The EU-funded RELIGARE project (2010–2013) brought together a team of interdisciplinary researchers and 13 academic institutions to consider issues of religious and philosophical diversity in Europe, making recommendations in respect of employment, family life, use of public space and state support mechanisms. Research took place in ten EU countries, including the UK. The project had already spawned four previous books, published by Ashgate, and this volume marks the completion of the project and its final report.
The first part of the book contains the principal findings of the RELIGARE project, whereas the rather longer second part comprises 28 short chapters from different authors, responding to the report and commenting on the issues raised. The report deals with important law and religion topics; for those who find the detailed findings a little dry, there is a short executive summary (pp 11–12), although it does not in fact summarise the main conclusions and recommendations. An introduction by the editors provides an overview, and Professor Grace Davie has also written a thoughtful foreword, seeking to put the report in a broader context and welcoming it as a collaborative, multidisciplinary initiative.
The report itself sets out the main challenges posed by increasing religious diversity in Europe, and the need to accommodate this in law and policy. It has yielded three research instruments, namely: a database of case law; ‘thematic templates’ summarising legislation, cases and controversies; and sociological reports from six countries (including the UK) where fieldwork was conducted. The report reaches overall conclusions as to how to achieve justice and inclusion, such as the importance of ‘even-handedness’ between competing interpretations of religion (rather than a ‘hands-off’ stance by the state), and what is described as ‘inclusive state neutrality’. It identifies two core principles: freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and equality (or the right to non-discrimination).
The report makes a number of specific findings and recommendations relating to the four main topics (employment, family, public space and support), aimed at policy-makers at the EU, national and local level. For example, within the sphere of employment, recommendations aim to protect freedom of religion (and the right to equality) in the workplace. They cover enforcement of human rights and equality legislation, exemptions from anti-discrimination law, and reasonable accommodation for religious observances in the workplace. The recommendations relating to national government recommend that they should each (1) establish an advisory service (helpline) for employers and other decision-makers who have a question about religious accommodation; (2) encourage the inclusion of workers from diverse religious backgrounds through various suggested mechanisms; and (3) adopt national legislation that gives employees a legal right to request reasonable accommodation for religious beliefs. Recommendations in similar vein are made in respect of EU and local bodies, and also cover the other three topics.
In the second part of the book, the wide range of authors (many of whom will be familiar to readers of this Journal) offer views in response, on a number of subjects within broad topics relating to religious freedom and equal treatment, reasonable accommodation, religious diversity, the relationship between diversity and secularism, and recent developments. The editors have plainly been happy to stimulate debate and dissent, and have given contributors free rein to present their own analyses. These chapters include a vigorous and wide-ranging debate, rather than necessarily presenting a coherent overall picture. This makes for a somewhat mixed bag, ranging from the more philosophical and theoretical to arguments focusing on whether specific recommendations are justified.
To take one example, it is perhaps not surprising that there has been much comment on the ‘reasonable accommodation’ debate (in other sections of the book as well as under that general heading). A range of views are presented, by no means supportive of all the specific RELIGARE recommendations. Lucy Vickers, for instance (in Chapter 12), acknowledges the benefits of being able to request reasonable accommodation in the workplace, but does not see it as a suitable way to create new legal rights, preferring a development of the existing law of indirect discrimination protection, which might take into account whether a reasonable accommodation could have been found. Frederique Ast (Chapter 13) also expresses scepticism as to whether it would be feasible to amend EU legislation to extend reasonable accommodation from disability discrimination (where it is already covered) to religious discrimination, and suggests more alternative responses. Andreas Stein (Chapter 17), a European Commission official (albeit not writing in his official capacity), suggests that it would be unrealistic to expect a change in EU law to introduce reasonable accommodation, and shares Lucy Vickers' view that it would be more practicable to focus on possible developments in the law relating to indirect discrimination.
The summary in the previous paragraphs perhaps illustrates both the strengths and weaknesses of the book. It is helpful and instructive (even in these post-Brexit days) to read a well-reasoned, pan-European and multidisciplinary analysis of some of the common legal issues thrown up by increasing religious diversity, accompanied by an attempt to find imaginative and legally coherent solutions to the problems identified. The intellectually stimulating debate reflected in the subsequent chapters also helps to expand one's understanding of the subject. That said, this formulation also has its drawbacks: the attempt to find common themes and practical common solutions, and then to throw open the debate to those who may not share the report's conclusions, has to some extent led to a rather muddled picture, raising as many new questions as the book tries to answer.
Having read the book, one is certainly left with a greater understanding of the tensions in the relationship between religious diversity and a largely secular state, with some useful tools to help approach the subject. The RELIGARE project was an important development and will no doubt continue to provide invaluable information for international researchers and help inspire further collaborative work on law and religion. But is this a book which will merit re-reading by the more general reader, and regular dipping into its contents? Perhaps not.
