210112 VO M6: SpezialVO Austrian Politics (2022W)

Many of the most important socio-political issues of our time have a strong religious dimension. This applies to political controversies about the ability of European societies to integrate their Muslim minorities, as well as to political controversies about the legality of assisted suicide, or about the appropriateness of religious symbols in public spaces (such as the cross in the classroom). At the heart of many of these controversies are tensions between fundamental liberal-democratic principles such as individual autonomy, freedom of conscience and belief, equal treatment and non-discrimination, and state neutrality towards different worldviews. Also at the heart of many of these conflicts are important processes of societal change that create new conditions for social cohesion and democratic-political inclusion, produce new religious and political actors, and lead to changes in the political handling of religion.

Based on these considerations, the lecture offers an overview of important concepts, research fields and questions of social science research on religion, with a special focus on current phenomena and questions in the Austrian and European contexts.

The lecture is divided into three blocks. Block I deals with central theories and concepts that have shaped the religio-sociological and political scientific debate on religion since the middle of the 20th century: secularism, secularization, the return of religion, public religion, post-secularism.

Block II focuses on topics, explanatory models and findings from social science research on the role of religion in politics. These topics include institutional church-state relations, the role of religion in party politics, the links between religion and social movements, and state regulation of morally-charged policies.

Block III deals with selected questions and case studies on the subject areas 'Religion and Belonging', 'Religion and Migration', 'Religion and Gender' and 'Religious Symbols in Public'.

If you have any questions about the lecture, please contact the study assistant Petra Kolb (petra.kolb@univie.ac.at).