Liberal Neutrality and State Support for Religion

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Liberalism and Neutrality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Liberalism and Neutrality: A Philosophical Examination

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 3-10

   3. Comprehensive and Political Antiperfectionism

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 11-19

   4. Autonomy-Based Liberalism and Political Perfectionism

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 21-33

   5. Reformation Liberalism and Liberal Neutrality: Galston and Kukathas

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 35-44

   6. Ronald Dworkin: Liberal Neutrality and Subsidizing Art

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 45-52

   7. John Rawls: Liberal Neutrality and Subsidizing Art

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 53-59

   8. Autonomy-Based Liberalism and State Support for Art: An Antiperfectionist Justification

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 61-72

3. Liberal Neutrality and State Support for Religion

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 73-73

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   2. Liberal Neutrality and State Support for Religion

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 75-89

   3. Liberal Neutrality and State Support for Faith-Based Schools

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 91-107

   4. Liberal Neutrality and State Support for Religious Education

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 109-124

4. Church-State Models and Liberal Neutrality

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 125-125

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   2. Church and State: Legal Framework and Typology

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 127-133

   3. Political Secularism: Passive and Assertive

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 135-148

   4. Active State Support for Religion

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 149-181

   5. State Church or Established Church

      • Leni Franken

      Pages 183-198

5. Back Matter

   Pages 199-211

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This book focuses on the financing of religions, examining some European church-state models, using a philosophical methodology. The work defends autonomy-based liberalism and elaborates how this liberalism can meet the requirements of liberal neutrality. The chapters also explore religious education and the financing of institutionalized religion. This volume collates the work of top scholars in the field. Starting from the idea that autonomy-based liberalism is an adequate framework for the requirement of liberal neutrality, the author elaborates why a liberal state can support religions and how she should do this, without violating the principle of neutrality. Taking into account the principle of religious freedom and the separation of church and state, this work explores which criteria the state should take into account when she actively supports religions, faith-based schools and religious education. A number of concrete church-state models, including hands-off, religious accommodation and the state church are evaluated, and the book gives some recommendations in order to optimize those church-state models, where needed. Practitioners and scholars of politics, law, philosophy and education, especially religious education, will find this work of particular interest as it has useful guidelines on policies and practices, as well as studies of church-state models.

• Liberalism and Neutrality
• autonomy-based liberalism
• church financing
• church-state relations
• neutrality
• religious education

“The particular richness and real contribution of Leni Franken’s work is the application of liberal theories of justice, which are rarely focused on religion, to the question of the legitimacy of financial state support for religion. … Leni Franken’s work shows that, even though we cannot claim that a state should finance religion in order to be neutral in a political liberal sense, we can at least say that the state can consider such financial support, without losing its neutrality.” (Stéphanie Wattier, Revue de droit international et de droit comparé, April, 2017)

“Franken has written an excellent and clear book on the question of the relations between State and Church and on the question of State support for religion within the context of liberalism Writing. ... I recommend this book not only to philosophers, theologians and political thinkers,but also to politicians, especially liberal politicians.” (Norbert Campagna, Ethical Perspectives, Vol. 24 (2), 2017)

“This volume collates the work of top scholars in the field. … A number of concrete church-state models, including hands-off, religious accommodation and the state church are evaluated, and the book gives some recommendations in order to optimize those church-state models, where needed. Practitioners and scholars of politics, law, philosophy and education, especially religious education, will find this work of particular interest as it has useful guidelines on policies and practices, as well as studies of church-state models.” (Georg Neureither, Religion - Weltanschauung - Recht (RWR), religion-weltanschauung-recht.net, May, 2016)

• Centre Pieter Gillis, University of Antwerp Centre Pieter Gillis, Antwerp, Belgium

  Leni Franken

Leni Franken is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Antwerp (Belgium). Her research interests are political and autonomy-based liberalism, church-state relations, neutrality, faith-based schools and religious education. In 2011, she edited Religious Education in a Plural, Secularized Society (Waxmann)

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