Suchergebnisse

Examines the experience of Indonesia as a prime example of Islam's compatibility with democracy. The three main schools of thought in Islam regarding the relation between religion & state are described, along with equally controversial views within the Muslim world in regard to the relation between Islam & democracy. Although most Indonesians are Muslims, the nation's founders believed Indonesia should not be a theocratic state, but should uphold patriotic, humanitarian, & religious values. Religion is important in the private lives of the people, but they acknowledge diversity, & are basically egalitarian in their outlook, a necessary ingredient for democracy. It is noted that one of the five guiding principles upon which the Republic of Indonesia is based recognizes the existence of Almighty God, but religion functions as a moral support, not a state ideology. The emergence of political parties is examined as an indication of a healthy democracy. It is contended that Indonesia exemplifies a nation in which religion plays a vital social/moral role while remaining outside the power struggles of the political sphere. J. Lindroth

Examines the two concepts of secularist thinking that have dominated 20th-century US political culture. Positive & a negative secularism, similar to Berlin's (1958) terms of positive & negative liberty, have had an impact on the institutions & practical politics of the current cultural conflict. Negative secularism, similar to First Amendment reasoning, holds that religion should not be established in the political framework, while positive secularism wishes to triumph over religious faith & to leave religion, at best, without influence in the political realm. Negative secularism implies a theoretic possibility that religionists & nonreligionists could be equal players in political decision making & that citizens have the freedom to participate according to their individual consciences & to associate in moral communities possessing political freedoms. Positive secularism contains the sinister features that fuel crusades, but there is a need to recognize that vibrantly pluralistic religious life offers the greatest potential for respect of the dignity of human life. L. A. Hoffman

HINDU MOBS IN AYODHYA, MUSLIMS MASSACRED IN GUJERAT. INDIA'S PROUD BOAST THAT ITS SECULARISM HELD TOGETHER ITS MANY CREEDS AND RACES IS IN TATTERS

Looking back over the century just ended, it is not easy to assess the status and prospects of secularism and the secular ideal in the United States. As is so often the case in American history, when one sets out in search of the simple and obvious, one soon comes face to face with a crowd of paradoxes. The psychologist Erik Erikson once observed that Americans have a talent for sustaining opposites, and he could hardly have been more right. Such Janus-faced doubleness, or multiplicity, is virtually the Americanspecialité de la maison.

1. The concept of secularism. 2. Secularism in ancient India. 3. The spirit of inherent unity of religions. 4. Echoes of secularism in modern India. 5. Gandhi's concept of secularism 6. Nehru's concept of secularism. 7. Secularism. Constituent assembly, constitutional provisions and parliamentary enactments. 8. Judicial interpretations of Indian secularism. 9. Aberrations of secularism. 10. Epilogue. The future of secularism

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.