030199 KU Law, philosophy, and religion: Foundations of the relationship between law and religion (2023S)

Religions were and are formative elements of social orders. The question therefore arises as to how religious groups, beliefs and practices should be legally evaluated. The course is dedicated to the relationship between law and religion and approaches this topic first from its prerequisites in the history of ideas. In doing so, it examines in particular the historical discourse on religious tolerance. It then discusses philosophical positions that explicitly deal with the relationship between state law and religions and shows their applications in positive law, whereby judgements of international courts as well as judgements of foreign courts (e.g. the USA and Canada) are also dealt with. However, the focus is not only on the positions of religions and their rights in state law. Religious traditions are also repeatedly effective in the context of the formation of religious law, since religious convictions often lead to the creation of legal rules, especially for members of religious groups. Therefore, the lecture will also focus on the topic of religious law. To this end, the philosophical examination of religious law will be considered. Finally, the course addresses current philosophical debates on the relationship between law and religion, e.g. the debates on religious symbols as well as bans on veiling and on the problem of blasphemy.