Global religion in a post-Westphalia world

Abstract

In this chapter, I address how globalization, de-privatization, mass-scale migration and the rise of supranational constitutional organisms squarely challenge the premises of the Westphalian model of coordination of religion and political boundaries. I start with an account of how the resurgence of strong religion impacts the interplay between faith and reason in a liberal polity. Next, I show how globalization has provided a fertile terrain for transnational religious actors to regain a crucial role in the international arena, and to influence domestic and international law-making and litigation in the sphere of religious freedom and sexual and reproductive rights. Finally, I focus on how the resurgence of religion in the political sphere affects the traditional Western models of protecting religious freedom, and I provide an overview of the post-Westaphalian models of managing the relationship between religion and the state, focusing in particular on the role of religion in the culturalization of citizenship.