Law, Regligion & Education:
Religious Freedom in the Sphere of Education
8th & 9th October 2010
Oxford

This event is supported by

• UCL Grand Challenges
• Ecole normale supérieure
• Laboratoire d'Etudes juridiques et politique de l'Université de Cergy-Pontoise
• IESR
• UCL Institute for Human Rights
• Institue of Advanced Legal Studies
• CHERPA Science Po Aix
• Ambassade de France au Royaume-Uni
• Cultural Department of the French Embassy in the UK

Religion has returned forcefully both as a subject of academic debate, as a lived reality in contemporary societies and as a renewed challenge for secular systems of governance. The Conference will examine the relationships between “Law, Religion and Education”, addressing the accommodation of religious diversity as well as the content and meaning of education, notably religious education, in a human rights context.
The topic addressed and examined over two days is full of tensions and complex issues. It is also extremely newsworthy. In the Lautsi case at the European Court of Human Rights it was recently held that the presence of crucifixes the classroom at State schools was contrary to the State’s duty of neutrality and violated the plaintiff’s right to freedom of religion under Article 9 of the Convention.
In a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective, this extremely timely project will study the key concepts of laïcité, discrimination and religious freedom; it will present the different models of religious regulation adopted in Europe, and different models of Church-State relations. General sessions will be followed by case studies targeting topical and controversial issues raised in various European jurisdictions under three different headings: defining religious beliefs, defining teaching content and religious symbols.WHO SHOULD ATTEND

The conference will be attended by academics, legal practitioners, NGOs and policy advocates in the fields of law, religion and education. This conference is directly relevant to legislators and policy makers given ongoing discussion on bills before the French and British parliaments.
This conference venue is Maison Française d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, Oxford OX2 6SEPROGRAMME
DAY ONE: Friday 8th October9h30. - Registration

• 10h. - Welcome by Prof. Luc Borot and Dr. Myriam Hunter-Henin

Laïcité, Integration, Discrimination and Religious Freedom
Chair: Prof. Christopher McCrudden, Lincoln College (Oxford)

• Tensions on Laïcité: Ideological manipulations by the French radical right and the British left, Prof. Luc Borot (MFO)
• The Classroom as an Integration Lab, Dr Lorenzo Zucca (King’s College London)
• Non-discrimination and Laïcité in Schools: Two concepts at odds?, Prof. Gwénaële Calvès (Université Cergy-Pontoise)
• The Right of the Child to Religious Freedom and Education: Key issues in international human rights law, Dr Sylvie Langlaude (Queen’s University Belfast)

11h30. - Refreshments

Chair: Dr Prakash Shah (Queen Mary, University of London)

• What Place Does Religious Education Have in State Schools and Catholic Schools in France?, Dr Blandine Chelini-Pont (Université Aix-en-Provence)
• Religion in the Turkish Education: Nationalisation between secularisation and islamisation, Dr Kerem Altiparmak / Hasan Sayim Vural (Ankara University)
• The Northern Irish Model of Religion and Education, Prof. Christopher McCrudden (Lincoln College, Oxford)

13h. - Lunch

Chair: Prof. Jean-Paul Willaime (IESP Paris)

• Education, Religion and Regionalism in the Context of the Church-State Relations Laws of England and Wales, Prof. Norman Doe (Cardiff Law School)
• Religious Education in a Religiously Neutral State: The German model, Prof. Heinrich de Wall (Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen)
• The Teaching of Religion in Spain: An ongoing controversy, Dr Javier Oliva (University of Bangor)
• The Ambiguous Status of Religion in Italian Public Education: A (bad) model for Europe?, Prof. Marco Ventura (University of Siena)

16h. - Refreshments

Chair: Prof. Norman Doe (Cardiff Law School)

• Religious Discrimination and Schools: The employment of teachers and the public sector duty, Prof. Lucy Vickers (Oxford Brooks University)
• Jewish Schools in France: A mapping of their Jewish identity proposals, Prof. Martine Cohen (CNRS Paris)
• Having Faith in our Schools?: Struggling with religious definitions, Dr Arif Jamal (UCL) / Dr Farid Panjwani (The Aga Khan University, London)
• On Turbans, Bangles and Headscarves: Accommodating religious symbols in schools, Prof. Maleiha Malik (King’s College London)

18h. - Drinks Reception
19h30. - Speakers’ DinnerDAY TWO: Saturday 9th October9h30. - Registration10h. - SESSION V: TEACHING CONTENT– RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Chair: Prof. Luc Borot (Director, MFO)

• Religious Education in Multi-Faith Europe, Peter Cumper (University Leicester)
• Opt-Outs: A sufficient means to protect religious liberty in schools?, Dr Alison Mawhinney & Dr Yuko Chiba (Queen’s University Belfast)
• Religious Education in Public Schools of Alsace and Moselle: A special status confronted to social evolution, Jean-Marie Woehrling (Strasbourg, Institut du droit local alsacien-mosellan)

11h15. - Refreshments

Chair: Dr George Letsas (UCL)

• Evolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design: What may and may not be taught in US schools, Prof. Eric Barendt (UCL)
• Beating People Is Wrong: Campbell and Cosans, Williamson and their aftermath, Frank Cranmer (Cardiff Law School)
• History Textbooks and the Teaching about Religious Issues in France, Anna van den Kerchove (IESR, Paris)

13h20 Lunch

Chair: Dr Myriam Hunter-Henin (UCL)

• Crosses, Bracelets, Rings and Veils: The accommodation of religious symbols in the uniform policies of English schools, Prof. Mark Hill QC (Cardiff Law School / 3 Pump Court Chambers)
• Religious Symbols in UK Schools: Teachers and other staff, Dr Russell Sandberg (Cardiff Law School)
• The Lautsi Case: What the Strasbourg court decided, Dr George Letsas (UCL)
• Religious Symbols in German Schools, Dr Tobias Lock (UCL)
• Laïcité Unveiled!, Prof. Raphaël Liogier (Sciences Po, Aix-en-Provence)

16h15 Refreshments
17h00 End of ConferenceOTHER INFORMATION

Enquiries
Maria Keeley UCL Faculty of Laws - Direct telephone: +44 (0)20 7679 1478 - Direct fax: +44 (0)20 7679 1424 - Email: m.keeley@ucl.ac.uk

Post
Maria Keeley, Institute of Global Law, UCL Faculty of Laws, Bentham House, Endsleigh Gardens, London WC1H 0EGVenue
This conference is being held at:
Maison Française d’Oxford, 2-10 Norham Road, Oxford OX2 6SEBOOKING FORM

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Day 2 only - 9 October
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Source et programme en pdf: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/global_law/content.shtml?events