Démocratie c. Démocratie : droits religieux à ľaune des processus démocratiques

Avec un texte de Louis-Philippe Lampron

Résumé (en anglais)

Since 2010, there has been a noted increase in actions that seek to defend and contest religious rights. These actions have occurred from both inside and outside the legal system. Examples abound: we can think here of houses or spaces of worship, whose very presence and aesthetics are challenged by way of a referendum, the use of local ordinances against the wearing of religious clothing in public spaces, or religious lobbying in parliamentary institutions. We can also consider the State’s choice to define and take over the responsibility of religious heritage, leaning on the presence of religious symbols in public institutions to justify their intervention. These examples and processes invite us to question how we understand democratic imperatives and religious rights, as well as their governance in a variety of settings.

This special issue is the fruit of a workshop held at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) in January 2020, organized by professors Dia Dabby (Département des sciences juridiques, UQAM) and David Koussens (Faculté de droit, Université de Sherbrooke). Funded by the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie (CRIDAQ), an interdisciplinary research centre on diversity and democracy, as well as Koussens’ Chaire de recherche, Droit, religion et laïcité, and the Centre de recherche, Société, droit et religions de Université de Sherbrooke (SoDRUS), this workshop sought to explore, analyze and critically evaluate how processes such as referendum, legislation and local ordinances allow for the circumvention of religious rights in the name of the “public” or “common good”. The special issue takes up and pushes these conversations further, engaging with public law mechanisms that can unduly restrain religious expression and, in many instances, directly affect minority religious populations. Public law mechanisms are often invoked in the name of the common good and democratic principles. While the intended recipients of these public law mechanisms can be individuals (and thus result in individual restrictions), they can also target houses of worship and other spaces which hold religious significance.

Dabby, Dia et David Koussens (2021). « Démocratie c. Démocratie : droits religieux à ľaune des processus démocratiques », Revue canadienne Droit et Société, vol. 36, no. 2.