Engaging cultural differences

"Liberal democracies are based on principles of inclusion and tolerance. But how does the principle of tolerance work in practice in countries such as Germany, France, India, South Africa, and the United States, where an increasingly wide range of cultural groups holds often contradictory beliefs about appropriate social and family life practices? As these democracies expand to include peoples of vastly different cultural backgrounds, the limits of tolerance are being tested as never before. Engaging Cultural Differences explores how liberal democracies respond legally to differences in the cultural and religious practices of their minority groups. The contributors -- an interdisciplinary group of legal scholars, anthropologists, psychologists, and political theorists --^ explore several interrelated questions: Does the law in these countries presuppose and codify the beliefs and values of the cultural mainstream? To what extent does the law affect the customs of ethnic minority groups, and how do these groups react to official attempts to force compliance with the dominant norms? How much cultural diversity in family practices ought to be permissible within the framework of a plur