Suchergebnisse

Abstract
This article focuses on how Hindu nationalists interpret the term 'secularism' in
Hindi. I will refer to two Hindi translations of 'secularism':
dharmnirpekṣtā and panthnirpekṣtā. The
first one means indifference towards religion and the second indifference
towards communities. My main point is that the Hindu nationalists' strategy of
referring to old, Sanskrit meanings of dharm (which means 'law'
and 'order' aside 'religion' and other concepts) make it possible for them to criticise dharmnirpekṣtā and choose
panthnirpekṣtā instead. Their position is that the state
can only be indifferent to communities and not to dharm, as the
latter would also mean being indifferent to 'law' and 'order'. Such an approach
helps the Hindu nationalists to claim to be in agreement with the idea of
secular Indian state on one hand and promote their religion-linked ideology on
the other.

Secularism is one of the important and contentious public debates in India today. It is seen to be in greater crisis now than ever before, making a case for the continuing presence of this book. The debate also furnishes the making of Indian polity and society, given the inter-related development of culture, society and politics in India. It is thus a debate about religious nationalism and fundamentalism as well. Modern Myths, Locked Minds examines the ideologies of secularism and fundamentalism in the setting of the religious traditions of India--Hinduism, Sikhism, and Islam. Further insightful comparison of the traditions is offered, each seen over a long period of time, revealing markedly distinctive historical experiences

Compilation of eight essays

The article describes various modern secular challenges to religion. As the Russian philosopher Nikolai Berdyaev observed, Soviet atheism sought to replace the religion of Orthodox Christianity with communism. Militant secularism in modern Europe, like Russian communism in the past, claims an ideological monopoly and does not tolerate rivals. The author suggests that secularism and religion need to be put in dialog instead of being set against each other. There is a particularly pressing need for this on issues such as the demographic problem and the status of the family, which have tended to become worse in societies dominated by a secular outlook. The author also discusses relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, the role of religious sects in Russian society, ties with Protestant Churches, as well as the religious and cultural relationship between Russia and Ukraine. K. Cargill

Introduction -- Part1. Law, power, and the Muslim female dressed body -- Chapter1. Islamic law and legal sources -- Chapter2. The veil and Islamic law -- Chapter3. The Veil and Muslim cultures -- Chapter4. Imagining nations, imagining women: the regulation of female clothes in the era of nations -- Chapter5. Regulating clothes, regulating subjectivities -- Chapter6. From multiplicity to a monolithic homogeneity: the veil as symbol of a 'clash of civilizations' -- Part2. The headscarf regulation: reconfiguring religious practices in the secular Europe -- Chapter7. (Un)masking the legal subject -- Chapter8. The secular/Christian/'humane' subject of law -- Chapter9. Reading the European Court of Human Rights legal decisions over the practice of veiling -- Chapter10. Switzerland and state neutrality -- Chapter11. Burkinis, face veils and hijab: laicite in France -- Chapter12. 'Is Multiculturalism bad for women?: the Begum case in the UK -- Chapter13. Reconfiguring religion and religious practices in the secular space through law -- Part 3. Revealing paradoxes: Muslim women in secular contemporary Europe -- Chapter14. On Freedom and Agency: an East/West Perspective -- Chapter15. Habit, Habitus, and habits -- Chapter16. Representing the un-representable: on symbology, secularism and the law -- Chapter17. 'Is secularism bad for women? -- Conclusions.

The increasing visibility of Islam in France and the vehemence of debates about it have often contributed to narrow public perceptions of secularism to a simplistic antireligious crusade, a misleading image disseminated by the media and politicians alike. Taking the opposite stand, this book embarks on a comprehensive effort to document the multiple areas in which French secularism plays out - in debates over "cults," places of worship, chaplaincy services in public institutions, the recognition of associations of worship, and more -, outlining and analizing the legal paths favored by the state in the regulation of religious diversity. While Islam has undoubtedly contributed to the reshaping of French secularism in the last decades, the book moves beyond what has come to be known as the "Muslim Question" to look at the multiplicity of challenges contemporary religious beliefs, practices, and organizations now pose to the state. David Koussens examines the main political and legal configurations of French secularism over the last thirty years through a sociological and juridical lens, in order to better document its diversity. Such a portrait emphasizes that French secularism is not a univocal phenomenon but one that appears in many guises

America's secularism debates distract from the deeper problem of a flawed political structure causing gridlock. Public failure evokes personal vice, leading to a cultural war between thinly veiled liberal condescension and right-leaning racism, each latching onto rapidly changing controversies, mostly "religious," and failing to address root causes.

This book is an analytical study of secularism in contemporary Turkey by tracing its historical trajectory within the context of political transformation in a country that experienced a social and cultural rupture in its formative years. Its principal focus is on the policies and practices of the current ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (JDP), which has influenced the process of change, evolution, and transformation with regard to secularism and state policies toward religion. Following its foundation in 2001, the JDP developed a unique approach to conceptualising the relationship between state and religion. In contrast to other mainstream parties and political positions both in the past and present, it offers an alternative vision and model to that of inherited Kemalist secularism, as formulated by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founder of modern Turkey) and refined by his close associates in the formative period of the Republic. The project draws its findings from in-depth interviews with members of political parties, civil society activists and religious leaders. Pinar Kandemir is a senior executive in the media sector.

Examines the role of secularism and religion in Jewish society and politics. This book also examines issues of religion, tradition and secularism in Israel, giving a fresh approach to the widening theoretical discussion regarding the thesis of secularisation and modernity and exploring the wider implications of this identity.

Governing Islam' traces the colonial roots of contemporary struggles between Islam and secularism in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The book uncovers the paradoxical workings of colonial laws that promised to separate secular and religious spheres, but instead fostered their vexed entanglement. It shows how religious laws governing families became embroiled with secular laws governing markets, and how calls to protect religious liberties clashed with freedom of the press. By following these interactions, Stephens asks us to reconsider where law is and what it is

Mediterranean Programme Series Ninth Mediterranean Research Meeting: Workshop 10 ; For the last two decades the human rights' discourse has been increasingly used across the world - one could argue that there has even been a globalization of human rights. This discourse has also, been intrinsically linked to positivism, enlightenment and secularism. It is with this in mind that this paper looks at how religious Muslim individuals and groups in France and Turkey have been appropriating human rights discourse and its national, regional and international legal channels to challenge state secular policies and redefine the relationship between religion and the state. I argue that because groups are framing their demands through a rights based discourse their plea becomes more powerful and legitimate, as they are using and re-appropriating elements of a global secular framework to challenge boundaries of Turkish and French state secularism. Moreover, the EU variable over the last decade has strengthened even more the value of human rights claims. By looking into two specific case studies - the work of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France and the Merve Kavakci case v. Turkey presented at the Strasbourg court of Human Rights , I attempt to analyze if groups are using this "authorized narrative" simply because it is the most effective way for them to assert their religiosity, or if they have found a space where they can propose a new plural ethos that can better co-exist with their piety - in other words, a space where they can redefine, and propose perhaps a more plural and de-centralize vision of secularism. ; (Product of workshop No. 10 at the 9th MRM 2008)

AbstractThe effect of religion on political behavior and attachment has been a topic of intense interest in the United States and elsewhere. Less attention has been paid to the issue of secularism. Some analysts have viewed secularism as anabsenceof religious attachment, and a number of studies have utilized indices of secularization to analyze such topics as economic development or modernization. In this article, we show that secularism, like religion, is in fact a multifaceted category, and should not be viewed as the antithesis of religiosity. Utilizing a very large sample of United States adults, we apply factor analysis to demonstrate that secularism is composed of two logically separate components, and we use these results to examine the role of secularism in political attachments. We suggest thatReligious SecularismandSocial Secularismare different motivations and have different effects on political behavior and that, politically, the marginal effects of Social Secularism are larger than Religious Secularism in all cases.