Why Religious Freedom matters for Democracy: Comparative Reflections from Britain and France for a Democratic ‘vivre ensemble’. Myriam Hunter-Henin

Abstract

At several points during this interesting and enlightening book, the author quotes the well-known words of the European Court of Human Rights in Kokkinakis v Greece in 1993—its first-ever judgment concerning Article 9 of the European Convention—that: freedom of thought, conscience and religion is one of the foundations of a ‘democratic society’ within the meaning of the Convention. It is, in its religious dimension, one of the most vital elements that go to make up the identity of believers and their conception of life, but it is also a precious asset for atheists, agnostics, sceptics and the unconcerned. The pluralism indissociable from a democratic society, which has been dearly won over the centuries, depends on it. The book seeks to explore the foundations of this statement, set against what some see as increasingly intolerant attitudes to religious freedoms in modern societies, famously—and paradoxically—fuelled by a desire to ensure that those of different religious beliefs are best able to live together in society:the ‘vivre ensemble’ of the book’s subtitle.