The Spectral Ground: Religious Belief Discrimination

Thornton, M; Luker, T

The Spectral Ground: Religious Belief Discrimination

Thornton, M Luker, T

Permalink

Publisher:: Macquarie University
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Macquarie Law Journal, 2009, 9 pp. 71 - 91
Issue Date:: 2009-01

Closed Access

	Filename	Description	Size
	2011006385OK.pdf		1.52 MB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Closed Access

This item is closed access and not available.

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Thornton, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Luker, T https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2063-4791	en_US
dc.date.issued	2009-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Macquarie Law Journal, 2009, 9 pp. 71 - 91	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	1445-386X	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/29198
dc.description.abstract	This article considers the ground of religious belief under anti-discrimination law and argues that it is a spectral ground. Religious belief is never defined under anti-discrimination law; it merely has to be 'lawful', which is also not defined. This gives the proscription a permeable character, allowing mainstream Christianity, neoconservatism and other variables to seep in. An analysis of discrimination complaints shows how this occurs metonymically through other proscribed grounds, such as sexuality, ethnicity and race. The phenomenon is most marked post-9/11 in relation to 'Islamophobia'. The proscription of religious vilification and incitement to religious hatred further reveals the tendency of the spectral ground to absorb prevailing political influences.	en_US
dc.publisher	Macquarie University	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Macquarie Law Journal	en_US
dc.title	The Spectral Ground: Religious Belief Discrimination	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	9	en_US
utslib.for	1801 Law	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Law
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.consider-herdc	false	en_US
pubs.volume	9	en_US

Abstract:

This article considers the ground of religious belief under anti-discrimination law and argues that it is a spectral ground. Religious belief is never defined under anti-discrimination law; it merely has to be 'lawful', which is also not defined. This gives the proscription a permeable character, allowing mainstream Christianity, neoconservatism and other variables to seep in. An analysis of discrimination complaints shows how this occurs metonymically through other proscribed grounds, such as sexuality, ethnicity and race. The phenomenon is most marked post-9/11 in relation to 'Islamophobia'. The proscription of religious vilification and incitement to religious hatred further reveals the tendency of the spectral ground to absorb prevailing political influences.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/29198