Religious Approaches to Constitutionalism: Empirical Scholarship and Exceptionalism
In: Arab Law QuarterlySearch for other papers by Russell Powell in
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Abstract
Nearly half of all countries have official religions or give preference to specific religious traditions. Most countries with an official religion are majority Muslim; however, most of those with a preference for particular religious traditions are majority Christian. This paper considers empirical data related to constitutional references to specific religions as a framework for a discussion of the comparative constitutional histories of Turkey and the Republic of Ireland. Both moved from systems that preferred their majority religions to ostensive neutrality. This analysis reinforces the importance of religion in law and policy regardless of cultural context and constitutional choices. Constitutional drafters have established a number of approaches to the treatment of religion, including freedom of religion, establishment of religion, separation of religion and state, neutrality, official religion, conformity, repugnancy, and sources of law/legislation. Although these linguistic choices are significant, they may not result in consistent practices across jurisdictions.
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| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
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Religious Approaches to Constitutionalism: Empirical Scholarship and Exceptionalism
In: Arab Law QuarterlySearch for other papers by Russell Powell in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Nearly half of all countries have official religions or give preference to specific religious traditions. Most countries with an official religion are majority Muslim; however, most of those with a preference for particular religious traditions are majority Christian. This paper considers empirical data related to constitutional references to specific religions as a framework for a discussion of the comparative constitutional histories of Turkey and the Republic of Ireland. Both moved from systems that preferred their majority religions to ostensive neutrality. This analysis reinforces the importance of religion in law and policy regardless of cultural context and constitutional choices. Constitutional drafters have established a number of approaches to the treatment of religion, including freedom of religion, establishment of religion, separation of religion and state, neutrality, official religion, conformity, repugnancy, and sources of law/legislation. Although these linguistic choices are significant, they may not result in consistent practices across jurisdictions.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 323 | 218 | 14 |
| Full Text Views | 22 | 16 | 1 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 331 | 291 | 2 |