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"In spite of the debate about secularization or de-secularization, the existential-bodily need for religion is basically the same as always. What have been changed are the horizons within which religions are interpreted and the relationships within which religions are integrated. This book explores how religions continue to challenge secular democracy and science, and how religions are themselves being challenged by secular values and practices. All traditions - whether religious or secular - experience a struggle over authority, and this struggle seems to intensify with globalization, as it has brought people around the world in closer contact with each other. In this book internationally leading scholars from sociology, law, political science, religious studies, theology and the religion and science debate, take stock of the current interdisciplinary research on religion and open new perspectives at the cutting edge of the debate on religion in the 21st century"--EBL book details.

It is not new, that (some) religious communities are regulated internally through a governance system described as law. Canon Law of the Catholic Church or of the Orthodox Churches is the main and well-known example of such a transnational regulatory system. In the Nordic context, however, the states have (more or less since the Reformation) had monopoly on regulating law, including law on ecclesiastical matters. The extent to which there is a link to the Nordic secularity of law is researched in the HERA-funded research project Protestant Legacies in Nordic Law: Uses of the Past in the Construction of Secularity of Law (www.teol.ku.dk/pronola). Increasingly, however, religious law is now, both in legal theory and in court practice accepted as transnational legal orders that can claim exemptions from and probably even solutions in conflict with the (secular) legislation of the land. The claims are based on international law, but the consequence is the re-appearance of transnational legal orders in these countries. New is also disputes on whether or not participants in legal disputes concerning religious matters have access to (secular) court, or whether they, as has been the case in several American cases, are denied this access and referred to internal dispute resolution mechanisms, based on an argument on transnational religious law as a legal system of its own (see e.g. the papers in Slotte & Aarsheim (eds) 2015. See also Juss 2017). New is finally, that claims of independent religious orders based on transnational legal arguments are now also raised by religious communities, representing the majority of the populations in the Nordic countries (such as the Church of Norway). This tendency could be identified as a re-sacralisation of (parts of) Nordic law (Christoffersen 2017, forthcoming). There is thus an open and relevant case of horizontal regualatory interaction between state law and transnational legal orders/legal arguments regarding religion law in the Nordic countries, changing traditional legal approaches to the field. This makes the field of religion-law a relevant case, through which it becomes possible to analyze tendencies and challenges of transnationalisation of Nordic law. This paper firstly makes a descriptive account of the field of religion law through the lenses of one transnational religious legal order. The description accounts for the questions regarding actors, what defines them as legal actors, their role in the transnational regulatory and judiciary system and relations between the transnational religious legal system and national law. This descriptive account is made through analysis of a hitherto under-analyzed example: the internal legal system of the Methodist Church. The argument for taking this approach is that, apart from being under-analyzed, the Methodist Church worldwide is understood as quite liberal. The Nordic selv-understanding of the church is that it functions without tensions to the state law (Alsted, 2014). However, the international Methodist Church is also currently struggling with how to deal equal treatment questions concerning sexuality, gender etc. It is therefor not a given case, that even this liberal, protestant church would be able to escape a legal conflict with new regulatory tendencies in the Nordic countries concerning requirements to religious communities, offered acknowledgement from the state (see e.g. the Danish betænkning 1564/2017, the Norwegian NOU 2013:1 and an upcoming parallel Swedish analysis). The description will thus clarify transnational legislative and judiciary competences and possible conflicts with the competences of the nation states. Following this descriptive approach, the paper analytically will also in the first part make the above-mentioned argument concerning the new and/or challenging dimension of religion-law in the Nordic countries. Secondly, the paper discusses the question of legitimacy behind the internal transnational legal system of the United Methodist Church. There is no doubt that internal actors of the Methodist Church "rightly" can both create and apply law – but the extent to which this legitimacy can be challenged by national governments and courts is to be discussed. Also, members of the Methodist Church are in the same time citizens of national legal orders - question is, how these two systems of legitimacy interact and to which extent the traditional legitimacy behind Nordic legal systems is challenged by (current?) tendencies in the International Methodist Church. Finally, the paper discusses to which extent a re-sacralisation of law is at all challenging. One set of arguments is that religion-law is no more challenging than sports-law. What matters is to (try to) ensure that transnational religious legal systems account for access to conflict resolution systems equal to those of state law, no more, no less. – The opposite set of notions is that religion-law has proved to underestimate equality norms, acquired through state-law and that no citizen, even though said to do so by individual choice, should be required to give up on such basic norms. Hitherto, the international law has based its arguments on the individual right to leave a religious community, thus making the free choice the basic legitimacy behind these legal systems. In a European context, the ECtHR has supplemented this with a 'balancing of human rights'-approach. This paper argues, that it must take more to give up on basic rights for citizens in countries that have traditionally (at least through the last 500 years) been equal for the law. The paper also argues that the basic hindrance for an equality approach seems to be a developing understanding that religion-law is untouchable for legislative and judiciary institutions of the land. The article challenges this approach by arguing that on the contrary, the national institutions must have an obligation to ensure legal rights for citizens also in closed communities, such as religious communities, at least parallel with the obligations to ensure other private law relations. How far that argument will reach, depends on the analysis, previously in the article. ; Global Religious communities seem to be obvious examples of transnational law. This article analyses the legal structure of the united methodist church through methodological concepts from the transnational law literature

Radical land-use changes are under way in Bolivia's Beni Department. As a prelude to changes, tales of idle land and premodern peoples have emerged, resembling the Pristine Myth that accompanied the 'discovery' of the Americas. In this article, I revisit the history of this area to show that its landscape and people have been re-narrated over time in ways that resonate with political economic concerns. I describe three dominant historical landscapes of Moxos, and the transformations that took place in between them, and show how material and conceptual landscape changes fed each other and obscured previous systems. In reinforcing loops they thus allowed for the birth or rebirth of myths of empty landscapes and traditional peoples, myths then used to naturalise transformations. I argue that new variants of the myths once again will erase indigenous peoples and their management practices from the landscape, and I stress the importance of investigating history with all its complexity when negotiating development. We must pay particular attention to the dangers of myth; essentialised characterisations of indigenous peoples and their interests risk reducing the available space for them to manoeuvre politically – but also for us to understand the nuanced relationships between history, landscapes, its peoples and the wider world.

Radical land-use changes are under way in Bolivia's Beni Department. As a prelude to changes, tales of idle land and premodern peoples have emerged, resembling the Pristine Myth that accompanied the 'discovery' of the Americas. In this article, I revisit the history of this area to show that its landscape and people have been re-narrated over time in ways that resonate with political economic concerns. I describe three dominant historical landscapes of Moxos, and the transformations that took place in between them, and show how material and conceptual landscape changes fed each other and obscured previous systems. In reinforcing loops they thus allowed for the birth or rebirth of myths of empty landscapes and traditional peoples, myths then used to naturalise transformations. I argue that new variants of the myths once again will erase indigenous peoples and their management practices from the landscape, and I stress the importance of investigating history with all its complexity when negotiating development. We must pay particular attention to the dangers of myth; essentialised characterisations of indigenous peoples and their interests risk reducing the available space for them to manoeuvre politically – but also for us to understand the nuanced relationships between history, landscapes, its peoples and the wider world. ; Radical land-use changes are under way in Bolivia's Beni Department. As a prelude to changes, tales of idle land and premodern peoples have emerged, resembling the Pristine Myth that accompanied the 'discovery' of the Americas. In this article, I revisit the history of this area to show that its landscape and people have been re-narrated over time in ways that resonate with political economic concerns. I describe three dominant historical landscapes of Moxos, and the transformations that took place in between them, and show how material and conceptual landscape changes fed each other and obscured previous systems. In reinforcing loops they thus allowed for the birth or rebirth of myths of empty landscapes and traditional peoples, myths then used to naturalise transformations. I argue that new variants of the myths once again will erase indigenous peoples and their management practices from the landscape, and I stress the importance of investigating history with all its complexity when negotiating development. We must pay particular attention to the dangers of myth; essentialised characterisations of indigenous peoples and their interests risk reducing the available space for them to manoeuvre politically – but also for us to understand the nuanced relationships between history, landscapes, its peoples and the wider world.

Intet resumé

In this paper we joined lenses in analyzing the roles of religion and secularism in a specific city area of Copenhagen, focusing on how individuals adapt to requirements from religious, political and state or municipality groups, and how they activate space and place to advocate their political claims. The presentation ends up in a discussion about the possibility to keep space for individual citizens to establish overlapping norms and ideas, combining religious norms and secularity standards into soft secularism, not only at state- and municipality level, but also at individual and maybe even group level. The main argument is, that strong requirements of group rights establish conflicts between state and religious groups over individual rights and plights, whereas soft, inclusive secularism in the Danish case at least has opened the spaces to individual decision making. ; In this paper we joined lenses in analyzing the roles of religion and secularism in a specific city area of Copenhagen, focusing on how individuals adapt to requirements from religious, political and state or municipality groups, and how they activate space and place to advocate their political claims. The presentation ends up in a discussion about the possibility to keep space for individual citizens to establish overlapping norms and ideas, combining religious norms and secularity standards into soft secularism, not only at state- and municipality level, but also at individual and maybe even group level. The main argument is, that strong requirements of group rights establish conflicts between state and religious groups over individual rights and plights, whereas soft, inclusive secularism in the Danish case at least has opened the spaces to individual decision making.

In this chapter, we investigate the interactions between the "theologizing jurist" A.S. Ørsted and the "historicizing theologian" N.F.S. Grundtvig. Taking our point of departure in their initial conflicts in the 1810s, we show their mutual rapprochement in 1826, and follow in detail their distinctive positions at the 1848-49 constitutional assembly. Ørsted and Grundtvig were among the most active speakers at the assembly that formulated the Danish Constitution of 1849. Both argued for freedom of religion but whereas Ørsted wanted this freedom to be given by law by the legislative decisions to come, Grundtvig wanted the freedom of religion to be given a prominent place in the Constitution. Regarding the People's church, they agreed on the identification of the People's Church as a confessionally defined Evangelical-Lutheran church, though Grundtvig worked for a high degree of freedom for members as well as pastors within the church. We argue that Ørsted and Grundtvig reversed their roles over time. Grundtvig began as a conservative but ended up promoting the most liberal ecclesiastical legislation. Ørsted began as a liberal administrator of church affairs but ended up as a conservative voice in the parliament. Not because he had changed his views, but because the society had changed – from the age of an open-minded absolutism to the age of democracy. ; In this chapter, we investigate the interactions between the "theologizing jurist" A.S. Ørsted and the "historicizing theologian" N.F.S. Grundtvig. Taking our point of departure in their initial conflicts in the 1810s, we show their rapprochement in 1826 and follow in detail their distinctive positions at the 1848-49 constitutional assembly. Ørsted and Grundtvig were among the most active speakers at the assembly that formulated the Danish Constitution of 1849. Both argued for freedom of religion, but whereas Ørsted wanted this freedom to be given by law in the legislative decisions to come, Grundtvig wanted freedom of religion to have a prominent place in the Constitution. They agreed on the identification of the "People's Church" as a confessionally defined Evangelical Lutheran church, though Grundtvig worked for a high degree of freedom for members as well as pastors within the church. We argue that Ørsted and Grundtvig reversed their roles over time. Grundtvig began as a conservative but ended up promoting the most liberal ecclesiastical legislation. Ørsted began as a liberal administrator of church affairs but ended up as a conservative voice in the Parliament-not because he had changed his views, but because the society had changed from the age of an open-minded absolutism to the age of democracy.

Artiklen analyserer anti-diskrimineringsreglerne vedr religion i den danske lovgivning og diskuterer på grundlag af relevante domme, afgørelser fra ligebehandlingsnævnet og citater fra kvalitative interviews de opståede konflikter, der falder i to hovedkategorier: konflikter på det private og offentlige sekulære arbejdsmarked vedrørende arbejdstagernes ønske om inclusion i forhold til religiøs praksis eller arbejdsgivernes ønske om eksklusion af religiøs holdning eller praksis samt konflikter på det religiøse og semi-religiøse arbejdsmarked (f.eks. folkekirkelige organisationer der driver velfærdsinstitutioner) vedrørende krav til loyalitet over for virksomhedens normgrundlag og etos. Forfatterne vurderer, at der er flere konflikter på vej, før området har fundet sit leje. ; Against the backdrop of a well-regulated and pragmatic Danish labour market, the question of reasonable accommodation is discussed on the basis of current legislation, recent legal cases and substantial interview material drawn from the RELIGARE sociolegal research done in Denmark. Employees of religious faith have made religious claims and thereby challenged a secular understanding of the Danish labour market. This raises the question of the extent to which the religion of the individual can be accepted in the general public sphere. At the same time, religious ethos organisations have argued for the protection of their organisational identity and sought to employ and dismiss personnel according to the norms of the religious ethos, raising the question of how far 'reasonable accommodation' extends. Both the individual and the collective cluster cases ultimately raise questions concerning where to draw the line between accommodating religion and restricting freedom on the basis of professionalism, job functions or other reasons. On the basis of empirical findings, this article concludes that the pragmatic approach is supporting a renewed religious identity of faith-based organisations, but also warns against hijacking rights of individual employees.

Der er tale om en gennemarbejdet analyse af 18 danske eliteinterviews om mulige konflikter i spørgsmål om religiøse normers betydning for familie, arbejdsmarked, religion i det offentlige rum og statens forhold til kirke og trossamfund. Ikke overraskende viser rapporten ikke alene en stigende bevidsthed om den indflydelse, religiøse normer har på de nævnte forhold, men også en stigende forskel i tilgang til sådanne grundlæggende spørgsmål. Derigennem understøtter denne rapport anden nylig forskning i danske religionsforhold. Der er dog en række fund, som har overrasket os som forskere. Rapporten viser således klart, at sekulariseringen i det danske samfund i disse år kobles med en stærkere konfessionalisering, ikke mindst omkring folkekirken, der synes at ændre karakter fra en fælles offentlig institution i samfundet til en kirke blandt andre kirker og trossamfund. En sådan tendens vil, hvis den bekræftes i andre analyser, kunne få stærk indflydelse på folkekirkens politiske og retlige stilling og faktiske funktion. I forhold til religion i det offentlige rum viser rapporten tilsvarende, at der er en klar tendens til at tage afsæt i en fælles sekularitet og på det grundlag ønske om inklusion i forhold til ikke alene folkekirken, men også øvrige trossamfund på langt mere lige vilkår, end det tidligere har været tilfældet. Samtidig med, at der således særdeles synligt viser sig en paradoks polarisering, synes den danske pragmatisme langt om længe at slå igennem i forhold til religionsområdet, men på en mere inkluderende måde end tidligere. I forhold til en lang række spørgsmål om religion og familieforhold, og herunder ikke mindst spørgsmål om retlige konstruktioner af ægteskab, forældremyndighed med videre, viser rapporten derimod, at vi kun er ved begyndelsen af en fælles drøftelse, og at der fortsat er behov ikke alene for at finde løsninger, men for at identificere problemer. Her er det slående, at ikke mindst de mange, som ikke selv tilhører religiøse mindretal, i stort omfang mangler sprog til at erkende og forstå problemstillingerne. Endeligt viser denne rapport, at spørgsmålene om religion på arbejdsmarkedet endnu ikke har fundet deres leje. Hidtidige normer i Danmark har været, at religion alene kunne anses for at være et relevant kriterium på arbejdsmarkedet, hvis det var af afgørende betydning i forhold til en konkret stillingsbesættelse på det klart religiøse arbejdsmarked, mens det klart sekulære arbejdsmarked har haft juridisk opbakning til at afvise alle religiøse ønsker fra ansatte. Denne rapport viser, at der i praksis ønskes en langt mere pragmatisk holdning til alment forståelige ønsker om religiøs praksis, der kan kombineres med at indgå i fællesskabet på en arbejdsplads, og den viser samtidig – i lighed med nylige afgørelser fra Ligebehandlingsnævnet – at der er plads til større religiøse loyalitetskrav på det blandet religiøst-sekulære arbejdsmarked, end hidtil antaget. Der synes at være en tendens til religiøs branding på vej, som ikke er blevet set tidligere. Det er imidlertid et felt, hvor man fortsat må forvente nogen udvikling, før der foreligger en endelig afklaring.