Journal of Law, Religion and State - Volume 8, Issue 1, 2020

This paper examines two cases of deliberation on the issue of religious arbitration in Canada: first, the Sharia law debate in Ontario (deliberation in the larger public sphere); and second, a deliberation on religious arbitration in British Columbia (deliberation in a small-scale structured setting). Relying on both secondary and original data, this article demonstrates that while the Sharia law debate failed to fulfill the key functions of a deliberative engagement, the small-scale deliberation was able to achieve all three functions: participants had the chance to express their opinions; there was ample dialogue and communication evident by increased empathy, perspective-taking ability, and knowledge gains; and finally, participants were able to come to a decision, however broad, together. Through this comparison, the article highlights key barriers to deliberation across differences and concludes with some suggestions for carrying out such engagements in the future.

This article analyzes modern religious life in Ukraine, specifically the relations between religious organizations and government bodies in state and social domains. Particular attention is given to the concrete territorial and historical evolution of state Christian doctrines and church relations in Ukrainian lands. The article also examines the main problems and conflicts regarding the registration and functioning of the largest religious organizations in the country, and relations between them. Special attention is paid to the role that religious organizations play in the democratic processes, and to their effect on the relations between state and church. These relations have unfolded against the background of the political events of the last 15 years in Ukraine and the region: internal social conflicts, the general trend toward pro-European democratization, and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

In the face of widespread opinion holding that atheism is somehow necessarily separated from religion and opposed to it, the question “Is an atheist religion in Austria legally possible?” is both intriguing and challenging, leading to the cutting edge of contemporary studies on law, religion, and state. By providing a close, focused view on the legal framework concerning an example case in the Republic of Austria, the present article revisits this widespread opinion. It argues that this opinion can be challenged from a legal point of view in at least one concrete case, namely that of a growing group of atheists who try to establish an officially accepted, state-registered religious denominational community of atheists: Atheistische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich (Atheist Religious Society in Austria), or arg for short. The article discusses this case and concludes that an atheist religion is legally possible in Austria.