Considering Secularism
In: RECOGNIZING RELIGION IN A SECULAR SOCIETY, p. 83, Douglas Farrow ed., McGill Queens Press, 2004
In: RECOGNIZING RELIGION IN A SECULAR SOCIETY, p. 83, Douglas Farrow ed., McGill Queens Press, 2004
SSRN
In: Journal of democracy, Band 14, Heft 4, S. 11-25
ISSN: 1086-3214
After fifty years of independence India maintains a constitutional
commitment to secularism. However, the practice of secularism in India is
now increasingly under attack. In the quest for electoral advantage, the
once-dominant Congress Party, made a series of choices that compromised
India's secular ethos. These choices enabled the explicitly anti-secular
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to dramatically expand its political base
through the pursuit of a blatantly anti-secular and majoritarian political
agenda. In recent years, as a direct consequence of the BJP's rhetoric
and policies, a range of religious minorities have been subjected to
discrimination and violence. Despite this adverse trend it is still
too early to ring the death-knell of Indian secularism. The growing
electoral strength of hitherto disenfranchised groups, the existence
of institutions committed to secularism and the continuing secular
constitutional dispensation offer some hope for sustaining the secular
order in India.
In: The Indian journal of political science, Band 65, Heft 2, S. 183-198
ISSN: 0019-5510
In: Journal of democracy, Band 14, Heft 4, S. 11-25
ISSN: 1045-5736
World Affairs Online
In: Il politico: rivista italiana di scienze politiche ; rivista quardrimestrale, Band 70, Heft 3, S. 389-410
ISSN: 0032-325X
In: The Indian journal of politics, Band 37, Heft 1-2, S. 59-70
ISSN: 0303-9951
In: Futures: the journal of policy, planning and futures studies, Band 36, Heft 6-7, S. 765-769
In: Futures: the journal of policy, planning and futures studies, Band 36, Heft 6, S. 765-770
ISSN: 0016-3287
In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 51, Heft 3, S. 29-31
ISSN: 0012-3846
Examines the French secularism debate as manifest in the prohibition against wearing Islamic scarves in public schools. Three distinct sociopolitical dimensions complicate the head scarves controversy: the challenge posed by activists to France's universal values of law & reason; prejudice; & the feelings of the Muslim girls. The international implications of the debate are addressed. The politicized climate generated by the debate is briefly described, & some remarks are offered on the fallout of the head scarf law's implementation come the new school year. J. Zendejas
In: The Indian journal of political science, Band 66, Heft 4, S. 901-914
ISSN: 0019-5510
In: International migration: quarterly review, Band 42, Heft 3, S. 5-27
ISSN: 1468-2435
ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the secularism debate currently taking place in France by examining how this issue impacts the integration of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants. Secularism is one of the key values of French Republicanism, but one which has been challenged by the establishment of a settled population of Muslim immigrants in France. The issue has been particularly highlighted by the affaire des foulards (headscarf affair), an ongoing debate over the rights of Muslim girls to wear a headscarf to secular French schools. Discussions of the principle of secularism and of its application have been even more intense in recent months with the publication in December 2003 of a report by the Stasi Commission, a commission set up by President Chirac to investigate the application of the principle of secularism, and by the passage of legislation intended to outlaw the wearing of any "overt" religious insignia in French schools. This article examines these recent developments in the context of the long‐running debate over Muslim women's right to wear a headscarf in French schools. It argues that the current focus on secularism provides evidence of the return of assimilation as a primary objective of public policy (Brubaker, 2001) and the decreasing strength of the movement in favour of the droit à la différence (right to difference). Finally, the paper argues that this has provided important obstacles to the integration of certain groups of immigrants, particularly Muslim immigrants.
In: European journal of international relations, Band 10, Heft 2, S. 235-262
ISSN: 1460-3713
Secularism is an important source of political authority in International Relations theory and practice. Secularists identify something called 'religion' and separate it from the domains of the state, the economy and science. This separation facilitates a consensus which is sustained by a powerful yet historically contingent set of beliefs, including secularism as the realization of God's will, secularism as the natural evolution toward universal morality and secularism as a normal consequence of economic modernization. Despite these aspirations, secularism is unequipped to serve as a universal model of public life, either domestically or internationally. The creation of the category of religion and its demarcation from politics is a highly politicized decision that is not subject to a final settlement, and the pretense of a final settlement exacerbates international conflict rather than diminishing it. The religion/politics negotiation is a fluid site of authority with complex relations to the state system, the global economy, international ethics and other more heavily theorized locations of power in international relations.
In: Human rights quarterly, Band 26, Heft 2, S. 375-400
ISSN: 1085-794X
Theorists and practitioners commonly assume that the concept of human rights is secular and that it normally takes priority over other values. These assumptions are controversial for those who approach human rights from the perspective of religious beliefs. This article examines the arguments both of those who claim that religious beliefs must interpret human rights in their own terms and those who claim priority for the international (secular) legal understanding of the concept. It compares Western and Islamic approaches to religion, secularism, and human rights, and reaches two conclusions: 1) at the philosophical level, there may be no decisive argument for according priority to secularism or religion; 2) the politics of this debate may be more important in practice than questions of religious philosophy.
In: Human rights quarterly: a comparative and international journal of the social sciences, humanities, and law, Band 26, Heft 2, S. 375-400
ISSN: 0275-0392