Isticanje vjerskih simbola u javnom prostoru / Displaying religious symbols in public sphere

komparativna analiza / A comparative analysis

Abstract

In the last two decades the question of displaying religious symbols in the public sphere has resulted in more intensified discussions within the debates on freedom of faith, belief and the neutrality of state. Strategies of resolution of this question greatly depend on the adopted model of relationship between state and religion. While the USA model of freedom of religion regulates extensively the question of the presence of religious symbols in the public sphere, the French model of laïcité is characterised by the general legal ban on displaying them in public institutions since 1905. Some states permit displaying symbols of the dominant religion in the public sphere, while at the same time prohibiting or limiting presence of symbols of the minority religions.