This edited volume proffers a sociological outlook on the challenges contemporary societies face when states attempt to govern religious and cultural diversity and still protect freedoms of and from religion claimed by individuals, communities, and institutions. The collection of chapters brings readers into both theoretical discussions and empirical research. It illustrates how the promise of religious freedom has become a burgeoning social issue at the center of struggles over equity, inclusion, and cohesion in both public institutions and everyday interactions.

The book is divided into three parts: the state's legal and political mechanisms governing religious freedom; the challenges of religious pluralism for public institutions and global communities; social perceptions of religious freedom as an indicator and criterion of human rights culture in society. An international group of authors provide reviews, case studies, and data-driven research for students, researchers and practitioners working in the sociology of religion.

Autorentext

Olga Breskaya, PhD, is a senior researcher at the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology at University of Padova. Her research focuses on the sociology of religion, human rights and comparative study of religious freedom. She recently co-edited Religious Freedom. Thinking Sociologically (Routledge, 2023) and co-authored research articles: 'The Lautsi Legacy: A New Judgment on the Crucifix in Classrooms and the Multiculturalist Turn on Freedom of/from Religion in Italy' (2022), 'Social Construction of Religious Freedom: A Comparative Study among Youth in Italy and Russia' (2022), and 'Religious Freedom and Microsociology of Law: Thinking with Georges Gurvitch' (2020)

Roger Finke is a distinguished professor of sociology, religious studies, and international affairs at the Pennsylvania State University and is the founder of the Association of Religion Data Archives (www.theARDA.com). He has authored two award-winning books with Rodney Stark. His most recent books include The Price of Freedom Denied with BrianGrim (Cambridge University Press, 2011), Places of Faith: A Road Trip Across America's Religious Landscape with Christopher P. Scheitle (Oxford University Press, 2012) and Faithful Measures: The Art and Science of Measuring Religion with Christopher Bader (New York University Press, 2017)

Giuseppe Giordan is a professor of sociology at the Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Education, and Applied Psychology at University of Padova. His research interests include spirituality, religious pluralism, conversion, interfaith dialogue, Eastern Orthodoxy, and religious freedom. He has recently co-edited the volumes Religious Freedom: Social-Scientific Approaches (Brill, 2021), Global Eastern Orthodoxy. Politics, Religion, and Human Rights (Springer, 2020), Chinese Religions Going Global (Brill, 2021), and Interreligious Dialogue: From Religion to Geopolitics (Brill, 2019). He co-authored Sociology of Exorcism in Late Modernity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2018)