Recognising Religious Pluralism in a Liberal Democracy
In contemporary liberal democracies, the recognition of religious pluralism is a question of increasing social importance. It is now an unavoidable political issue, and States must look at to what degree they allow the expression of religious beliefs in the public sphere. That is exactly what happened in the province of Quebec during what has been called the “crisis” of the reasonable accommodations. This article briefly presents the Quebec model for recognizing religious diversity, in order to examine liberal political philosophy on important issues such as: the limits of religious tolerance and the distinction between individual and collective rights as concerns religion. Furthermore, the pluralism of moral and religious notions that constitutes modern societies challenges the very foundations of social pluralism.