Citizenship and Religion

The first objective of the study group on Religion and Citizenship will be to clarify what is meant by citizenship. Frequently when we talk of citizenship we mean citizenship in the formal sense. According to this first understanding, citizenship is associated with social characteristics that have a legal significance—rights, justice, and so on. A more substantive notion of citizenship would consider it under the rubric of civil society (and here citizenship would be considered in relation to all those voluntary associations/different public spheres that are not coterminous with the state: unions, church groups, writers’ groups, residents’ associations, etc. along with the virtual sphere or “meta-topical” space of media). This study group is interested in exploring the role of religion in public life, particularly as it is played out in relation to the formal and more substantive notions of citizenship. Thus, the group will look at how religion intersects with politics in the formal sense and will examine religion’s role in civil society in present-day Canada.