David Koussens

La religion, objet juridique non identifié ? Approches comparées des opérations de droit et de ses effets sur le religieux

Over the last two decades, public discussions on religion, whether national, supranational or international, have emerged increasingly in the juridical arena (courts, tribunals and parliaments). This movement can be observed in North American and European contexts, as well as in North African and Middle-Eastern countries. This special section aims to investigate the following issues from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective: (1) The legitimacy of law, when used as an objective tool, to participate in the interpretation of religion; (2) The distributive effects of this process of interpretation, through its generation of definitions and assessment of the legitimacy of religion, in public and social life. The reflection on the centrality of law in the management of religion is a call for innovative theoretical and empirical research which focuses on the ways various actors engage in situations involving religion (participation, reaction, contestation, etc.).

Stratégies des communautés évangéliques face aux contraintes des règlementations des lieux de cultes en France et au Québec

Based on legal data analyses and semi-directed interviews with pastors of Evangelical and Pentecostal communities, this article addresses the strategies framed by these communities in dealing with the constraints of the regulations to control places of worship both in France and in Quebec. First, it presents the legal systems with regard to the places of worship in the two national contexts. Then, it inquires into the different strategies the Evangelical communities work out in order to compensate for the effects of a legal system that is often blind to their claims, and political considerations that are sometimes unfavourable.

Une mise en scène nationaliste de la laïcité en porte-à-faux avec la réalité des aménagements laïques

Cet article propose de dresser un rapide portrait des representations dominantes de la laicite vehiculees dans le debat public au Quebec, cela afin de montrer comment ces representations correspondent a une conception nationaliste de la laicite. Il expose ensuite comment les principes de justice aux fondements de la laicite on emerge tres tot dans le contexte juridique canadien. Ce faisant, l’article souligne le decalage de cette conception nationaliste de la laicite avec la realite juridique de la laicite au Canada