Religion and State in Europa

Religion, religious groups and teo-politics are always most vital topics of the Western politics. The relationship between politics and religion is reciprocal. While both domestic and international political actors try to exploit religion and religious sensitivity for their political interests and gains, religion and belief systems want to use significant power over main political and cultural actors and perceptions. With the emergence of the violent non-state actors such as Taliban, al-Qaeda and DAISH, which were all surfaced in the Middle East but have become transnational actors deeply affecting European politics, and the recent popularity of far-right Islam-phobic movements such as PEGIDA in Europe have once again forced us to look closely at the relationship between religion and politics in Western politics specifically in Europe.

The three books reviewed here focus on one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination: Gender Injustice. Everywhere in the world women tend to suffer from gender discrimination more than men, regardless of ethnicity, class, or religion1 and gender disparities vary widely making women more vulnerable to poverty, abuse, or political marginalization. Compared to men, women and girls receive less education, remain underrepresented, face difficulties in accessing health and judicial services. Futher, they are exposed to all kinds of violence and unequal standings in society. This inequality makes gender justice a morally and politically urgent topic. Although the majority of countries in the world legally and rhetorically institutionalize and support women’s rights, the political will to fight against gender inequality is usually absent. Thus, women become victims of discriminatory social and cultural norms as well as conservative mind-sets, policies, laws and institutions.