The Transition of Religion to Culture in Law and Public Disco... - 9780367440534

Taylor & Francis

The Transition of Religion to Culture in Law and Public DiscourseAuthor(s): Lori Beaman\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd, United Kingdom\nImprint: Routledge\nISBN-13: 9780367440534, 978-0367440534\nSynopsis\nThis book explores the recent trend toward the transformation of religious symbols and practices into culture in Western democracies. Analyses of three legal cases involving religion in the public sphere are used to illuminate this trend: a municipal council chamber; a town hall; and town board meetings. Each case involves a different national contextCanada, France and the United Statesand each illustrates something interesting about the shape-shifting nature of religion, specifically its flexibility and dexterity in the face of the secular, the religious and the plural. Despite the differences in national contexts, in each instance religion is transformed into culture or heritage by the courts to justify or excuse its presence and to distance the state from.