Ritual Slaughter, Animal Welfare and the Freedom of Religion
In 2011, the Dutch House of Representatives voted for the first time in its history for banning the practice of unstunned ritual slaughter in accordance to Jewish and Islamic rites. How should this remarkable vote be understood? In order to answer this question, a critical discourse analysis has bee...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Brill
2015
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In: |
Journal of religion in Europe
Year: 2015, Volume: 8, Issue: 2, Pages: 210-234 |
Further subjects: | B
ritual slaughter
animal welfare
freedom of religion
Dutch politics
national identity
mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion
critical discourse analysis
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Online Access: |
Presumably Free Access Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | In 2011, the Dutch House of Representatives voted for the first time in its history for banning the practice of unstunned ritual slaughter in accordance to Jewish and Islamic rites. How should this remarkable vote be understood? In order to answer this question, a critical discourse analysis has been carried out. Three discourses are discerned in the debate: ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as an outdated practice,’ ‘ritual slaughter as a form of ritual torture’ and ‘unstunned ritual slaughter as a legitimate religious practice.’ The growing parliamentary support for the first two mentioned discourses is related to recent changes in the Dutch political landscape. In a wider context, it is related to a shift in the national self-conception of the Netherlands and, linked to that, to a change in the perceived position of traditional religious minorities within Dutch society in the aftermath of 9/11 and the ‘Fortuyn revolt.’ |
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ISSN: | 1874-8929 |
Contains: | In: Journal of religion in Europe
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/18748929-00802004 |