The Intersection of Religious Autonomy and Religious Symbols: Setting the Stage

Two sets of issues in the area of law and religion have generated a large share of attention and controversy across a wide number of countries and jurisdictions in recent years. The first set of issues relates to the autonomy of churches and other religiously affiliated entities such as schools and social service organisations in their hiring and personnel decisions, involving the question of how far, if at all, such entities should be free from the influence and oversight of the state. The second set of issues involves the presence of religious symbols in the public sphere, such as in state schools or on public lands, involving the question of how far the state should be free from the influence of religion. Although these issues – freedom of religion from the state, and freedom of the state from religion – could be viewed as opposite sides of the same coin, they are almost always treated as separate lines of inquiry, and the implications of each for the other have not been the subject of much scrutiny. In this Introduction, we consider whether insights might be drawn from thinking about these issues both from a comparative law perspective and also from considering these two lines of cases together.

Conditions for Teaching and Learning in Religious Education (RE) : Perspectives of Teachers and Pupils at the Beginning of the 6th Grade in Sweden

In this article empirical findings from interviews with teachers of three classes of 12-year-old pupils are presented, together with questionnaire-responses from these 54 pupils. The interviews focus on teaching aims for Religious Education (RE), a subject that in Sweden, besides dealing with religion, also explores other kinds of beliefs, ethics and life questions. In the questionnaire the pupils are asked to solve four RE tasks with content that is central from a Swedish curriculum perspective. The research involves pupils at the beginning of the sixth grade and the purpose of this article is to look at the teachers’ aims and the pupils’ responses, and consider what these may indicate about conditions for teaching and learning RE in these classes. The findings show that the perspectives of the pupils at the beginning of the sixth grade seem to be rather far from the expectations of the RE syllabus. The pupils’ statements are rather vague with regard to religion as a phenomenon and there are few examples of pupils interpreting religious symbols in a way that is useful in further analysis. While existential and ethical plots, messages and point of views are comparatively easy to describe, it is harder to express multiple perspectives, reasons, comparisons and questions. A problem for the teachers in developing the perspectives of their pupils is that they find it hard to say what kind of general difficulties pupils have in RE, a fact that makes it hard to direct the teaching. Another challenge is that the teachers’ RE-aims are rather overarching and primarily related to fostering fundamental values. What improves the conditions for teaching and learning is the teachers’ concern for the pupils and their relationships with the teacher and with each other, a factor which is of vital importance for learning and which can also be used as a specific teaching method in subject matter education.

Religiöse Symbole im öffentlichen Raum

Abhandlung über Symbole verschiedener Religionen und deren mögliches Konfliktpotential (auch in Gerichtsverfahren in Deutschland). Außerdem findet sich eine Beschreibung von Räumen der Stille, welche, abhängig von ihrer Gestaltung und Ausrichtung, symbol-frei und daher offen für alle Religionen gestaltet sein können.

Le port des signes religieux dans l'espace public : une réflexion à partir du droit international et d'une comparaison entre le Canada, les États-Unis, la France et la Suisse

Après avoir établi les bases méthodologiques de cette recherche, nous avons débuté notre réflexion en inscrivant la problématique du port des signes religieux dans l’espace public dans le débat qui perdure entre les perspectives différentialiste et universaliste au niveau de l’application des droits à l’égalité. Par la suite, nous effectuons un survol des cadres conceptuels appropriés à l’analyse du sujet: le libéralisme classique et le républicanisme qui se rapportent à la vision universaliste. Les divers types de féminisme juridique, la théorie de l’intersectionnalité, l’approche communautarienne, le libéralisme repensé de Kymlicka et les valeurs relatives au droit à l’égalité de Sandra Fredman qui se rangent sous la houlette de la philosophie différentialiste. Par la suite, le libéralisme repensé de Kymlicka et les valeurs relatives au droit à l’égalité de Fredman sont identifiés comme étant les cadres les plus appropriés à l’analyse du sujet à l’étude. Dans cette même optique, notre examen du droit international nous a permis de démontrer que pendant que le droit européen se range davantage dans la perspective universaliste au niveau de l’examen du droit à la liberté de religion, tel n’est pas le cas pour le droit onusien qui se joint timidement à la vision différentialiste et donc, du libéralisme repensé de Kymlicka et de la perspective des droits à l’égalité de Fredman. Au niveau des systèmes juridiques des États-Unis, du Canada, de la France et de la Suisse, nous avons vu une application intermittente des deux perspectives dépendant du domaine d’activité en cause. Cependant, le Canada est ressorti de notre analyse comme étant celle ayant une approche plus axée sur la vision différentialiste en raison de sa neutralité inclusive ou bienveillante qui accorde une grande place à l’inclusion et à l’égalité réelle de ces nationaux.

Religion as Culture? How European and American High Courts Endorse Majority Religion

This paper examines a trend in European and American High Courts to endorse majority religion by transforming it into “culture”, and thus by secularizing it. To dissociate religion and state is the hallmark of the liberal state. However, no state has ever managed a perfect separation, not even the American. Under conditions of mounting religious pluralism and ongoing secularization, there is pressure on the state to live up to its “neutrality”. A main strategy to square the circle of neutrality and incomplete dissociation from religion is to declare it “culture”, which gives the state the license to associate or even identify with it (as guardian of nationhood). The paper compares recent American and European High Court rules on religious symbols (especially crucifixes) that exhibits this strategy, addressing similarities and differences as well as the limits and pitfalls of “culturalizing” religion.

A INTERPRETAÇÃO DA SIMBÓLICA DA QUEDA EM PAUL TILLICH:Um Estudo em Hermenêutica Teológica

A Dissertação busca compreender e julgar criticamente a hermenêutica teológica de Paul Tillich, a partir do estudo de sua interpretação simbólica da doutrina cristã clássica do pecado, em sua forma protestante-agostiniana. O trabalho se desenvolve em três etapas: primeiramente é apresentada a teoria do símbolo religioso de Paul Tillich. Em seguida, a sua interpretação da doutrina do pecado, presente no complexo de símbolos míticos e conceptuais que foram reunidos sob o nome simbólica da Queda . Na terceira e última parte, a partir de uma avaliação da prática hermenêutica de Tillich seguida de uma discussão com seus críticos, especialmente William Alston e Reinhold Niebuhr, e de um diálogo especial com Paul Ricoeur, o autor conclui: tanto a teoria do símbolo de Tillich como o seu enfoque hermenêutico, que vai principalmente da analítica existencial ao símbolo, necessitam de aperfeiçoamento; e a teoria simbólica de Ricoeur, associada à sua proposta indutiva de reflexão hermenêutica fornece uma importante contribuição. Ao mesmo tempo, o sucesso de Tillich na interpretação da simbólica da Queda parece refutar a tese de Ricoeur de que uma abordagem que parte da ontologia para o símbolo é inadequada por princípio. Conclui-se, portanto, que a abordagem de Tillich é válida, mas que precisa ser complementada; é necessário pensaruma hermenêutica de mão dupla , que dê igual voz aos símbolos religiosos e à ontologia existencial.(AU)

A INTERPRETAÇÃO DA SIMBÓLICA DA QUEDA EM PAUL TILLICH:Um Estudo em Hermenêutica Teológica

A Dissertação busca compreender e julgar criticamente a hermenêutica teológica de Paul Tillich, a partir do estudo de sua interpretação simbólica da doutrina cristã clássica do pecado, em sua forma protestante-agostiniana. O trabalho se desenvolve em três etapas: primeiramente é apresentada a teoria do símbolo religioso de Paul Tillich. Em seguida, a sua interpretação da doutrina do pecado, presente no complexo de símbolos míticos e conceptuais que foram reunidos sob o nome simbólica da Queda . Na terceira e última parte, a partir de uma avaliação da prática hermenêutica de Tillich seguida de uma discussão com seus críticos, especialmente William Alston e Reinhold Niebuhr, e de um diálogo especial com Paul Ricoeur, o autor conclui: tanto a teoria do símbolo de Tillich como o seu enfoque hermenêutico, que vai principalmente da analítica existencial ao símbolo, necessitam de aperfeiçoamento; e a teoria simbólica de Ricoeur, associada à sua proposta indutiva de reflexão hermenêutica fornece uma importante contribuição. Ao mesmo tempo, o sucesso de Tillich na interpretação da simbólica da Queda parece refutar a tese de Ricoeur de que uma abordagem que parte da ontologia para o símbolo é inadequada por princípio. Conclui-se, portanto, que a abordagem de Tillich é válida, mas que precisa ser complementada; é necessário pensaruma hermenêutica de mão dupla , que dê igual voz aos símbolos religiosos e à ontologia existencial.(AU)

La interculturalidad en el ámbito educativo español: una perspectiva de género

Este artículo tiene como objetivo principal la identificación de las vías más adecuadas para gestionar la diversidad cultural en el ámbito escolar español. Una aproximación intercultural a la educación requiere nuevos principios y nuevos métodos, entre otros, la mediación intercultural. Como ejemplo de diversidad cultural se analizará uno de los supuestos que más dimensión mediática y social ha adquirido en relación con el tratamiento de la diversidad cultural en la escuela pública: el uso del velo islámico. Por último, se presentarán las posibles vías que ofrece la mediación intercultural para resolver conflictos como el descrito. El análisis de los aspectos mencionados se realiza desde una perspectiva de género que con el fin de ofrecer repuestas a las necesidades específicas de las mujeres en un ámbito tan sensible como es el de su formación integral.

A INTERPRETAÇÃO DA SIMBÓLICA DA QUEDA EM PAUL TILLICH:Um Estudo em Hermenêutica Teológica

A Dissertação busca compreender e julgar criticamente a hermenêutica teológica de Paul Tillich, a partir do estudo de sua interpretação simbólica da doutrina cristã clássica do pecado, em sua forma protestante-agostiniana. O trabalho se desenvolve em três etapas: primeiramente é apresentada a teoria do símbolo religioso de Paul Tillich. Em seguida, a sua interpretação da doutrina do pecado, presente no complexo de símbolos míticos e conceptuais que foram reunidos sob o nome simbólica da Queda . Na terceira e última parte, a partir de uma avaliação da prática hermenêutica de Tillich seguida de uma discussão com seus críticos, especialmente William Alston e Reinhold Niebuhr, e de um diálogo especial com Paul Ricoeur, o autor conclui: tanto a teoria do símbolo de Tillich como o seu enfoque hermenêutico, que vai principalmente da analítica existencial ao símbolo, necessitam de aperfeiçoamento; e a teoria simbólica de Ricoeur, associada à sua proposta indutiva de reflexão hermenêutica fornece uma importante contribuição. Ao mesmo tempo, o sucesso de Tillich na interpretação da simbólica da Queda parece refutar a tese de Ricoeur de que uma abordagem que parte da ontologia para o símbolo é inadequada por princípio. Conclui-se, portanto, que a abordagem de Tillich é válida, mas que precisa ser complementada; é necessário pensaruma hermenêutica de mão dupla , que dê igual voz aos símbolos religiosos e à ontologia existencial.(AU)

El Hiyab

La polémica acerca del hiyab como símbolo de identidad de la mujer musulmana ha irrumpido en nuestra sociedad occidental. Si bien visiblemente no es más que una prenda, el ocultamiento del cabello, el cuello, y en algunas ocasiones el rostro y el cuerpo hacen que su uso no deje indiferente y su significado exceda más allá de lo puramente religioso. El presente trabajo constará de dos partes: La primera, tratará de entender la naturaleza de esta prenda, estudiando su procedencia, sus tipos y el significado que para las mujeres musulmanas tiene portarlo. La segunda, se centrará en el debate público y político que en muchos países de Europa, entre ellos España, viene provocando su uso y las consecuencias que una eventual prohibición o limitación del mismo tendría.

Equality versus Fraternity? Rethinking France and its Minorities

The relationship between France and its minorities is complex. Recent events including the 2015 terrorist attacks, the prohibition on wearing religious symbols in public, or the 2005 riots, have been perceived as symbols of great tension in French society when its comes to its minorities.2 Indeed the ten-year anniversary of the riots prompted reporting that nothing had changed in the intervening period in the structures of inequality that caused them,3 while in January 2015, the French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared that the country was facing a “territorial, ethnic and social apartheid”.4 This statement from the Prime Minister seems to be at odds with the overall policy of rejecting any targeted policies or laws to protect minorities in France. As a tradition France is against minority rights. French authorities have consistently rejected the use of the term ‘minorities’, and have banned any form of special measures for national, racial, ethnic, religious or linguistic groups.5

The Genesis Of The Mycenaean Citadel: A Philosophical Quest For The Origins Of The Architectural Forms

This thesis deals with the origins of the architectural forms as expressed in the Homeric Mycenaean citadel. The Genesis of the Mycenaean Citadel is a philosophical quest which reveals the poetic dimension of the Mycenaean architecture. The Introduction deals with general theories on the subject of space, which converge into one, forming the spinal idea of the thesis. The ‘process of individuation’, the process by which a person becomes ‘in-dividual’ that is a separate, indivisible unity or ‘whole’, is a process of transformation and renewal which at collective level takes place within the citadel. This is built on the archetype which expresses both the nature of the soul as a microcosm and of the divinely ordered Cosmos. The confrontation of the rational ‘ego’ with the unconscious is the process which brings us to the ‘self’, that organising center of the human psyche which is symbolised through the centre of the citadel. . Chapter I refers to ‘the Archetype of the Mycenaean citadel’. The Mycenaean citadel, which is built on a certain pattern of placement and orientation in relation to landscape formations, reproduces images which belong to the category of the ‘archetypal mother’. On the other hand, its adjustment to a central point with ‘high’ significance, recalls the archetypal image of Shiva-Shakti. The citadel realises the concept of a Kantian ‘One-all embracing space’; it is a cosmogonic symbol but also a philosophical one. Chapter II examines the column in its dual meaning, which is expressed in one structure; column and capital unite within their symbolism the conscious and unconscious contents of the human psyche and express the archetype of wholeness and goal of the individuation process. 33 Chapter III is a philosophical research into the ‘symbolism of the triangle’, the sacred Pythagorean symbol which expresses certain cosmological beliefs about the relation between human nature and the divinely ordered Cosmos. The triangular slab over the Lion Gate is a representation of the Dionysiac ‘palingenesia’, that is the continuity of One life, which was central to the Mycenaean religion. Chapter IV deals with the tripartite ‘megaron’. The circular hearth within the four-columned hall expresses the ‘quaternity of the One’, one of the oldest religious symbols of humanity. Zeus is revealed in the ‘fiery monadic unit-cubit’ as an all-embracing god next to goddess Hestia, symbolised by the circular hearth. The ‘megaron’ expresses the alchemical quaternity and the triad but also the psychological stages of development in the process towards wholeness. In the Conclusions it is emphasised that the Mycenaean citadel was created as if in a repetition of a cosmogony. It is a ‘mandala’, the universal image which is identified with God-image in man. Moreover it is built in order to be experienced by its citizen in the process of his psychological transformation towards the ‘self’, the divine element within the psyche which unites with the divinely ordered Cosmos

On the cognitive effectiveness of routing symbols in process modeling languages

Process models provide visual support for analyzing and improving complex organizational processes. In this paper, we discuss differences of process modeling languages using cognitive effectiveness considerations, to make statements about the ease of use and quality of user experience. Aspects of cognitive effectiveness are of importance for learning a modeling language, creating models, and understanding models. We identify the criteria representational clarity, perceptual discriminability, perceptual immediacy, visual expressiveness, and graphic parsimony to compare and assess the cognitive effectiveness of different modeling languages. We apply these criteria in an analysis of the routing elements of UML Activity Diagrams, YAWL, BPMN, and EPCs, to uncover their relative strengths and weaknesses from a quality of user experience perspective. We draw conclusions that are relevant to the usability of these languages in business process modeling projects.