What is the place of religion and religious convictions in government, politics and in public life taking into consideration the need to respect the free exercise of religion? Challenges to existing arrangements of church-state affairs come from many corners of domestic debates and international affairs. Probably most spectacularly, it also stems from the vicinity of the religious freedom of less established (or less popular) holders of faith. The underlying difficulty of these debates is that at first sight they appear to tackle the issue of the plurality of any polity not only in its religious composition, but also concerning the communitys racial, ethnic and cultural diversity, often with lasting political consequences. Contributions in this volume offer insight into these debates across jurisdictions.