Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
17. Regulating Religion to Maintain the Status Quo
Key Categories in the Study of Religion - Contexts and Critiques - Rebekka King
Suzanne Owen [+]
Leeds Trinity University
Suzanne Owen obtained her PhD from the University of Edinburgh and published her
thesis as The Appropriation of Native American Spirituality (Continuum 2008). She is currently Reader in Religious Studies at Leeds Trinity University in the UK researching indigeneity in Newfoundland and British Druidry
Description
This chapter explores through conceptualisations of hegemony and consent how the state regulation of religion supports the status quo and minimises dissent in the UK. Pagan groups’ attempts to gain public recognition reveals how state regulation operates today where ‘other’ religions are remodelled on and become second class versions of the religion of the ruling classes.