Tag: religion

Rostbøll, Christian F. ‘The Use and Abuse of “Universal Values” in the Danish Cartoon Controversy’.

~ Dansk Racismeforskning

Rostbøll, Christian F. ‘The Use and Abuse of “Universal Values” in the Danish Cartoon Controversy’. European Political Science Review, vol. 2, no. 3, Nov. 2010, pp. 401–422.

During the Danish cartoon controversy, appeals to universal liberal values were often made in ways that marginalized Muslims. An analysis of the controversy reveals that referring to ‘universal values’ can be exclusionary when dominant actors fail to distinguish their own culture’s embodiment of these values from the more abstract ideas. The article suggests that the solution to this problem is not to discard liberal principles but rather to see them in a more deliberative democratic way. This means that we should move from focusing on citizens merely as subjects of law and right holders to seeing them as co-authors of shared legal and moral norms. A main shortcoming of the way in which dominant actors in Denmark responded to the cartoons was exactly that they failed to see the Muslim minority as capable of participating in interpreting and giving shared norms. To avoid self-contradiction, liberal principles and constitutional norms should not be seen as incontestable aspects of democracy but rather as subject to recursive democratic justification and revision by everyone subject to them. Newcomers ought to be able to contribute their specific perspectives in this process of democratically reinterpreting and perfecting the understanding of universalistic norms, and thereby make them fit better to those to whom they apply, as well as rendering them theirs.

doi:10.1017/S175577391000024X.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S175577391000024X/type/journal_article.

Storm, Ingrid. ‘«Christian Nations»? Ethnic Christianity and Anti-Immigration Attitudes in Four Western European Countries’. (2011) [PDF]

~ Dansk Racismeforskning

Storm, Ingrid. ‘«Christian Nations»? Ethnic Christianity and Anti-Immigration Attitudes in Four Western European Countries’. Nordic Journal of Religion & Society, vol. 24, no. 1, May 2011, pp. 75–96.

Despite a general decline in religious belief and practice in Europe, questions of national religious heritage have become increasingly salient in recent public debates about immigration and integration. Using data from the 2008 International Social Survey Programme (Religion III module), this study explores associations between individual religiosity and attitudes to immigration in four Western European countries: Great Britain, the Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark. Multivariate analysis reveals contrasting associations. Identifying with a Christian religion makes one more likely to think immigration is a threat to national identity, whereas regular church attendance reduces this effect. Despite national differences, the results from all four countries indicate a prevalence of Cultural or Ethnic Christianity, where religion is used to identify with national traditions or ethnic heritage rather than faith.

https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/christian-nations-ethnic-christianity-and-antiimmigration-attitudes-in-four-western-european-countries(6b3a6051-eff8-4cda-9ed6-f82c3439abde).html

PDF: https://www.idunn.no/file/ci/66929888/Christian_Nations_Ethnic_Christianity_And_Anti-Immigratio.pdf

Hansen, Janna, and David Herbert. ‘Life in the Spotlight: Danish Muslims, Dual Identities, and Living with a Hostile Media’. (2018) [PDF]

~ Dansk Racismeforskning

Hansen, Janna, and David Herbert. ‘Chapter 12 Life in the Spotlight: Danish Muslims, Dual Identities, and Living with a Hostile Media’. Contesting Religion, Ed. Knut Lundby, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, 2018, 205–222.

We examine ethnic Danish and ethnic minority Muslim (n = 15) responses to the negative media frame they experience, and their efforts to build viable dual identities – ways of being Danish and Muslim. The reported media negativity is triangulated with evidence from ECRI media reports, public opinion surveys, and reports on government policies and institutions. We find that interviewees’ experiences vary with their visibility as Muslims, so hijab wearing women and men of colour report most negativity in public environments. We also find that efforts to pro-actively project a positive social media image of Islam vary by time since conversion, gradually declining. Danish Muslim challenges in forming dual identities are compared with those of Swedish (Malmö) and British (London) Muslims. We examine why London Muslims more readily construct dual identities than Malmö Muslims – despite greater negativity in national surveys and barriers to voting. The implications for cultural conflict in Scandinavia are discussed.

doi:10.1515/9783110502060-017.

PDF: https://www.degruyter.com/downloadpdf/book/9783110502060/10.1515/9783110502060-017.xml

Halrynjo, Sigtona, and Merel Jonker. ‘Naming and Framing of Intersectionality in Hijab Cases — Does It Matter? An Analysis of Discrimination Cases in Scandinavia and the Netherlands’. (2016)

~ Dansk Racismeforskning

Halrynjo, Sigtona, and Merel Jonker. ‘Naming and Framing of Intersectionality in Hijab Cases — Does It Matter? An Analysis of Discrimination Cases in Scandinavia and the Netherlands’. Gender, Work & Organization, vol. 23, no. 3, 2016, pp. 278–295.

This article examines how intersectionality is recognized in hijab discrimination cases brought before the Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Dutch equality bodies. Hijab cases are regarded as a perfect example of intersectionality, as religion and gender are interwoven in the use of the Muslim veil. The theoretical shift towards intersectionality has influenced substantial revisions of equality policies, bodies and laws. Recognizing intersectionality has become synonymous with quality in the equality architecture. We question this and argue that quality must be scrutinized empirically, including the practice of the equality bodies. Our results show that most complainants do not present their cases as intersectional discrimination, and that only the Norwegian equality body applies an intersectional approach. However, an intersectional approach seems not to be crucial to protect against discrimination in these cases. Thus, we argue that the quality of the equality architecture should be scrutinized more on the process, judgement and actual ability to promote equality, than on the naming and framing of intersectionality.

doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/gwao.12089.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/gwao.12089.

Christoffersen, Lisbet, and Niels Valdemar Vinding. ‘Challenged Pragmatism: Conflicts of Religion and Law in the Danish Labour Market’. (2013) [PDF]

~ Dansk Racismeforskning

Christoffersen, Lisbet, and Niels Valdemar Vinding. ‘Challenged Pragmatism: Conflicts of Religion and Law in the Danish Labour Market’. International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, vol. 13, no. 2–3, SAGE Publications Ltd, June 2013, pp. 140–168.

Against the backdrop of a well-regulated and pragmatic Danish labour market, the question of reasonable accommodation is discussed on the basis of current legislation, recent legal cases and substantial interview material drawn from the RELIGARE sociolegal research done in Denmark. Employees of religious faith have made religious claims and thereby challenged a secular understanding of the Danish labour market. This raises the question of the extent to which the religion of the individual can be accepted in the general public sphere. At the same time, religious ethos organisations have argued for the protection of their organisational identity and sought to employ and dismiss personnel according to the norms of the religious ethos, raising the question of how far ‘reasonable accommodation’ extends. Both the individual and the collective cluster cases ultimately raise questions concerning where to draw the line between accommodating religion and restricting freedom on the basis of professionalism, job functions or other reasons. On the basis of empirical findings, this article concludes that the pragmatic approach is supporting a renewed religious identity of faith-based organisations, but also warns against hijacking rights of individual employees.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1358229113492064.

PDF: https://www.academia.edu/4336642/Challenged_pragmatism_Conflicts_of_religion_and_law_in_the_Danish_labour_market