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What is the relationship between cosmopolitanism and secularism—the worldwide and the worldly? While cosmopolitan politics may seem inherently secular, existing forms of secularism risk undermining the universality of cosmopolitanism because they privilege the European tradition over all others and transform particular historical norms into enunciations of truth, valid for all cultures and all epochs. In this book, the noted philosopher Étienne Balibar explores the tensions lurking at this troubled nexus in order to advance a truly democratic and emancipatory cosmopolitanism, which requires a secularization of secularism itself.Balibar argues for the idea of the universal against its particular dominant institutions. He questions the assumptions that underlie popular ideas of secularism and religion and outlines the importance of a new critique for the contemporary world. Balibar holds that conflicts between religious and secular discourses need to be reframed from a point of view that takes into account the cultural hybridization, migration and mobility, and transformation of borders that have reshaped the postcolonial age. Among the topics discussed are the uses and misuses of the category of religion and the religious, the paradoxical genealogy of monotheism, French laïcité's identitarian turn, and the implications of the responses to the Charlie Hebdo attacks for an extended definition of free speech. Going beyond circumscribed notions of religion and the public sphere, Secularism and Cosmopolitanism is a profound rethinking of identity and difference that seeks to make room for a renewed political imagination.

"There are numerous examples of how religion and nationalism intertwine. In some cases, a common religion is the fundamental marker of a nation's identity, whereas in others secular nationalism tries to hold together people of different religious beliefs. This book examines the link between religion and nationalism in contemporary polities. By exploring case studies on India, Russia, Israel, Canada, Chechnya, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Catalonia and the Basque Country, it seeks to understand the relationship between these two key societal forms of diversity and assess the interaction between religious and nationalist perspectives. Expert contributors examine a variety of phenomena, including secular nationalism, secessionism, and polities in which religious pluralism is evolving. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, religion and politics, nationalism, federalism, secession, political philosophy, racial and ethnic politics and comparative politics"--

Muslims in China: incompatibility between Islam and the Chinese order -- Ahung and Literatus: a Muslim elite in Confucian China -- Muslim minorities under non-Islamic rule -- Ethnicity, religion, nationality, and social conflict: the case of Chinese Muslims -- Myth as memory: Muslims in China between myth and history -- Established Islam and marginal Islam: from eclecticism to syncretism -- Islamization and sinicization in Chinese Islam -- Naqshbandiyya and factionalism in Chinese Islam -- Is there Shi'a in Chinese Islam? -- Translation as exegesis: the opening S¿±ra of the Qur'#n in Chinese -- Muslim rebellions in Muslim China: a part of, or a counterpart to, the Chinese revolution -- The Islamic republics in central Asia and the Middle East -- The cross battles the crescent: a century of missionary work among Chinese Muslims (1850-1950) -- The Muslim minority in the people's republic of China -- A new wave of Muslim revivalism in China -- Al-sin -- Islam in China -- Islam in the Chinese environment

Most enlightenment philosophers argued that the separation between Church and State would prevent capture of resources by one state religion. We formalize and test a theory that addresses a different danger. We demonstrate that a reduction in the separation between Church and State can be corrosive to political institutions, especially the Judiciary. We show that religious leaders use their high legitimacy to gain political office, and become particularly abusive politicians, misusing their political authority to undermine the independence of the Judiciary. We provide a theoretical framework and estimate the structural equations of our theory using data from Pakistan. Our empirical strategy exploits the plausibly exogenous timing of a military coup to provide causal evidence for the key predictions of our theory.

Most enlightenment philosophers argued that the separation between Church and State would prevent capture of resources by one state religion. We formalize and test a theory that addresses a different danger. We demonstrate that a reduction in the separation between Church and State can be corrosive to political institutions, especially the Judiciary. We show that religious leaders use their high legitimacy to gain political office, and become particularly abusive politicians, misusing their political authority to undermine the independence of the Judiciary. We provide a theoretical framework and estimate the structural equations of our theory using data from Pakistan. Our empirical strategy exploits the plausibly exogenous timing of a military coup to provide causal evidence for the key predictions of our theory.

This paper appraises the relationship between religious beliefs and politics within the context of government policy formulation and law in a society (Nigeria). This is to gauge the response of religious adherents to government policies and laws that claimed to be secular but in reality touches on religious beliefs of a segments of the society. This has created a paradox that needs critical evaluation to determine if government policies and laws are devoid of religious influence. There is also the need to strike a balance between making laws and formulating policies in a secularized society where citizens have often lend a voice(within organized religions) to influence and force changes in such laws and policies. Data for analysis were gathered using random sampling method based on the religious affiliation and belief, education, gender and awareness(of the existence of CLS) of respondents in the five divisions of the state-Lagos. The analysis of the data shows that religion has the capacity to occasion changes of government laws and policies even in a pluralistic society like Nigeria as the coroner law system that was introduced by Lagos state government (one of the federating states in Nigeria) in 2007 and later withdrawn a year later due to hues and cries of Muslims in the state has shown. This form is the basis of analysis in this paper. The paper adopts a sociological and historical method for analysis.

ObjectiveThis article explores how religion shapes Latino opinion regarding religion and public life.MethodsThis article uses a 2006 national survey of Latinos (N = 4,016) conducted by the Pew Research Center. The data are investigated through logistic regression and ordered logit.ResultsReligion does have a substantial influence on how Latinos view the role of the church in politics. Specifically, Latinos with higher levels of religious behavior and more orthodox beliefs were significantly more supportive of religion being involved in politics. Religious affiliation also mattered.ConclusionReligion is a powerful influence on how Latinos feel about the role of religion in politics. This influence mirrors findings from studies of the general population (Jelen and Wilcox, 1995; Guth et al., 2006; Smidt, 2007), giving support to the notion that there is little difference between Latinos and the general population when it comes to the influence of religion.

This article analyses the changes in the modern Argentine religious field. Based upon statistical studies on beliefs and religious attitudes, we describe the consequences of secularization in Argentine society, the way in which people believe and practice religion, the changes in religious identification, the religious diversification process and the way in which the religious practices' and beliefs' level of institutionalization have been decreasing. In this framework, we trace the development of the complex relationship between the State, the politics and the Catholic institution. We focus particularly on Catholicism because it is the most prominently public religion in Argentina, the most powerful and the most influent on the State and political arenas.

"Electoral Choice and Religion: An Overview" published on by Oxford University Press.

"Dieser Essay widmet sich der nach wie vor großen Bedeutung der Religion in Afrika, nicht nur in Bezug auf die Anzahl der Gläubigen, sondern auch in Bezug auf die Varianten religiöser Erfahrung und ihre Verbindungen zu Politik und Öffentlichkeit. Parallel zur Demokratisierungswelle und zur ökonomischen Liberalisierung seit den 1990er Jahren wurde Religion öffentlich immer präsenter und wurde in der Politik immer stärker Bezug auf Religion genommen. Neben 'Entwicklung' wird Religion in den politischen Debatten auf dem Kontinent ein wichtiges Thema bleiben. Die erneute Präsenz von Religion im öffentlichen Raum hat zu einem neuen Verständnis ihrer Bedeutung bei der Bildung von Weltsichten und politischen Identitäten geführt. Damit werden auch die Herausforderungen auf der Tagesordnung bleiben, die mit der Rolle und dem Status von Religion in einem 'säkularen Staatsmodell', wie es in den meisten Staaten Afrikas gewählt wurde, verbunden sind. Können diese von Gläubigen 'bedrängten' Staaten ihre Neutralität gegenüber unterschiedlichen Weltsichten bewahren - und wenn ja, wie? Diese Fragen werden hier übergreifend diskutiert, aber unter Bezug auf Beispiele aus Afrika, die teilweise auf Erfahrungen des Autors während seiner Feldforschungen zurückgehen. Der Autor plädiert für die Entwicklung einer neuen Art des 'Säkularstaats' in Afrika, in dem die religiösen Bindungen unterschiedlicher Bevölkerungsgruppen respektiert werden." (Autorenreferat)

"Religion and World Politics provides a short, accessible, and practical introduction to how we can understand the place of religion in world politics in a more comprehensive, contextually relevant way. Is religion central or irrelevant, positive or negative in world politics today? So much political commentary and analysis focuses on these issues. But these are the wrong questions to be asking. Designed for practitioners, policymakers, and newcomers to the topic of religion and global politics, this book emphasises that religion is not something clear, identifiable, and definable, but is fluid and shifting. Consequently, we need analytical frameworks that help us to make sense of this ever-changing phenomenon. The author presents a critical, intersectional framework for analysing religion and applies this to case studies of three core areas of IR analysis: (1) conflict, violence, and security; (2) development and humanitarianism; and (3) human rights, law, and public life. These cases highlight how assumptions about what religion is and does affect policymakers, theorists, and activists. The book demonstrates the damage that has been done through policies and programmes based on unquestioned assumptions and the possibilities and insights to be gained by incorporating the critical study of religion into research, policymaking, and practice. This book will be of great interest to students of global politics, IR, religion, and security studies, as well as diplomats, civil servants, policymakers, journalists, and civil society practitioners. It will also benefit IR scholars interested in developing their research to include religion, as well as scholars of religion from disciplines outside IR interested in a deeper understanding of religion and world politics"--