I. Background -- Identity, alienation and the law : the twentieth-century legacy -- Religion, culture and religious discrimination -- II. Balancing public and private interests -- Religion : the public and the private -- The international framework and themes of religious discrimination -- Contemporary religious discrimination in common law jurisdictions : the judicial rulings -- England -- Ireland -- The US -- Canada -- Australia -- New Zealand -- IV. Religion and discrimination : an overview -- Themes of jurisdictional commonality and difference -- Contexting religion, culture and discrimination.

"Generations of festering culture wars, compounded by actual wars in predominantly Muslim countries, the terrorism of Isis and the ongoing migrant crisis, have all combined to make religious discrimination the most pressing challenge now facing many governments. For the leading common law nations, with their shared Christian cultural heritage balanced by a growing secularism, the threat presented by this toxic mix has the potential to destabilise civil society. This book suggests that the instances of religious discrimination, as currently legally defined, are constrained by that cultural context, exacerbated by a policy of multiculturalism and in practice conflated with racial, ethnic or other forms of discrimination. Kerry O'Halloran argues that many culture war issues – such as those that surround the pro-choice/pro-life debate and the rights of the LGBT community – can be viewed as rooted in the same Christian morality that underpins the law relating to religious discrimination."-- Taken from back cover.