The place of religion in the public realm is the subject of frequent and lively debate in the media, among academics and policymakers, and within communities. With this edited collection, Solange Lefebvre and Lori G. Beaman bring together a series of case studies of religious groups and practices from all across Canada that re-examine and question the classic distinction between the public and private spheres.

Religion in the Public Sphere explores the public image of religious groups, legal issues relating to “reasonable accommodations,” and the role of religion in public services and institutions like health care and education. Offering a wide range of contributions from religious studies, political science, theology, and law, Religion in the Public Sphere presents emerging new models to explain contemporary relations between religion, civil society, the private sector, family, and the state.

The place of religion in the public realm is the subject of frequent and lively debate in the media, among academics and policymakers, and within communities. With this edited collection, Solange Lefebvre and Lori G. Beaman bring together a series of case studies of religious groups and practices from all across Canada that re-examine and question the classic distinction between the public and private spheres.

Religion in the Public Sphere explores the public image of religious groups, legal issues relating to “reasonable accommodations,” and the role of religion in public services and institutions like health care and education. Offering a wide range of contributions from religious studies, political science, theology, and law, Religion in the Public Sphere presents emerging new models to explain contemporary relations between religion, civil society, the private sector, family, and the state.

Often when a religious minority challenges mainstream Canadian
customs, the phrase "reasonable accommodation" and its
boundaries are at the centre of the ensuing debate. But what exactly is
reasonable accommodation? Does it achieve its goal of integrating the
rights of religious minorities with those of mainstream
society - or does it emphasize inequality?

Reasonable Accommodation features eight interdisciplinary
essays addressing how reasonable accommodation is defined within Canada
and abroad through law and public discourse. These probing explorations
based on empirical studies and legal cases touch on current hot-button
topics such as women's right to wear the niqab in public,
religious diversity in prisons, and accommodating sexual diversity.
Woven through the chapters are questions and commentary about whether
there really is a religious majority in Canada, how the idea of
"shared values" obscures debate, and how tolerating
religious differences simply isn't enough to guarantee equality.
Reasonable Accommodation provides a much-needed critical
assessment of this phrase and theorizes religious diversity and freedom
of religion beyond the meaning of "tolerance" as it
sometimes implies.

Combining perspectives from the fields of law, religious studies,
political science, philosophy and sociology, Reasonable
Accommodation is a must-read for professors, researchers, students
and policy-makers interested in religion and multiculturalism in
Canada.Lori G. Beaman is Canada Research Chair in the
Contextualization of Religion in a Diverse Canada, director of the
Religion and Diversity Project and a professor in the
Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of
Ottawa.

Contributors: Natasha Bakht, James A. Beckford,
Peter Beyer, Gary D. Bouma, Avigail Eisenberg, Solange Lefebvre,
Ole Riis, and Heather Shipley.