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There have been a number of studies of church‐state relations and the place of religion in education in nineteenth and early twentieth century Victoria. However, these studies, including J. S. Gregory’s authoritative Church and State, offer no significant discussion of Rationalism. This is somewhat surprising, since Gregory’s influential earlier discussion of church, state and education up to 1872 had included a few paragraphs on Rationalism. It is even more surprising that it was overlooked in Gregory’s later and larger study, which extends to the early twentieth century, since Rationalism was by then a much more powerful force. A consequence of this omission, together with the general shift of scholarly interest away from the church‐state issue, is that little is known about Rationalism and its approach to church‐state relations in the period when, arguably, it was a force to be reckoned with. This article helps correct this omission, first, by examining the development of Rationalism in Victoria up to the early 1900s, and second, by exploring its successful campaign against the Protestant attempt to install a divinity degree at the University of Melbourne.

This paper traces the evolution of (Catholic) church‐state relations from Nicaraguan independence through to 1998, showing how a symbiotic relationship has emerged whereby one makes recourse to the other in order to justify its existence and provide it with moral authority. This relationship, however, has been threatened on a number of occasions. First, by the advent of liberation theology during the Somoza period, second by the increasing secularisation of the FSLN regime during the 1980s. Recent years have seen the Catholic Church recapture its previous authoritative position in the national political arena, although increasing voter apathy and the growth of the Protestant Church movement could again threaten its position.

Western liberal states are considered to be secular in nature, with a presumed neutrality of state laws from religious values and norms. However, this claim overlooks the inherent influence that religious groups (namely, dominant Christian churches and groups) have as informal institutions. According to neo-institutionalists, informal institutions, like these religious norms and values, interact with and influence formal state institutions. As such, it could be argued that the norms and values of dominant religious groups within the state have a role in shaping governmental policies and the law. This is evident when examining the debates around multiculturalism and religious freedom that arise in liberal democratic states such as Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK). In particular, the recent Sharia debates that have arisen in each of these jurisdictions illustrate that the secular state legal system is often positioned as “neutral” and free from religious influence – and thus incompatible with, and unable to, accommodate the religious orders of minority groups. However, this idea that the state is entirely free from religious values is a fallacy that ignores the historical role and influence of Christian churches in each state. In opposing the accommodation of Sharia in private dispute resolution, common arguments include the inherent patriarchal nature of the religion leading to further oppression and disadvantage of Muslim women when seeking resolution of personal law matters (i.e. divorce and property settlements). The secular state law is positioned against this (and religion more broadly) as the “fair” and “just” alternative for minority women – protector of individual rights. Though this ignores the inherent gender hierarchies embedded within formal state institutions, including the legal system that has been implicitly shaped by religious moral values to varying degrees – where minority women are also faced with a set of gender biases. When combined with the internal pressures from their communities and families this can often place them in a double-bind of disadvantage. In this paper, I draw on feminist institutionalism to examine the informal institutional norms that arise from dominant Christian churches in Australia, Canada, and the UK. In particular, the ways in which these informal norms have influenced the development of state laws, and continue to operate alongside the legal system to shape and influence governmental policies, laws, and ultimately the outcomes for Muslim women.

‘We think it will be a long time’, wrote the editor of the Irish Jesuit review Studies in the autumn of 1968, ‘before the teaching Orders and Congregations in Ireland withdraw from their historic teaching function here; we do not share the fear of one of our commentators that they will some day be required to do so.’

The paper aims to analyse the published work of Ireland's pre-eminent public relations (PR) educator, across a number of literary genres in which he has written. More broadly, it considers the writing life of academics.

This paper examines Carty's writings about his own history, Irish history, the development of church-state relations in Ireland and PR. It seeks to make connections between Carty's subjects and his writing styles.

Through detailed analysis of a number of key texts, the paper explores the writing styles used by Carty to discern the nature of his distinctive “voice(s)”.

There is considerable research into a handful of (mostly American) “great men” in PR' history and development. But every nation has its own PR pioneers about whom little is known outside that country and who deserve to be more widely recognised.

This paper hopes to stimulate future work by other colleagues in other nations, reflecting on the contribution of their own PR educators and practitioners.

More reverberant today than ever, given the current legal and political climate, artist David Wojnarowicz's victorious lawsuit in 1990 against evangelist Donald Wildmon's American Family Association tangled with still relevant contexts: plight of the NEA, disastrous AIDS pandemic, and continuous church/state involvement in public debate over social values, including individual rights to sexual representation and artistic expression. Yet strangely, the artist remains largely absent from both “culture wars” narratives and the general record. Increasing his visibility and arguing his significance, this essay re-inserts Wojnarowicz into history, his work profoundly challenging what he called “the illusion of the ONE TRIBE NATION.”

The 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision accomplished more than the national legalization of same-sex marriage; it also laid bare a deep rift among US Supreme Court justices over the question of whether and how religious objections to same-sex marriage should be accommodated in this new era of marriage equality. This chapter will explore the rift revealed in Obergefell between the Court’s differing conceptions of religious free exercise and will highlight the ways in which this legal dispute was translated into a forceful mode of conservative religious activism in the buildup to the groundbreaking 2016 election.

Departing from a study of a heritage-led economic development project of a Swedish historic church, the purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss how professional roles within the heritage field are negotiated through a development-centered heritage discourse, focusing on the implications for religious heritage sites.

A synchronic discourse analysis was conducted on a number of documents originating from the case study project, as well as five semi-structured interviews with key actors from the heritage field and the Church of Sweden.

The findings of the paper show that professional heritage discourses and practice limit and prevent nonstate heritage actors to engage in heritage-led development schemes of historic churches. Additionally, the professional roles and skills of nonheritage actors are perceived as ambiguous within the current governance system.

Examining emerging forms of management of religious heritage sites can provide inspiration and indicate possible conflicts that need to be addressed by heritage professionals in order to achieve successful management.

While studies of heritage-led economic development projects have previously focused on impact assessment and community engagement, this paper sheds light on how the discourses of these projects affect the conception of professional roles and practices.