ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the conceptualization of the relationship between law and religion in the few aforementioned reports, especially with regard to the role of State law in the regulation of religious diversity. Legal universalism provides an initial justification for the establishment of a relationship of power between State law and religion. According to James Tully, the belief that law requires 'uniformity' was part of the development of Western liberal constitutional thought, especially during the nineteenth century. In the pragmatic and co-operative relationship between law and religion, the law is viewed as serving various purposes, from the regulation of religious diversity to its promotion and protection. A co-operative relationship between law and religion relies on the idea that sub-State communities can play a significant role in translating the reciprocal demands of one realm into the other. This idea is central in the British report, which acknowledges that 'ethnic and religious communities play a great role in the civil society'.
