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Article: Religion in the Public Sphere: Challenges and Opportunities
- Article from:
- Brigham Young University Law Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright Brigham Young University, Reuben Clark Law School 2005. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Since I have been given the honor of opening this session, let me thank the organizers for allowing me to offer a rather general reflection on the place of religion in the public sphere in both Europe and the United States.
I. INTRODUCTION
Beginning in 1989, female Muslim students in France were disciplined in schools for refusing to remove their headscarves.1 At the request of the French Education Ministry, France's Conseil d'Etat (State Council) affirmed the right of religious expression inside the public schools.2 The Conseil ruled forty-one times (on forty-nine cases) between 1991 and 1999 against schools who disciplined Muslim girls for wearing headscarves.3 Despite these rulings, the ...