Iain Benson
Encyclopedia
Iain Tyrrell Benson is a legal philosopher, writer, professor and practising legal consultant. The main focus of his work in relation to law and society has been to examine some of the various meanings that underlie terms of common but confused usage. His work towards an understanding of secular and secularism
has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada
and the Constitutional Court of South Africa
. He has also given critical study to the terms pluralism
, faith
, believer, unbeliever, liberalism
and accommodation and examined the implications for various legal and non-legal usages.
Benson was a member of the draft committee for the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms
, a document which sets out core aspects of citizenship and the rights and freedoms of religion and conscience in a constitutional democracy. He has also made significant contributions to the understanding of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
and religious freedom under Canadian law. He was retained by the Government of Canada
to author material concerning Religion and Public Policy as an aspect of Federal Multi-Culturalism Policy and is an ongoing expert advisor to the South African Council for the Promotion of Religious Freedoms.
An advocate that the public sphere should be open and inclusive of all citizens and their groups, whether their faith and belief commitments are based on non-religious or religious beliefs, Iain Benson was the first Executive Director of the Centre for Cultural Renewal
, a non-partisan, non-denominational charitable foundation with status in both Canada and the United States, dedicated to examining the nature of pluralism with particular reference to the associational rights dimension of religion and expression. In 2010 he was appointed one of ten inaugural directors of the Global Centre for Pluralism
along with Kofi Annan
and Adrienne Clarkson
and chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan IV
. He was also the invited rapporteur on Law and Religious Diversity in Canada and South Africa to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
at the Vatican City
in May 2011 and was appointed as expert adviser to the South African Council for the Protection and Promotion of Religious Rights and Freedoms in September that same year.
In his capacity as a constitutional and human rights
lawyer, Benson has written and lectured extensively in the area of ethics
, virtues and pluralism, and acted as an advisor in the fields of medical ethics
and bioethics
across Canada
, Saudi Arabia
, Eastern Europe
and South Africa
.
Some of Benson's writings have appeared or been translated in French, Italian, German, Afrikaans, Flemish and Spanish.
, and then to Prince George, B.C., where Kenneth Benson worked as a Medical Health Officer and was later appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Health for the government of British Columbia.
Benson attended Oak Bay Senior Secondary School (1974) and obtained degrees from Queen's University
, Ontario (English Literature B.A. Hons. 1980), University of Windsor
, Ontario (Law LLB 1984)and St Catharine's College, Cambridge
, England (Law M.A.1987).
In 1984 he worked as a summer research assistant based at Oxford University, England and was called the following year to the bar of British Columbia. Benson practiced with the firm Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Laing before becoming a solicitor
in 1987 with the British Columbia Industrial Relations Council (BCIRC). In 1989 he was appointed Senior Solicitor for the Council and practiced there through the organization's development into the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Cultural Renewal
in 1994, and in 2000 became the centre’s first Executive Director.
In 2008 Benson took up a position as the first non-national research associate for the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Human Rights, Public and International Law (SAIFAC). The following year he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Law in the Department of Constitutional and Philosophical Law at the University of the Free State
, South Africa, became a Senior Research Fellow for the Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta
and took up a position as Senior Associate Counsel at Canadian Law Firm, Miller Thomson
.
In 2010 Benson was appointed to the executive committee of the Foundation Board of the Global Centre for Pluralism
in Ottawa and became a Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada
. In 2011 he was admitted as a Member of the International Association of Constitutional Law at the ICAL meeting in Mexico
.
In the early twentyfirst century he was one of two non-nationals on the Continuation Committee drafting the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms under Section 234 of that country's constitution
, and addressed the ceremony for the public signing of the charter in Johannesburg
in October 2010. Earlier that same year, Iain Benson delivered the keynote paper on religious inclusivity in Canada to the Canadian Embassy to the Holy See
, and discussed the issues of accommodation of religion in the public sphere to the Centre for Cultures and Languages in Africa.
Benson works in the field of ethics
and constitutional law
through his involvement with the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Human Rights, Public and International Law, The Chester Ronning Centre in Alberta, Canada and as Professor Extraordinary in the Faculty of Law, Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law at the University of the Free State
. In 2008 he was an invited panel respondent to Dr. Margaret Somerville’s “Ethics on a Wire” Keynote Address at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada and in 2009 addressed the American Political Science Association hosted by the American Public Philosophy Institute with a lecture entitled "Standing Freedom on its Head: “Equality” and “Non-discrimination” and the Suppression of Democratic Liberties: Law, Liberty and Convergence".
In November 2007 Benson was invited to submit a proposal to the Canadian Federal Government Policy Research Initiative on “Religion and Public Policy”. He wrote a background “think-piece” on religion and public policy in Canada entitled “Taking a Fresh Look at Religion and Public Policy in Canada: The Need for a Paradigm Shift”. He has also appeared before several Canadian government bodies, including the Royal Commission
s on Education and New Reproductive Technologies and the Law Reform Commission formed to examine abortion
. He has appeared before the Senate Special Committee on Euthanasia
and Assisted Suicide
, the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance (re: Pension Reform) and numerous House of Commons of Canada Committees.
Benson has been interviewed on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
programs including "Ideas", "Tapestry", "Cross-country Check-up" and "Commentary". He has been interviewed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Vatican Radio, Reuters
and various radio stations in England and South Africa. Benson has acted as external reader of manuscripts for various presses and journals including McGill-Queen's University Press
(Montreal), University of Toronto Press
(Toronto), Queen's Law Journal
(Kingston, Ontario), The Journal of Religion, State and Society(Routledge
, U.K.) and the South African Journal of Human Rights, Acta Theologica(South Africa).
Benson continues to lecture across Canada, the United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia
and South Africa
, giving papers on topics ranging from, constitutional law and religion, literature
, the nature of the "secular", "secularism", “pluralism", and issues related to ethics and the accommodation of differing beliefs.
Benson's "Notes Towards a (Re)Definition of the 'Secular'" was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada
(in its landmark 2002 Chamberlain decision). This case concerned whether books on same-sex parented families should be approved at kindergarten grade. In their decision to refer the matter back for a non-discriminatory decision, the court said that the B.C. School Act’s insistence on secularism and non-discrimination lies at the heart of this case. [It] provides that “[a]ll schools and Provincial schools must be conducted on strictly secular and non-sectarian principles”. It also emphasizes that “[t]he highest morality must be inculcated, but no religious dogma or creed is to be taught in a school or Provincial school”. The decision cites Benson's article in connection with proper understanding of the concepts of "secular" and "non-sectarian", and says that it is an error to equate"secular" with "non-religious". In subsequent writing, Benson has been critical of the court's apparent adoption of "secularism" as the matter was never argued before them and was not essential to the statutory interpretation before them. This work was cited with approval by Justice Albie Sachs in the 2005 decision of the South African Constitutional Court in the Fourie decision.
Benson has also criticized a failure to examine the meaning of "secularism" in the works of most commentators on the "secular" and "secularism" itself, including the work of Charles Taylor. He has been critical of the tendency to assume that "secularism" is a neutral concept, when the origin of the term was within a framework that expressly intended to minimize any public relevance for religions.
Benson has argued that the Canadian approach to a pluralistic society has often overlooked the important role that religions play in the public sphere as well as in the lives of citizens and their groups. He contends that secularism is not neutral regarding religion, and that the term as most people have understood it excludes from "the public sphere" a key component of many citizens' identities, which is their freedom of conscience and religion. Benson further argues that a better understanding of the term "secular" would keep religion and the state jurisdictionally separate while allowing for cooperation and mutual understanding between them. The ultimate goal of this preferred philosophy
would be to create a society in which individual and communal differences are accepted and embraced rather than one in which law and politics are viewed as building towards forced "agreement" or "convergence". A "think-piece" paper for the Canadian Federal Government's Policy Research Initiative group on "Religion and Public Policy" (January 2008) was an elaboration of some of his thinking on the issue and highlighted the need for a paradigm shift
in the way we approach religion and public policy
. It also outlined some of the implications this should have for government actions in relation to multiculturalism
in the public sphere, and legal decisions in relation to religious freedom and the principles of accommodation.
More recently he has begun examining the tendency of legal decisions to remove from consideration the communal dimension of religious rights, and has written of the associational dimension of the freedom of religion and its importance to society.
, The Ball and the Cross and The Flying Inn
. In 2001 Benson addressed the Oxford University, C.S. Lewis society, and became a Knight of Magisterial Grace of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
has been cited by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
and the Constitutional Court of South Africa
Constitutional Court of South Africa
The Constitutional Court of South Africa was established in 1994 by South Africa's first democratic constitution: the Interim Constitution of 1993. In terms of the 1996 Constitution the Constitutional Court established in 1994 continues to hold office. The court began its first sessions in February...
. He has also given critical study to the terms pluralism
Pluralism
Pluralism is, in the general sense, the acknowledgment of diversity. The concept is used, often in different ways, in a wide range of issues. In politics, pluralism is often considered by proponents of modern democracy to be in the interests of its citizens, and so political pluralism is one of its...
, faith
Faith
Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...
, believer, unbeliever, liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
and accommodation and examined the implications for various legal and non-legal usages.
Benson was a member of the draft committee for the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms
South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms
The South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms defines the freedoms, rights, responsibilities and relationship between the state of South Africa and her citizens of religious belief. Chapter 2 of the Constitution of South Africa, the Bill of Rights, recognises that everyone has the...
, a document which sets out core aspects of citizenship and the rights and freedoms of religion and conscience in a constitutional democracy. He has also made significant contributions to the understanding of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada. It forms the first part of the Constitution Act, 1982...
and religious freedom under Canadian law. He was retained by the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...
to author material concerning Religion and Public Policy as an aspect of Federal Multi-Culturalism Policy and is an ongoing expert advisor to the South African Council for the Promotion of Religious Freedoms.
An advocate that the public sphere should be open and inclusive of all citizens and their groups, whether their faith and belief commitments are based on non-religious or religious beliefs, Iain Benson was the first Executive Director of the Centre for Cultural Renewal
Centre for Cultural Renewal
Founded in 1994, the Centre for Cultural Renewal is a non-partisan Canadian think-tank that focuses on the relevance of religion within society...
, a non-partisan, non-denominational charitable foundation with status in both Canada and the United States, dedicated to examining the nature of pluralism with particular reference to the associational rights dimension of religion and expression. In 2010 he was appointed one of ten inaugural directors of the Global Centre for Pluralism
Global Centre for Pluralism
The Global Centre for Pluralism is an international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist societies...
along with Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
and Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Clarkson
Adrienne Louise Clarkson is a Canadian journalist and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 26th since Canadian Confederation....
and chaired by His Highness the Aga Khan IV
Aga Khan IV
Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, NPk, NI, KBE, CC, GCC, GCIH, GCM is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims. He has held this position under the title of Aga Khan since July 11, 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan...
. He was also the invited rapporteur on Law and Religious Diversity in Canada and South Africa to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences
The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences was established in January 1994 by Pope John Paul II. It is headquartered in the Casina Pio IV in the Vatican. Professor Edmond Malinvaud was its first president...
at the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
in May 2011 and was appointed as expert adviser to the South African Council for the Protection and Promotion of Religious Rights and Freedoms in September that same year.
In his capacity as a constitutional and human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
lawyer, Benson has written and lectured extensively in the area of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
, virtues and pluralism, and acted as an advisor in the fields of medical ethics
Medical ethics
Medical ethics is a system of moral principles that apply values and judgments to the practice of medicine. As a scholarly discipline, medical ethics encompasses its practical application in clinical settings as well as work on its history, philosophy, theology, and sociology.-History:Historically,...
and bioethics
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Some of Benson's writings have appeared or been translated in French, Italian, German, Afrikaans, Flemish and Spanish.
Biography
Iain Benson is the eldest of three children born to Kenneth and Margaret (née Scott) Benson, and was raised primarily in Victoria, B.C.. The family moved from Edinburgh to Quesnel, British ColumbiaQuesnel, British Columbia
-Demographics:Quesnel had a population of 9,326 people in 2006, which was a decrease of 7.1% from the 2001 census count. The median household income in 2005 for Quesnel was $54,044, which is slightly above the British Columbia provincial average of $52,709....
, and then to Prince George, B.C., where Kenneth Benson worked as a Medical Health Officer and was later appointed Assistant Deputy Minister of Health for the government of British Columbia.
Benson attended Oak Bay Senior Secondary School (1974) and obtained degrees from Queen's University
Queen's University
Queen's University, , is a public research university located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded on 16 October 1841, the university pre-dates the founding of Canada by 26 years. Queen's holds more more than of land throughout Ontario as well as Herstmonceux Castle in East Sussex, England...
, Ontario (English Literature B.A. Hons. 1980), University of Windsor
University of Windsor
The University of Windsor is a public comprehensive and research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has a student population of approximately 15,000 full-time and part-time undergraduate students and over 1000 graduate students...
, Ontario (Law LLB 1984)and St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St Catharine's College, Cambridge
St. Catharine’s College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473, the college is often referred to informally by the nickname "Catz".-History:...
, England (Law M.A.1987).
In 1984 he worked as a summer research assistant based at Oxford University, England and was called the following year to the bar of British Columbia. Benson practiced with the firm Alexander Holburn Beaudin & Laing before becoming a solicitor
Solicitor
Solicitors are lawyers who traditionally deal with any legal matter including conducting proceedings in courts. In the United Kingdom, a few Australian states and the Republic of Ireland, the legal profession is split between solicitors and barristers , and a lawyer will usually only hold one title...
in 1987 with the British Columbia Industrial Relations Council (BCIRC). In 1989 he was appointed Senior Solicitor for the Council and practiced there through the organization's development into the Labour Relations Board of British Columbia. He was appointed Senior Research Fellow for the Centre for Cultural Renewal
Centre for Cultural Renewal
Founded in 1994, the Centre for Cultural Renewal is a non-partisan Canadian think-tank that focuses on the relevance of religion within society...
in 1994, and in 2000 became the centre’s first Executive Director.
In 2008 Benson took up a position as the first non-national research associate for the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Human Rights, Public and International Law (SAIFAC). The following year he was appointed Extraordinary Professor of Law in the Department of Constitutional and Philosophical Law at the University of the Free State
University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is situated in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, South Africa. The university also has a satellite campus in Qwaqwa that was, until 2003, part of the University of the North.-Academic Divisions:...
, South Africa, became a Senior Research Fellow for the Chester Ronning Centre for the Study of Religion and Public Life at the University of Alberta
University of Alberta
The University of Alberta is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta and Henry Marshall Tory, its first president, it is widely recognized as one of the best universities in Canada...
and took up a position as Senior Associate Counsel at Canadian Law Firm, Miller Thomson
Miller Thomson
Miller Thomson LLP is a full service national law firm established in Toronto, Canada in 1957.The firm provides legal advice to Canadian clients and, through a network of affiliates, serves an international client base...
.
In 2010 Benson was appointed to the executive committee of the Foundation Board of the Global Centre for Pluralism
Global Centre for Pluralism
The Global Centre for Pluralism is an international centre for research, education and exchange about the values, practices and policies that underpin pluralist societies...
in Ottawa and became a Member of the Law Society of Upper Canada
Law Society of Upper Canada
The Law Society of Upper Canada is responsible for the self-regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1797, it is known in French as "Le Barreau du Haut-Canada"...
. In 2011 he was admitted as a Member of the International Association of Constitutional Law at the ICAL meeting in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Activities
Benson carries out written and research work, international lectures, government and private consultation, court appearances before all levels of court in Canada, media interviews and invited academic and government colloquia and panels, in various areas.In the early twentyfirst century he was one of two non-nationals on the Continuation Committee drafting the South African Charter of Religious Rights and Freedoms under Section 234 of that country's constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
, and addressed the ceremony for the public signing of the charter in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
in October 2010. Earlier that same year, Iain Benson delivered the keynote paper on religious inclusivity in Canada to the Canadian Embassy to the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
, and discussed the issues of accommodation of religion in the public sphere to the Centre for Cultures and Languages in Africa.
Benson works in the field of ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and constitutional law
Constitutional law
Constitutional law is the body of law which defines the relationship of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the legislature and the judiciary....
through his involvement with the South African Institute for Advanced Constitutional, Human Rights, Public and International Law, The Chester Ronning Centre in Alberta, Canada and as Professor Extraordinary in the Faculty of Law, Department of Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law at the University of the Free State
University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is situated in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State, South Africa. The university also has a satellite campus in Qwaqwa that was, until 2003, part of the University of the North.-Academic Divisions:...
. In 2008 he was an invited panel respondent to Dr. Margaret Somerville’s “Ethics on a Wire” Keynote Address at the Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Canada and in 2009 addressed the American Political Science Association hosted by the American Public Philosophy Institute with a lecture entitled "Standing Freedom on its Head: “Equality” and “Non-discrimination” and the Suppression of Democratic Liberties: Law, Liberty and Convergence".
In November 2007 Benson was invited to submit a proposal to the Canadian Federal Government Policy Research Initiative on “Religion and Public Policy”. He wrote a background “think-piece” on religion and public policy in Canada entitled “Taking a Fresh Look at Religion and Public Policy in Canada: The Need for a Paradigm Shift”. He has also appeared before several Canadian government bodies, including the Royal Commission
Royal Commission
In Commonwealth realms and other monarchies a Royal Commission is a major ad-hoc formal public inquiry into a defined issue. They have been held in various countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Saudi Arabia...
s on Education and New Reproductive Technologies and the Law Reform Commission formed to examine abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. He has appeared before the Senate Special Committee on Euthanasia
Euthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
and Assisted Suicide
Assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is the common term for actions by which an individual helps another person voluntarily bring about his or her own death. "Assistance" may mean providing one with the means to end one's own life, but may extend to other actions. It differs to euthanasia where another person ends...
, the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance (re: Pension Reform) and numerous House of Commons of Canada Committees.
Benson has been interviewed on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
programs including "Ideas", "Tapestry", "Cross-country Check-up" and "Commentary". He has been interviewed on Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Vatican Radio, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
and various radio stations in England and South Africa. Benson has acted as external reader of manuscripts for various presses and journals including McGill-Queen's University Press
McGill-Queen's University Press
The McGill-Queen's University Press is a joint venture between McGill University in Montreal, Quebec and Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario....
(Montreal), University of Toronto Press
University of Toronto Press
University of Toronto Press is Canada's leading scholarly publisher and one of the largest university presses in North America. Founded in 1901, UTP has published over 6,500 books, with well over 3,500 of these still in print....
(Toronto), Queen's Law Journal
Queen's Law Journal
Queen's Law Journal, formally Queen's Intramural Law Journal, is a Canadian legal journal focusing on the Canadian legal community. It is published by Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada-References:*...
(Kingston, Ontario), The Journal of Religion, State and Society(Routledge
Routledge
Routledge is a British publishing house which has operated under a succession of company names and latterly as an academic imprint. Its origins may be traced back to the 19th-century London bookseller George Routledge...
, U.K.) and the South African Journal of Human Rights, Acta Theologica(South Africa).
Benson continues to lecture across Canada, the United States, Europe, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, giving papers on topics ranging from, constitutional law and religion, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
, the nature of the "secular", "secularism", “pluralism", and issues related to ethics and the accommodation of differing beliefs.
Legal philosophy and political theory
Benson has published work on the accommodation of religious and non-religious rights, and has worked to promote the idea of shared civic virtues serving the common good across all belief communities. His published opinion is that all citizens have faith and belief in something, whether these beliefs are grounded in religion or not, and that the public sphere is obliged to act with balance.Benson's "Notes Towards a (Re)Definition of the 'Secular'" was cited by the Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
(in its landmark 2002 Chamberlain decision). This case concerned whether books on same-sex parented families should be approved at kindergarten grade. In their decision to refer the matter back for a non-discriminatory decision, the court said that the B.C. School Act’s insistence on secularism and non-discrimination lies at the heart of this case. [It] provides that “[a]ll schools and Provincial schools must be conducted on strictly secular and non-sectarian principles”. It also emphasizes that “[t]he highest morality must be inculcated, but no religious dogma or creed is to be taught in a school or Provincial school”. The decision cites Benson's article in connection with proper understanding of the concepts of "secular" and "non-sectarian", and says that it is an error to equate"secular" with "non-religious". In subsequent writing, Benson has been critical of the court's apparent adoption of "secularism" as the matter was never argued before them and was not essential to the statutory interpretation before them. This work was cited with approval by Justice Albie Sachs in the 2005 decision of the South African Constitutional Court in the Fourie decision.
Benson has also criticized a failure to examine the meaning of "secularism" in the works of most commentators on the "secular" and "secularism" itself, including the work of Charles Taylor. He has been critical of the tendency to assume that "secularism" is a neutral concept, when the origin of the term was within a framework that expressly intended to minimize any public relevance for religions.
Benson has argued that the Canadian approach to a pluralistic society has often overlooked the important role that religions play in the public sphere as well as in the lives of citizens and their groups. He contends that secularism is not neutral regarding religion, and that the term as most people have understood it excludes from "the public sphere" a key component of many citizens' identities, which is their freedom of conscience and religion. Benson further argues that a better understanding of the term "secular" would keep religion and the state jurisdictionally separate while allowing for cooperation and mutual understanding between them. The ultimate goal of this preferred philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
would be to create a society in which individual and communal differences are accepted and embraced rather than one in which law and politics are viewed as building towards forced "agreement" or "convergence". A "think-piece" paper for the Canadian Federal Government's Policy Research Initiative group on "Religion and Public Policy" (January 2008) was an elaboration of some of his thinking on the issue and highlighted the need for a paradigm shift
Paradigm shift
A Paradigm shift is, according to Thomas Kuhn in his influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , a change in the basic assumptions, or paradigms, within the ruling theory of science...
in the way we approach religion and public policy
Public policy
Public policy as government action is generally the principled guide to action taken by the administrative or executive branches of the state with regard to a class of issues in a manner consistent with law and institutional customs. In general, the foundation is the pertinent national and...
. It also outlined some of the implications this should have for government actions in relation to multiculturalism
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
in the public sphere, and legal decisions in relation to religious freedom and the principles of accommodation.
More recently he has begun examining the tendency of legal decisions to remove from consideration the communal dimension of religious rights, and has written of the associational dimension of the freedom of religion and its importance to society.
Other involvements and interests
Iain Benson is a published poet. He was also the editor of Volume VII of the Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton, contributing a critical introduction and several hundred footnotes to Chesterton's novels ManaliveManalive
Manalive is a book by G. K. Chesterton detailing a popular theme both in his own philosophy, and in Christianity, of the 'holy fool', such as in Dostoevsky's The Idiot and Cervantes' Don Quixote.-Plot summary:...
, The Ball and the Cross and The Flying Inn
The Flying Inn
The Flying Inn is a novel first published in 1914 by G. K. Chesterton. It is set in a future England where the Temperance movement has allowed a bizarre form of "Progressive" Islam to dominate the political and social life of the country. Because of this, alcohol sales are effectively prohibited...
. In 2001 Benson addressed the Oxford University, C.S. Lewis society, and became a Knight of Magisterial Grace of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.
Publications
Benson remains a prolific author across a range of subjects. Notable selected publications include- Living Together with Disagreement: Pluralism, the Secular, and the Fair Treatment of Beliefs in Canada Today
- Considering Secularism
- Notes Towards a (Re)Definition of the 'Secular'
- Taking a Fresh Look at Religion and Public Policy in Canada: The Need for a Paradigm Shift
- The Case for Religious Inclusivism and the Judicial Recognition of Associational Rights: A Response to Lenta
- Unexamined Faiths and the Public Place of Religion: Emerging Insights from the Law
- The Freedom of Conscience and Religion in Canada: Challenges and Opportunities
- The Jurisdiction of Science: What the Evolution/Creation Debate is Not About
- Is Canada Moving Towards or Away from Religious Inclusivity in the Public Sphere?
- Physicians and Marriage Commissioners: Accommodation of Differing Beliefs in a Free and Democratic Society
- Do ‘Values’ Mean Anything at All? Implications for Law, Education and Society
- The Collected Works of G.K. Chesterton Volume VII (ed)