About the Book
The issues discussed in this book all stand at the crossroads of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. In some cases, the two rights clash when somebody practising their right to freedom of speech affects others' rights to freedom of religion, as in instances of blasphemy and hate speech. In other cases, the two rights, reinforcing one another, together provide protection for the individual. Not even this joint protection, however, is always sufficient to prevent state intervention, for example, the restriction of rights in wearing religious symbols or religious advertising rules. A question of a third type is when the state, or a state body, enters the public space and becomes the 'speaker' on matters of religion, in which case the state might be subject to special restrictions.
Although their ideological and constitutional foundations seem stable, the extent of freedom of religion and freedom of speech have repeatedly been the subject of public debates because of social and political changes in a dynamically transforming Europe. Identifying the precise demarcation lines between these rights by means of the law is not a task that has been accomplished completely or for all time. The increasing rate of immigration, with a resulting involuntary cohabitation of various religious cultures, as well as the continual weakening of the Christian character of the continent make it critical to find the right responses to the questions discussed in this book, both in the individual European legal systems and at the level of the European community of states and of the European system of protecting human rights.
The first and second chapters of the book discuss the appearance of religions in the public sphere and in public education. Traditionally, the state is not a subject of fundamental rights, and yet it takes a position on questions relating to religion, which--no matter how we explain it--is a type of 'speech'. This raises the question of how such speech can be restricted, or 'where are the limits on the "freedom of speech" of the state'? The role of the state might be to defend or even shape the community identity of its citizens.
Chapters 3 and 4 discuss the restriction of opinions with religious content. Chapter 3 analyses the restrictions on wearing symbols and clothing imposed by both the state and private entities, whereas Chapter 4 discusses the regulation of publishing religious advertisements in the media. Unlike the issues related predominantly to Christianity discussed in the first two chapters, the questions of wearing symbols and clothing also involve the restrictions of opinions expressed by followers of Islam.
Chapter 5 of the book is dedicated to questions relating to defamation of religions and blasphemy. The topicality and significance of these issues became obvious after the tragic events in Paris on January 2015, where many were killed in an attack against the editorial offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo.
The books touches upon certain types of conduct which are rooted in religious conviction and may have legal consequences, but which, in the absence of an expressive content, do not belong to the sphere of freedom of speech. Examples of this include doctors refusing to carry out an abortion, or registrars unwilling to administer the marriage of same-sex couples. since we do not regard such types of conduct as relating to the freedom of speech, they are not discussed in this book.
Andras Koltay's seminal monograph tackles these and other issues. It is a magisterial work, possibly the best exposition of the subject available today.
About the Author :
András Koltay has been a lecturer at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University Faculty of Law and Political Sciences in Budapest, Hungary since 2002. In 2012, he was appointed Associate Professor and in 2017, Head of Department of Private Law. He was conferred the LL.M. degree in Public Law by University College London in 2006, and the PhD degree in Law at the Pázmány Péter Catholic University in 2008. His principal research has been concerned with freedom of speech, personality rights and media regulation, but he also deals with other constitutional questions.
Review :
"Easing tensions between freedom of religion and freedom of speech is amongst the most pressing contemporary issues for European political cultures. This comprehensive assessment of the conceptual and doctrinal bases for such important rights provides the kind of clear and insightful thinking that is required to analyse the complex arguments deployed about them in political discourse and judicial decision-making. It is an impressive contribution to the literature and is highly recommended."
- Thomas Gibbons, Professor of Law University of Manchester
"Few topics - religion in public life - can be as timely as the subject matter of this book. Few topics can be as much in need of a clear, lucid, comparative and analytical treatment. All these are provided in this book. It deserves to be read widely by academics and scholars and to find a place on many student reading lists."
- David Goldberg, Professor of Law Queen Mary University, London
"In a world shaken by the Charlie Hebdo killings and the rise of nativist reactions to them, this is a timely, important book. András Koltay offers a deep, contextually-sensitive defense of the role of religion - both Christianity and Islam - in the European public square of the twentyfirst century. At the same time, he does a great job offering an even-handed approach to blasphemy regulation, one that respects the harm blasphemy bans can pose to freedom of speech, without dismissing the harms caused by blasphemy itself. Koltay's arguments have the potential to reshape the global debate over this contentious issue."
- Robert A Kahn, Professor of Law University of St Thomas, Minneapolis
"This innovative and authoritative book drawing on selected studies in the field of free speech and religion is set to become an invaluable resource for scholars and students of comparative human rights law." Peter Leyland, Professor of Public Law SOAS, University of London "The book is a remarkably well-elaborated and up-to-date analysis of the challenges our contemporary societies are confronted with in the area of freedom of expression and freedom of religion represented or manifested in the public sphere, taking also into account the broader framework of immigration, social integration, and the future development of Europe's values on protecting the fundamental rights of its citizens, characterized by state neutrality, tolerance, pluralism, and non-discrimination."
- Dirk Voorhoof, Emeritus Professor Human Rights Centre, Ghent University
