Abstract

This article demonstrates that the legal reasoning dominant in modern states secularises traditions by converting them into ‘religions’. Using a case study on Germany’s recent regulation of male circumcision, we illustrate that religions have (at least) three dimensions: religiosity (private belief, individual right and autonomous choice); religious law (a divinely ordained legal code); and religious groups (public threat). When states restrict traditions within these three dimensions, they construct ‘religions’ within a secularisation triangle. Our theoretical model of a secularisation triangle illuminates that, in many Western states, there is a three-way relationship between a post-Christian state and both its Jewish and Muslim minorities. Our two theoretical proposals—the secularisation triangle and the trilateral relationship—contribute to a re-examination of religious freedom from the perspective of minority traditions and minority communities.

中文翻译：

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宗教是世俗化的传统：德国的犹太人和穆斯林割礼

摘要

本文表明，在现代国家中占主导地位的法律推理通过将传统转化为“宗教”而使传统世俗化。通过对德国最近对男性割礼进行监管的案例研究，我们说明宗教（至少）具有三个维度：宗教信仰（私人信仰、个人权利和自主选择）；宗教法（神定的法典）；和宗教团体（公共威胁）。当国家在这三个维度内限制传统时，它们就在世俗化三角形内构建了“宗教”。我们的世俗化三角理论模型表明，在许多西方国家，后基督教国家与其犹太和穆斯林少数民族之间存在三向关系。