Religion and the Public Sphere
Debate
Recent years have seen a proliferation of debates in several European countries over the presence of religious symbols in public space. According to the principles of secularism, which have contributed so greatly to the construction of European public space, religion should belong in the sphere of private life. However, with the presence of Christian emblems in many spheres of European public life and with the arrival of new populations of immigrants who practise increasingly visible other religions, it is clear that reality does not conform to the principles. Where, then, lies the borderline between freedom of religious conscience and the guarantee of a state based on lay principles? How might the presence of religion in public space be reappraised?
This debate has been organised by the CCCB and the Political Theory Research Group at the Pompeu Fabra University with the aim of encouraging plural reflection on one of the most relevant issues of European society today.
Moderators: Ferran Requejo
Participants: Cristina Lafont, Cecile Laborde, András Sajó