Secularisation, inter-religious dialogue and democratisation in the southern Mediterranean

Abstract:

The paper discusses the relation between religion and politics in the Southern Mediterranean and its consequences for the democratisation and peaceful co-existence of the different confessional communities of the region. Its aims are to draw attention to the mechanisms responsible for the perpetuation of an 'umbilical cord' between religious and political discourse in the region, to highlight the dangers this could mean for Europe's multicultural society model and to propose secularisation and inter-religious dialogue as a tool for the acceleration of the democratisation process.