Rethinking the Role of Religion in Changing Public Spheres: Some Comparative Perspectives

Brigham Young University Law Review, 2005 by Hackett, Rosalind I J

Political scientist Dan Levine, who has been conducting research on religion and politics in this region for many years, observes:

Latin America is now approaching a state of pluralism (among Christian groups) for the first time in its history. This religious pluralism entails not only a multiplicity of voices speaking 'in the name of religion' but also a conflict for voice within specific groups. The spread of literacy and the access to mass media have diffused the tools of religious expertise into many hands.104

Local and international scholars are working to interpret this new plurality of religious identities and formations. Levine offers a positive reading of the politicization of religion in Latin America:

A story that not long ago could be told with confidence about how Catholicism supported and reflected the established order became a story in which religion (Protestant as well as Catholic) has become a source of new ideas about how to organize society and politics, and how to lead the good life. It is no exaggeration to say that many of the region's most significant movements for change would have been unthinkable without religious participation and legitimation.105

Levine also points out that the pluralization of religious voices, leading to greater religious activism and public presence, has immediate consequences for democracy.106 He states that "in a plural environment, it is to everyone's interest to maintain open civil society with guarantees of free speech and equal access to institutions and to public spaces."107 This is especially important as these societies leave behind the dictatorships and religious monopolies which characterized the Latin American scene up until the late 1980s. Levine points to the emergence of discourses on the human and civil rights of the person, which have been helpful in modernizing the state.108

Efforts to accommodate religious and cultural diversity in transitional states and new democratic dispensations are naturally subject to extensive scrutiny. South African law withstands this scrutiny because of its explicit recognition of religious and cultural minorities and celebration of the country's diverse heritage after decades of neo-colonial repression. South Africa has implemented these changes primarily through its constitution,109 religious broadcasting,110 and religious education.111 The new government has, for the most part, resisted efforts to continue to privilege South Africa's Christian majority (over seventy percent of South Africans are Christians according to the most recent census).112 Many of the religious leaders who fought for liberation from the brutal apartheid regime have become officials of the new government.

Interestingly, many European countries seem regressive in terms of honoring the rights of minority religious groups in their territories. Alarmed at the growth of immigrant populations, particularly Muslims (there are now an estimated four to five million Muslims in France, for example),113 some European governments have taken draconian measures to curb the activities of nonconventional and unpopular religious groups.114 Sects are feared for their purported negative psychological effects and undue American influence.115 The wearing of the Muslim veil in the workplace and schools has been fiercely contested in France and Germany.116 French President Jacques Chirac contends that the veil or scarf is a sign of "aggressive proselytism" and has introduced controversial new legislation banning the wearing of religious symbols in public schools.117 In eastern Europe, Russia, and central Asia more generally, there are similar patterns of cultural preservation and animosity toward competing religious options.118