"The role of the state in resolving social tensions rooted in competing "sets of ultimate commitments" among citizens, and the role of the law in resolving such moral conflicts between the citizen and the state. How, and why, differences ought to be accommodated in a free and democratic society. The issues explored are becoming intensely pertinent as Canada's religious diversity increases, the state expands into areas traditionally seen as private, and state actors seek to promote certain 'values'."--

Law and Religious Pluralism in Canada seeks to elucidate the complex and often uneasy relationship between law and religion in democracies committed both to equal citizenship and religious pluralism. Leading socio-legal scholars consider the role of religious values in public decision making, government support for religious practices, and the restriction and accommodation by government of minority religious practices. They examine such current issues as the legal recognition of sharia arbitration, the re-definition of civil marriage, and the accommodation of religious practice in the public sphere.

Citizenship has both a vertical and a horizontal dimension. The vertical links individuals to the state by reinforcing the idea that it is "their" state – that they are full members of an ongoing association that is expected to survive the passing generations. Accordingly their relation to the state is not narrowly instrumental but is supported by a reservoir of loyalty and patriotism that gives legitimacy to the state. The horizontal relationship is the positive identification with fellow citizens as valued members of the same civic community. Here citizenship reinforces empathy and sustains solidarity through its official endorsement of who counts as "one of us." Citizenship, therefore, is a linking mechanism that in its most perfect expression binds the citizenry to the state and to each other. In Citizenship, Diversity, and Pluralism leading scholars assess the transformation of these two dimensions of citizenship in increasingly diverse and plural modern societies, both in Canada and internationally. Subjects addressed include the changing ethnic demography of states, social citizenship, multiculturalism, feminist perspectives on citizenship, aboriginal nationalism, identity politics, and the internationalisation of human rights. Alan C. Cairns is adjunct professor of political science at the University of Waterloo and author of Charter versus Federalism: The Dilemmas of Constitutional Reform. John C. Courtney is professor of political science at the University of Saskatchewan and author of Do Conventions Matter? Choosing National Party Leaders in Canada. Peter MacKinnon is president of the University of Saskatchewan and has served as president of both the Canadian Association of Law Teachers and the Council of Canadian Law Deans. Hans J. Michelmann is professor of political science and acting associate dean (Academic) of the College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan. David E. Smith is professor of political studies at the University of Saskatchewan.

"Abstract Global legal pluralism has become one of the leading analytical frameworks for understanding and conceptualizing law in the twenty-first century"--

Marking the Sesquicentennial of Confederation in Canada, this book examines the growing global influence of Canada's Constitution and Supreme Court on courts confronting issues involving human rights.