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Danish Regulation of Religion, State of Affairs and Qualitative Reflections

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Danish Regulation of Religion, State of Affairs and Qualitative Reflections Danish Regulation of Religion, State of Affairs and Qualitative Reflections Danish Regulation of Religion, State of Affairs and Qualitative Reflections Niels Valdemar Vinding & Lisbet Christoffersen August 2012 Centre for European Islamic Thought, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark Danish Regulation of Religion, State of Affairs and Qualitative Reflections Niels Valdemar Vinding & Lisbet Christoffersen Publications from the Faculty of Theology no. 36 © Niels Valdemar Vinding and Lisbet Christoffersen ISBN 978-87-91838-49-1 Printing and binding by: Grafisk – University of Copenhagen University of Copenhagen 2012 The Report is part of RELIGARE and funded through the European Commission European Research Area and the 7th Framework Programme. Published by Centre for European Islamic Thought, Faculty of Theology, University of Copenhagen Købmagergade 44-46 DK 1150 København K Denmark Index 1. State, Church, and Religion in Denmark ............................................. 9 1.1 Introduction to the socio-legal frame.................................................. 9 1.2 Religion in Denmark – the law......................................................... 12 1.3 Religion in Denmark – the sociology ............................................... 14 1.4 From 2001 to 2011............................................................................ 17 1.5 New government – new paradigm? .................................................. 18 2. Structural and Methodological Reflections........................................ 19 2.1 Legal reports: case law and templates .............................................. 19 2.2 Danish elite interviews ..................................................................... 19 2.3 Methodological reflections on the Danish qualitative interviews .... 21 2.4 Responsibilities................................................................................. 24 2.5 Structure of the report....................................................................... 25 3. Religion and Family in Denmark ........................................................ 27 3.1 Basic principles of Danish family law.............................................. 27 3.2 State recognition of religious marriages and authority to perform marriages................................................................................................. 29 3.3 Divorce ............................................................................................. 33 3.4 Marriage contracts and the access to divorce ................................... 36 3.5 Contested divorce and conflicting demands ..................................... 38 3.6 Alternative dispute resolution and the persistent issue of parallel jurisdiction .............................................................................................. 40 3.7 Freedom to enter into a contract ....................................................... 42 3.8 Mixing norms? Separating norms?................................................... 45 6 Index 3.9 On international private law ............................................................. 46 3.10 The question of same-sex marriages in Denmark........................... 47 3.11. Conclusions regarding religion and family in Denmark................ 50 4. Religion and the Labour Market in Denmark ................................... 52 4.1 General introduction to Danish labour law....................................... 52 4.2 Religion and the labour market in general........................................ 53 4.3 Working hours and holidays............................................................. 54 4.4 Religious dress and grooming codes in the labour market............... 57 4.5 Religious requirements on the labour market................................... 59 4.6 Subtle changes .................................................................................. 68 5. Religion and Public Space in Denmark .............................................. 71 5.1 Basic principles on religion and public space in Denmark............... 71 5.1.a Between the secular and the secularised.................................... 74 5.1.b Legislation: ................................................................................ 76 5.2 On symbols; between the symbolic and the deviant......................... 77 5.2.a The role of religious leaders ...................................................... 78 5.3 Places of worship.............................................................................. 79 5.3.a Places of worship - churchyards and cemeteries ....................... 79 5.3.b Places of worship - buildings..................................................... 81 5.3.c Protection as monuments ........................................................... 84 5.4 Schools and religion in general......................................................... 84 5.4.a On choice of schools:................................................................. 85 5.4.b Christian Knowledge in schools ................................................ 85 5.5 Religious dress codes in institutional public space........................... 88 Index 7 5.5.a The special case of religious headwear in courts....................... 91 5.6 On shaking hands:............................................................................. 93 5.7 The Royal Family ............................................................................. 94 5.8 Conclusions: ..................................................................................... 95 6. State Support for Religions in Denmark ............................................ 97 6.1 General introduction to the law on state support for religions ......... 97 6.2 On state support for religious elements in the media ..................... 100 6.3 State support for the Folkekirke...................................................... 101 6.4 Subventions to different projects .................................................... 116 6.5 Public funding of religious leaders' training................................... 118 6.6 Public funding of religious heritage ............................................... 121 6.7 Conclusions: ................................................................................... 121 7. Conclusions: Basic Tensions of Religion and Secularity in Denmark123 7.1 Main results from the four areas of basic tensions ......................... 124 7.1.a Religion and family law........................................................... 124 7.1.b Religion on the labour market ................................................. 127 7.1.c Religion in the public space..................................................... 132 7.1.d State support for religions........................................................ 135 7.2 Concluding reflections on the general basic tensions..................... 138 7.2.a Possible tensions between individual and collective autonomy regarding religion.............................................................................. 138 7.2.b Possible tensions between collective religious freedom and other basic human rights ............................................................................ 140 7.2.c Possible tensions between religious freedom and public order and/or security .................................................................................. 140 8 Index 7.2.d Possible tensions between formal equal treatment of religious and non-religious individuals and collectives before the law and more substantive equal treatment............................................................... 141 7.3 Danish conclusions of general relevance for the European and national public ...................................................................................... 141 7.4 Possible recommendations: ............................................................ 146 Appendix A: Bibliography ....................................................................... 148 Appendix B: The Danish interviewees with brief introductions .............. 152 Appendix C: Quotations from the interviewees ....................................... 157 Appendix D: Basic tensions in governance of religious diversity............ 222 Appendix E: Danish interview questions ................................................. 228 1. State, Church and Religion in Denmark 1.1 Introduction to the socio-legal frame Presenting a status of Danish legislation and the regulation of religion is by nature a complex task that includes capturing political discourse, reflecting theological discussions on especially the Folkekirke,1 and formulating a careful analysis of administrative and legal practice. It would have been a straightforward task if relations between the Danish State, the Church and Religion had conformed to the rudimentary models suggested by Silvio Ferrari (Ferrari & Bradney 2000) or by Roland Minnerath (2001). However, the Danish regulative model of these matters differs in several specific ways. Regarding its history and its legal state of affairs, Danish regulation of religion cannot be said to conform to a single model based on a civil judicial structure that would allow the churches to act independently, as is the case in Germany, nor can it be claimed that Denmark has a concordat or bilateral agreement between state, church and religion as in the case of many countries with majority Catholic churches. Nor is Denmark a secular country with a clear separation of religious communities
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