ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book summarizes the argument that has been developed in the previous pages with the help of a limited number of fundamental concepts. These concepts are: pluralism, religious freedom, liberal pluralism, social pluralist constitutionalism, pluriform democracy, and political legitimacy. The book then focuses on the associational and institutional dimensions of the right to freedom of religion or belief, and their significance for the proper functioning of our Western liberal democracies. It then explores whether the recognition that there are multiple sources of sovereignty in society can actually help to achieve and maintain legitimacy of the democratic constitutional order rather than putting its political legitimacy under pressure. Regarding the institutional autonomy of civil society associations, there is a clear parallel with what was said above in the context of social pluralist constitutionalism.
