Religion, rights and the public sphere

The article introduces to the issue of religion, rights and the public sphere. It analyzes 4 challenges that the conception of the public sphere currently faces: (1) Does there exists a trade-off between the public sphere and a legal regime of civil rights? (2) Does the public sphere really require us to keep the good and religious questions outside of it? (3) To what extent is the public sphere neutral and not rather itself the outcome of a particular and contingent conception of the good? (4) Whatever might be our answers to the questions 1 to 3, does not Islam constitute a special challenge for any conception of the public sphere? The article draws following prudent conclusions: First, rights are somewhat fundamental for a democratic public sphere. Second, a democratic public sphere cannot exclude religion. Third, little indicates that the public sphere is only a western concept. On the contrary, the public sphere has a universal character. Fourth, Islam does not pose any specific challenge to the public sphere, at least no more than the other religions.