ABSTRACT
Like Pickus, Levey holds that citizenship tests are legitimate, so long as they avoid inquiring into the ‘inner disposition’ or personal beliefs of applicants. As public rites of passage into a new political community, he accepts that citizenship tests provide an opportunity to foster shared aspects of membership, such as language competency, knowledge of civic norms and governing institutions, and perhaps also something of the history of how the nation concerned became an immigrant-receiving democracy. Even more so, it is the symbolic dimension of citizenship that Levey emphasizes. Human societies, he notes, have always marked major milestones with inductions and ceremony, and becoming a citizen, entering a new political community, is certainly a momentous milestone for both the individual involved and his or her adoptive society. The symbolism of citizenship tests and ceremonies can also resonate with those born as citizens in the nation. Levey points to the popularity of ‘affirmation ceremonies’ in Australia, in which born Australian citizens may, like their immigrant conationals, publicly affirm their loyalty and commitment to the country and its people.
