religious aspect. The hypothesis is that the secular environment of the favours a distancing of these countries from the European Union. This different perception of the role of religion in public life may contribute to a favourable perception of Russia as the protector of Orthodox Christians in the world. The theoretical framework was composed mainly of critical constructivism and the debate regarding religion in the field of International Relations. The applied methods were Guzzini’s interpretive process tracing and content analysis.

For decades, indigenist anthropology has been considered indefensible in Mexico. Its conception of Indigeneity persists, however, as a resource for national heritage and identity construction. This article analyses works on Indigenous peoples by prominent Mexican scholars and traces their links to contemporary heritage narratives and practices. It discusses how a national anthropological historiography, embedded in a secularizing ideology and state project, has generated a popular, transhistorical view of Indigenous peoples as embedded in a world of religious belief. I contend that this gaze has a dematerializing discursive effect, dissociating Indigenous peoples, past and present, from material agendas and practices. This is a dispossessive narrative tradition that is being regenerated through the framework of intangible heritage.

Absolute truth has been denied within the current philosophical ideals as post-modern thought has sought to alter that concept by denying its existence (Siniscalchi, 2011). Post-modern thinking and philosophy have entered and influenced how some churches and denominations are teaching biblical truths and principles (Enns, 2008). The purpose of this phenomenological study is to explore how Southern Baptist pastors perceive any post-modern influences in their churches and its effect on how the church presents and teaches biblical truth. This study looks at post-modern thinking, how it has infiltrated the church, and how it has influenced how the church presents biblical truths. This study will discover why so many churches have accepted this post-modern philosophy as seen in the presentation of a social gospel over the biblical Gospel while ignoring the sinful side of human nature (Enns, 2008). It looks briefly at the impact post-modern philosophy has on church attendance and retention and how it leads to the secularization of some churches (Enns, 2008; Erickson, 2013). The research conducted was through an e-mail survey sent to select participants. The participants’ answers to the questions were categorized according to their perception of the effects of postmodernism on the church. Survey results were utilized to determine the relevance of post-modern influence on Southern Baptist churches.

This article explores how Christian heritage is engaged with, strengthened, and contested in and through Swedish newspapers and in the annual Swedish Christmas calendar. Although Sweden is perceived as highly secular and characterized by an increased distance between the former state church and the Swedish population, ideas about Swedish cultural heritage are still tied to notions of a Christian past. Previous research has highlighted Christmas as particularly salient for Swedes' understanding of their cultural heritage and national identity, which includes perceptions of Christmas as 'merely' a tradition. Using theories of nostalgia and banal religion, this article addresses how Swedishness is constructed in the Christmas calendar, as well as through its framing in Swedish newspapers. While the narrative of the Calendar does not normally include overt references to Christian parables, it frequently uses Christian and folkloric symbolism to effect a backdrop of nostalgia. I argue that the Calendar and its framing in newspapers play on conceptions of Swedishness that are inextricably linked to ideas of 'secularized' Christianity, and by extension to constructions of what counts as national belonging in contemporary Sweden.

Muslim minority practices, such as the wearing of a headscarf, the founding of Islamic schools and the building of minarets, are often contested in Western societies, and a large section of the population is unwilling to accept them. In this dissertation, Marija Dangubić examines various reasons behind the rejection of these and similar Muslim minority practices, and in particular whether the rejection is based on prejudicial feelings towards Muslims as a group of people or rather more principled considerations related to liberal democratic values, such as state neutrality, secularism and gender equality. By applying a person-centered approach and using the data collected among majority members from several European countries (and Germany and the Netherlands in particular), she identifies several subgroups of individuals that differ in their attitudes towards Muslims and acceptance or rejection of Muslim minority practices, as well as in what seem to be their main concerns related to these. Some majority members show generalized negativity towards Muslims as a group of people, reject all Muslim practices, and discriminate against Muslims relative to Christians and Jewish, which reflects majority members’ prejudicial feelings. However, other majority members displayed more selective rejection of only some Muslim practices (e.g., the wearing of religious symbols in schools), and did so withouth harboring negative feelings towards Muslims as a group, and without discriminating against Muslims relative to Christians and Jews, which provides strong indication for more principled rejection based on concerns for civil liberties and secularism. Further, for some majority members, rejection of Muslim practices simultaneously reflects prejudical feelings and more principled considerations. In addition to subgroups of majority members who reject Muslim minority practices, some majority members are rather supportive of Muslim minorities and their practices, whereas others take

En este artículo se explora el uso del espacio público urbano madrileño para la reivindicación de la identidad y la agenda católicas, en la línea del proyecto moral católico denominado Nueva Evangelización propuesta por Benedicto XVI en 2010. Para ello se parte del análisis empírico de tres eventos distintos, protagonizados por activistas católicos, que pusieron en juego y en cuestión la (in)visibilidad de la identidad católica, al tiempo que cuestionaron las dicotomías clásicas religioso/secular y público/privado. El análisis semiótico de estos tres casos revela, por un lado, la coherencia entre distintos estilos de presencia religiosa en el espacio urbano, que posibilita a este proyecto implementar su agenda confesional a partir del uso de medios seculares. Por otro lado, el artículo también propone una aproximación teórica que recoge la herencia crítica de la noción de secularismo estratégico de Vaggione, pero replanteado en el marco de una semiótica de la relevancia de Engelke, entendida como una perspectiva que permite dar cuenta del uso estratégico de los signos y sus significados para construir la presencia y el valor social del proyecto moral católico., This article explores the use of Madrid’s urban public space for the vindication of Catholic identity and agenda, in line with the Catholic moral project called New Evangelization proposed by Benedict XVI in 2010. To this end, the text is based on the empirical analysis of three different events, led by Catholic activists, who put into play and question the (in)visibility of Catholic identity, while questioning the classic religious/ secular and public/private dichotomies. The semiotic analysis of these three cases reveals, on the one hand, the coherence between different styles of religious presence in the urban space, which enables this project to implement its confessional agenda through the use of secular media. On the other hand, the article also proposes a theoretical approach that collects the critical heritage of the notion of strategic secularism proposed by Vaggione, but reconsidered within the framework of a semiotics of relevance developed by Engelke, understood as a perspective that accounts for the strategic use of signs and their meanings to build the presence and social value of the Catholic moral project., Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), Depto. de Antropología Social y Psicología Social, Fac. de Ciencias Políticas y Sociología, TRUE, pub