This welcome addition to the current literature on law, education and religious freedoms draws together analyses from contributors with a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds. Rather than simply providing a counterpoint and contrast to views from the world of law, the work of scholars from other fields feeds in to the overarching legal debate. The multidisciplinary approach of the volume as a whole allows insights from the social sciences to inform dialogue about the appropriate shape and purposes of legal frameworks.
The book is structured so that it moves in broad terms from addressing issues of education and religious freedom from a predominately theoretical viewpoint towards explorations which are more firmly grounded in case law. However, the nature of the subject is such that it is neither possible nor desirable to separate cleanly discussion of theory from practice, nor law from social and political considerations. All of the chapters are distinctive, and examine discrete but related topics.
The meta theme of the work is the development and possible future of religious freedom in Europe in the particular context of education. This exploration takes place against the shared backdrop of Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides a common framework for a variety of nations with a multiplicity of cultures, traditions and understandings of state involvement in religious life. Article 9.1 sets out the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; whilst Article 9.2 provides that the right to manifest religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
The outworking of these rights brings particular challenges in the context of education. This is partly because education frequently concerns children, who may be especially vulnerable to proselytizing or manipulation. Furthermore education in itself is not something which is optional for parents or children; and is a matter of public as well as private concern. Across Europe parents are required to permit and enable their children to be educated; governments and wider society have a stake in the formation of future citizens and the contribution which they will one day make to their community and country.
The centrality of children to the debate about education and religious freedom also raises the issue of competing rights. Should the focus be on the freedom of parents to educate their children in accordance with their religious beliefs; or should the focus be on the autonomy of those receiving education?
Not only is there scope for debate about the balance between different holders of Article 9 rights in any given situation, there are also questions about the nature and content of the protected right. What are the proper boundaries for the limitation of freedom to manifest permitted under Article 9.2? How do individual religious rights relate to collective rights of religious communities? Should religious beliefs and requirements be defined subjectively in accordance with the understanding of individuals, or objectively on the basis of norms and doctrines of faith groups to which individuals belong? In examining these issues, the main substance of the work is divided into four sections: Part 1 Key Concepts: Laïcité, Integration, Identity and Discrimination; Part 2 National Models; Part 3 Case Studies: The Influence of Religion on Teaching Content and School Ethos; and Part 4 Case Studies: Religious Symbols at School.
Parts 1 and 2 demonstrate the way in which judicial and legislative approaches towards specific issues of education and religious freedom have inevitably been moulded by differing national histories, understandings and traditions. Matters considered include, for example, Jewish day schools in France, voluntary Protestant and Catholic segregation in religious education in Northern Ireland and controversy surrounding the denominational teaching of religion in Spanish state schools. It is clear from all of the articles that each national context presents its own challenges formed by its unique cultural and political setting. Yet, despite the differences, there are common themes which can be discerned. These elements of commonality are presented in part as a consequence of the interplay between national courts and the European Court of Human Rights, as the case law on Article 9 has gradually evolved.
A natural progression from this is the consideration of two specific areas of heated and recurrent debate: the content and form of religious teaching in Part 3 and the role of religious symbols in Part 4. Topics addressed include the writing of history textbooks within the framework of laïcité, the teaching of evolution, creationism and intelligent design, the accommodation of religious symbols like bracelets and veils within the uniform policies of English schools and the position of teachers and other school staff within the UK in relation to religious discrimination.
Viewing the book in its entirety, the stated editorial intent is to assist the reader in reflecting critically on the extent and meanings that are given to religious freedoms at school across Europe. Hunter-Henin argues that, taken together, the collection shows the increasing importance which religious freedom has as a concept within European schools. She hails this as a positive development, particularly when seen as an alternative pathway to assimilationist models of state integration, tending towards a monolithic and potentially even coercive approach.
However, Hunter-Henin also acknowledges the inherent complexity of balancing religious freedoms. The right of one person or group to assert their individual or collective religious freedom must be weighed against the conflicting rights and freedoms of other members of society. For instance, the ability of ‘faith schools’ within England and Wales to function in accordance with their religious ethos may have an impact upon the religious and ideological freedoms of individual staff members; and the religious freedoms of parents in determining their children's education may conflict with the religious and other freedoms of the children themselves, as UK litigation on religiously motivated corporal punishment illustrates.
Therefore whilst welcoming the generally increasing emphasis on religious autonomy, within both schools and courtrooms across Europe, Hunter-Henin notes the complexity and tension which accompanies this changing focus. The book does not seek to marshal evidence for a clear way forward or simple thesis, but demonstrates how conflicting religious freedoms within an educational context are part of an ongoing story and social experiment. Furthermore it points to the difficulties and dangers in any attempt to identify or formulate a single optimum solution or model for Europe.
Taken together, the contributions gathered within the book provide an invaluable insight into the continuing legal and social dilemmas which arise across Europe in relation to education and religious freedom. The authors provide a wide variety of perspectives, and the book addresses all of the major issues currently topical within this field.
Two omissions, or at least points of emphasis, were noticeable. The first was the cultural and geographical focus of the book. Although the title refers to ‘Europe’ the majority of both the analysis and commentators had a Western European basis. It would have potentially been interesting and fruitful to have had more consideration of issues within Eastern Europe. This is particularly so in light of the significance which both individual contributors and editorial comment attached to the unique political and cultural make-up of the states concerned. One of the recurring themes was the tension between the need for some universally applicable principles and jurisprudence on the one hand, and on the other, the potential dangers of attempting to impose a monolithic or inflexible approach across radically different contexts. A greater contribution from the East might have added further to this debate.
The second omission concerns the relevance of the child rights and family law issues in relation to this field; the potential for students to assert their own religious autonomy in educational choices, possible conflicts between parental beliefs and the religious beliefs of minor children and the human rights implications for states adjudicating on parental disagreement about religious upbringing. These matters were touched upon, both in editorial comment and some of the articles, for instance, Garcia Oliva raises the issue of opt-out arrangements in Spain potentially denying students to elect both civic and religious instruction. Given the increasing focus on child rights as part of the growing awareness of human rights, coupled with the rise in cases of parental dispute over religious education in an increasingly pluralistic and multicultural world, a little more emphasis on this subject would have been welcome.
Nevertheless the book provides an impressive array of analysis and perspectives and will be of great interest to all scholars in the field of law and religion, and a necessary acquisition for anyone with a particular concern for education and religious freedom.
