Religion and Education in the Shadow of the European Court of Human Rights

Abstract

This article presents a symposium on the “indirect effects” of the European Court of Human Rights jurisprudence on the place of religion in the educational sphere. The symposium showcases empirical research providing critical insight into how the Court's decisions may influence related domestic debates, raise public consciousness, and change how social actors perceive their rights and articulate their right claims in the area of religion and education. The research underpinning this symposium represents a clear departure from existing scholarship in this domain: it examines the impact of the Court not from the top-down (Court impact on states and their legislative frameworks) but from grassroots level upwards, in seeking to understand whether, how and to what extent Court decisions influence grassroots level actors' conceptions of their rights in the domain of religion and education and their efforts to secure new rights vis-à-vis their states.

Religious diversity, legislation, and Christian privilege

“…The experiences presented here demonstrate the impact of the ‘shadow of the law’ (Fokas, 2019). As Effie Fokas (2019: 4) argues: ‘a great deal of a court’s influence is enacted through transmission and reception of information, rather than by concrete imposition of policy changes through judgments issued’.…”

“…The experiences presented here demonstrate the impact of the ‘shadow of the law’ (Fokas, 2019). As Effie Fokas (2019: 4) argues: ‘a great deal of a court’s influence is enacted through transmission and reception of information, rather than by concrete imposition of policy changes through judgments issued’. While judgements made by VCAT do have a concrete impact on the litigants, there are many significant ‘general effects’ (Galanter, 1983: 117).…”

“…Finally, we consider the relationship between law and the everyday negotiation of religious difference, arguing that legislation is a necessary, but not a sufficient, factor for facilitating respectful everyday relationships between members of diverse religions (and those with no religion). The impact of religious anti-vilification and anti-discrimination law is found in its 'shadow' (Fokas, 2019), referring to its symbolic function as a promise of protection, and a representation of ideals of how religious diversity should be negotiated, as much as it is found in the consequences of actual cases. We argue that it is this symbolic 'shadow' aspect of the law that has the most significant impact on the everyday negotiation of religious diversity.…”

“…This article is also a response to calls to examine the impact of the law in the lived everyday practices of people (Babie, 2015; Fokas, 2019). This study focuses on Victoria, and particularly Greater Melbourne.…”

The educational competence of the European Court of Human Rights: judicial pedagogies of religious symbols in classrooms

“…the courts' effectiveness (see also Welner, 2012). For instance, Fokas (2019) recently addressed the indirect effects of the ECtHR's judgements, showing how they become tropes within educational debates and campaigns, either when a particular state has been a party in ECtHR litigation, such as Turkey (Özgül, 2019) or Italy (Giorgi & Annicchino, 2019), or otherwise, e.g. Greece (Markoviti, 2019) and Romania (Popa & Andreescu, 2019).…”