Religious citizenship

Religious citizenship refers to the rights afforded an individual through legal means in regard to their form of worship, or the general social equality of an individual based on one's specific religion and its perception within the community. The term 'religious citizen' is largely exploratory due to its underused nature in the Western world. The West has classically pushed for separation of church and state, and because citizenship is GeneRally formed at the state level, the terms religion and citizen are rarely seen together. Religious citizenship is not a specific type of citizenship such as national or State citizenship, but more an aspect of one's current citizenship status within their place of residence.

Concept Introduction

Religious citizenship is based in the civil society of a nation-state. Civil society involves the roles that individuals play in a community. From this perspective, citizenship is an idea revolving around the society itself (and the interactions of those within it), not the legal definition of citizenship. This type of citizenship, more specifically, does not focus on what is given, but more on what role the individual chooses to use in their social interactions. The shift from the legal nature of the citizen allows for a broader category of citizenship definitions that can include an identity based person-hood that is derived from the individual, not the state. Other forms of citizenship that would follow this trend would be those based in race and gender.

With this theme of citizenship specified, it is then possible to explain what religious citizenship actually is. Religious citizenship is an identity that an individual can choose as their form of citizenship within their community. At the state level, the freedom of a person in regards to religion (or lack thereof) can be used to meld what this citizenship looks like in an individual. If a citizen of the state wishes to be viewed as a person where their religion is relevant to their identity, it May Be advantageous to define oneself as a religious citizen.

Defining oneself as a religious citizen would have increased application within a state that in itself is religious. It is relevant for a citizen to define him or herself as a religious citizen when the state that this individual resides in uses ecclesiastical courts and uses religious scriptures as the basis for law. An individual within such a state would, in theory, be a religious citizen in a legal sense as well as a civil one. Even in locations where separation of church and state is apparent in law, religious citizenship would still apply. Defining an individual as secular would still be under the definition of religious citizenship, because it defines this person as specifically not holding a religious identity. In places such as the United States, where law is based in religious doctrine in practice, if not officially; an individual would be able to find common ground with the state on the basis of shared ideals.

Religion is, and has always been, a very fundamental part of the human condition. Regardless of the official nature of this sector of human society, its neglect in the world of the nation-state can easily be seen as a neglect of an entire part of what makes society function.

Application

In practice, this would allow an individual to politicize oneself based on his or her religious beliefs in the same way women have done so with the Feminist Movement or African-Americans have done with the African-American Civil Rights Movement. Religious citizenship used in this way would have less application for an individual already a part of a strong religious majority, and more for a person who identifies themselves with a minority religion that has a disadvantageous perceived identity within the community, or clear inequalities from a legal standpoint. Specifically in the legal realm, this concept could be applied extensively in nations with a state religion that uses religious edicts as the framework for the state law and governance systems. An example of this would be a non-Muslim living in an Islamic state that employs sharia within its law systems. The officiality of one religion over others can have legitimate repercussions amongst a community of a minority religion within said state that may now feel marginalized in civil society.

Western societies would also be able to use religious citizenship as a way to bridge the gap between church and state in order to give voice to an entire aspect of people's lives that is completely unrepresented in government. Giving freedom of religion is not the same as representation from a religiously conscious human body, and because this will be viewed from the civic sphere, will acknowledge that people have religion as an identity. This concept is not an attempt to eliminate separation of church and state. It suggests that the very idea that human beings are religious has been ignored in the ruling systems of most governments across the board and should allow for people to be identified as such, even if the laws themselves are not created with religion in mind. It is worth noting that this theory does, however, suggest that nearly all Western law is still based in some idea of religious doctrine (although that is never admitted), and would benefit society for it to be identified as such. Religious citizenship as a theory does indeed suggest that the very principle of separation of church and state is largely false.

Issues

Religious citizenship FACES a number of issues in regards to its application.

First off, religion itself is something that is extremely difficult to define from an administrative standpoint. If someone is going to recognize themselves as religious, then it would be pertinent to know what it actually means to be a follower of said individuals specific faith. It would be a requirement to know whether the individual follows all or some of the religious edicts put down by their religion, and in what manner they follow them. This specific becomes an issue when attempting to bridge the gap between church and state. Due to the largely exploratory nature of this concept, further research would need to be done to find a solution to this issue.

Secondly, religious citizenship as a whole lacks a definite means of enforcement without creating a type of "religious police". As with the issue above, the problem derives from the necessity to define the individual with their religion in mind. If the state has no power over religious matters, but people are defining themselves as religious, the question would then be asked of who will enforce this identity? This is more specific to legal matters, and is not the overall emphasis of the concept. It is however a problem that would arise if individuals sought to make their religion something pertinent to law.

Conclusion

Religious citizenship, as stated previously, is a very new concept in the realm of what it means to be a citizen. It is a vague idea overall, and has no clear definition in how it can begin to be applied. Regardless, as a concept, it would state that religion is a force too large and powerful to be completely ignored in the governing body of a people. Whether it's an Islamic state that uses Islamic law to govern itself or a Western nation that is secular in nature, but has a strong religious community, religious citizenship allows for people to find their identity in something they believe defines their character.

This new concept could find a new voice in society, just as other social movements have, to shed light onto an unrepresented aspect of human society. By acknowledging religion in the governing body of a state, it would be possible to gain a further understanding of the motives of the individuals being governed. Middle ground would be able to be found between religious fundamentalists and secular states that are unable to currently communicate on equal footing. Specifically with the growing issue of Islamic fundamentalism in the West, it would be extremely useful to make terms with these people as religious citizens, and not just people with an idea. Religious citizenship hopes to find a place in future society as a path to an increased relationship between the governed and those who govern.