Secularisms and Secularities

The Dark Hour of Secularism: Hindu Fundamentalism and Colonial Liberalism in India

by Jakob De Roover

Co-authored with S.N. Balagangadhara, forthcoming in Making Sense of the Secular: Critical Perspectives from Europe to Asia, edited by Ranjan Ghosh (Routledge, 2012).

The secular state and religious conflict: liberal neutrality and the Indian case of pluralism

by Jakob De Roover

Co-authored with S.N. Balagangadhara, published in Journal of Political Philosophy.

There are few places in the contemporary world where the problems of religious pluralism are as acute as they are in... more There are few places in the contemporary world where the problems of religious pluralism are as acute as they are in India. The Indian case poses fundamental challenges to the political theory of toleration. By tackling the problem of religious conversion, our analysis shows that the dominant way of conceiving state neutrality becomes untenable in the Indian context. The Indian state, modelled after the liberal democracies in the West, is the harbinger of religious conflict in India because of its conception of state neutrality. More of ‘secularism’ in India will end up feeding what it fights: the so-called ‘Hindu fundamentalism’.

The Vacuity of Secularism: On the Indian Debate and Its Western Origins

by Jakob De Roover

Secular law and the realm of false religion

by Jakob De Roover

Published in After Secular Law, edited by Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Robert Yelle and Mateo Taussig-Rubbo (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2011).

In countries as far apart as the US and India, courts of law have faced the difficult question of deciding what counts... more In countries as far apart as the US and India, courts of law have faced the difficult question of deciding what counts as religion. In such cases, judges and other legal authorities end up smuggling in a particular theological conception of religion into secular courts of law and rejecting certain practices or beliefs as not truly (and therefore only falsely) religious. My chapter argues that this happens because the religious and the secular were originally configured within the Christian religion in relation to a third sphere, that of idolatry and false religion. During the expansion of Roman-Catholic and Protestant forms of Christianity, clerical authorities were obsessed with drawing the line between the 'secular' sphere of practices indifferent to religion and that of idolatrous practices. My argument explains this tendency in terms of a particular theory of religion and shows how the trichotomy between the (truly) religious, the secular and the idolatrous or falsely religious was necessary to the dynamic of expansion of the Christian religion. It then examines the case of colonial India and its legal system to show how the sphere of idolatry and false religion disappeared from the equation. The hypothesis is that the notion of false religion had become an obstacle to an internal Christian dynamic of expansion or 'secularization', whereby Christian structures are spread in secular guise. However, the realm of false religion remains present implicitly in the institutions and practice of secular law and, thus, certain models of religion are spread insidiously.

Liberal Political Theory and the Cultural Migration of Ideas: The case of secularism in India

by Jakob De Roover

Co-authored with Sarah Claerhout and S.N. Balagangadhara. Published in Political Theory, 39(5), 571-599.

The principles of liberal political theory are often said to be “freestanding.” Are they indeed sufficiently detached... more The principles of liberal political theory are often said to be “freestanding.” Are they indeed sufficiently detached from the cultural setting where they emerged to be intelligible to people with other backgrounds? To answer this question, this essay examines the Indian secularism debate and develops a hypothesis on the process whereby liberal principles crystallized in the West and spread elsewhere. It argues that the secularization of western political thought has not produced independent rational principles, but transformed theological ideas into the “topoi” of a culture. Like all topoi, the principles of liberalism depend on other clusters of ideas present in western societies. When they migrate to new settings, the absence of these surrounding ideas presents fundamental obstacles to the interpretation and elaboration of liberal principles. The case of Indian secularism illustrates the cultural limitations of liberal political theory rather than showing its universal significance.

Is There a Crisis of secularism in Western Europe?

by Modood Tariq

2011 Paul Hanly Furfey Lecture * Is There a Crisis of Secularism in Western Europe?
Tariq Modood
Sociology of Religion 2012; doi: 10.1093/socrel/srs028

Political secularism in W. Europe has been destabilised by the triple contingency of the arrival and settlement of a... more Political secularism in W. Europe has been destabilised by the triple contingency of the arrival and settlement of a significant number of Muslims; a multiculturalist sensibility which respects ‘difference’; and a moderate secularism, namely that the historical compromises between the state and a church or churches in relation to public recognition and accommodation are still in place to some extent. Radical secularism or laicite seems to be struggling to cope but the dominant version of secularism, far from being in crisis, offers a resource – suitably multiculturalised –for accommodating the new religious plurality of the region. The ‘crisis of secularism’, then, is really the challenge of multiculturalism.

Giorgio Agamben, “Il Regno e la Gloria. Per una genealogia teologica dell’economia e del governo”, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino 2009

by Giacomo Pezzano

Published in“Lessico di Etica pubblica”, II, 1, 2011, pp. 130-138

A critical review of one of the most important books in the contemporary philosophical debate A critical review of one of the most important books in the contemporary philosophical debate

Il «residuo produttivo» della secolarizzazione: l’uomo, il denaro e il sacro. Considerazioni a partire da Charles Taylor

by Giacomo Pezzano

Published in “Lessico di Etica pubblica”, II, 1, 2011, pp. 19-41

"Economical imaginary" is one of the three key cultural forms of the modern social imaginary: we need to... more "Economical imaginary" is one of the three key cultural forms of the modern social imaginary: we need to overcome it and open the space for the complete realization of the human being

Gender Ideology and Turkish Nationalisms

by Karl Griggs

A general overview of the development of modern Turkish nationalism from Ottomanism and its fundamental intersection with gender identities. In this paper, I challenge the seemingly ubiquitous assumptions about the links between 'secularity' and women's rights, and the inverse association of 'Islamism' with oppression.

Gender Ideology and Turkish Nationalisms

by Karl Griggs

A general overview of the development of modern Turkish nationalism from Ottomanism and its fundamental intersection with gender identities. In this paper, I challenge the seemingly ubiquitous assumptions about the links between 'secularity' and women's rights, and the inverse association of 'Islamism' with oppression.

Latour, Prepositions and the Instauration of Secularism

by Anna Strhan

published in Political Theology, Vol. 13, No.2, 2012

Bruno Latour’s understanding of different modes of existence as given through prepositions offers a new approach to... more Bruno Latour’s understanding of different modes of existence as given through prepositions offers a new approach to researching “secularism,” taking forward attention paid in recent scholarship to its historically contingent formation by bringing into clearer focus the dynamics of its relational and material mediations. Examining the contemporary instauration of secularism in conservative evangelical experience, I show how this approach offers a new orientation to studying secularism that allows attention to both its history and its material effects on practice. This shows how Latour’s speculative realism extends and provides a bridge between both discursive analysis of religion and secularism and the recent turn towards materiality in empirical study of religion.

Social Work and Secularism

by Tom Henri

co-authored with Dr Adam Dinham

It is generally agreed that social work in the context of Europe and much of the global North has its origins in... more It is generally agreed that social work in the context of Europe and much of the global North has its origins in religious activity and organisation.  It could be argued that social work’s drive towards professionalisation has also been a drive towards secularisation.  It has been the dominant discourse in practice and the discipline of social work not to be overly concerned with matters of faith and religiosity; that the social and the spiritual are different realms without parity or connection.  Since 9/11 and the riots in Northern England of 2001, there has been a growing interest in the relationship between faith (and by extension faith-practitioners) and, what was at the time called, social exclusion.  Further to this debate, this paper argues that the post Lehman Brothers world is not just one of financial insecurity, but also ideological insecurity; the existing settlement of capitalism has exposed as weak, as more and more people, both employed and unemployed (including social workers and service users), experience the sense of precariousness that accompanies the current geo-political environment.  We presuppose that this ideological insecurity in the existing status quo (we only have to look to the Arab world for many examples of the expression of this insecurity) creates a space for many who are dispossessed, excluded, impoverished and disempowered to embrace faith, in both the theistic and spiritual sense.  These groups are often the sections of society with which social work is tasked with engaging, empowering and sometimes controlling.  With this in mind, we question how the secular realm of social work can engage with service users whose experience of faith as both an ideology and a practice can create a rupture which both challenges the perceived secular basis of contemporary social work and creates opportunities for new forms of action and organisation.

Secularism and Religious Security and Insecurity; Rethinking the French headscarf debates

by Yolande Jansen

TRADUCCIÓN AL CASTELLANO del texto “Sexuality” de Joan W. Scott

by Blanca Divassón Mendívil

Traducido al castellano el capítulo “Sexuality”, del libro de Joan W. Scott, Politics of the veil, Princeton y Oxford, Princeton University Press, 2007, pp. 151-174, para el dossier “Mujeres y religiones. Desafíos para el feminismo actual”, coordinado por Inmaculada Blasco y Marie P. McMahon en Clepsydra. Revista de Estudios de Género y Teoría Feminista, 2010, vol. 9, “Sexualidad en el debate francés sobre el pañuelo islámico”, pp. 85-102.

Secular Populism and the Semiotics of the Crowd in Turkey

by Kabir Tambar

ASUR, Asociaţia Susţinătorilor Unităţii Româneşti?

by Adrian Magdici

published in "Mesagerul Sfântului Anton" 110 (2012) 19

Some thoughts about "Romanian Secular-Humanist Association" Some thoughts about "Romanian Secular-Humanist Association"

Toward a Typology of Nonreligion: A Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Narratives of Scottish University Students

by Christopher R. Cotter

This is my MSc by Research thesis which was submitted to the University of Edinburgh in August 2011. Please use as you see fir, but I request that you run any citations by me at this stage whilst I pursue publications.

Citation format: Cotter, Christopher R. 2011. "Toward a Typology of Nonreligion: A Qualitative Analysis of Everyday Narratives of Scottish University Students". Unpublished MSc by Research Thesis. University of Edinburgh, August 2011.

This paper documents a yearlong project amongst the student body of the University of Edinburgh, under the supervision... more This paper documents a yearlong project amongst the student body of the University of Edinburgh, under the supervision of Dr Steven Sutcliffe, focussing on ‘nonreligious’ undergraduates - whether explicitly irreligious/undecided, those occupying the ‘fuzzy middle’, or those termed ‘nominal’ believers.
Similar studies are virtually non-existent in the UK, and in the US, nonreligious students tend to be ignored or treated as a monolithic religious minority. Through questionnaires and in-depth interviews, this study explores this neglected area, examining: if and how religious/non-religious/irreligious identities are constructed; the importance of religion/nonreligion versus other sources of significance; and the subjective meanings ascribed to key emic terms.

In addition to raising informative questions, the author demonstrates that the limited number of current typologies, based on internally and/or externally selected and defined nonreligious identity labels, tend to be inadequate and inaccurate. Nonreligious students are shown to be highly aware of the subjectivity of their interpretations of key identity terms, and in many cases they maintain multiple identities simultaneously, in a situational and pragmatic fashion. These identities also vary in terms of concreteness and salience, and are informed by a wide variety of relationship- and education-based subjective experiences. A more nuanced approach is then proposed, based on students’ personal narratives obtained through questionnaires and interviews, categorising individuals according to the overarching narrative through which they claim to interact with (non)religion.

Islamic Philosophy and the Challenge of Post Modernism

by Salman Ahmed Shaikh

This paper briefly describes the Post Modernism philosophy, introduces the work of its key proponents, provides a... more This paper briefly describes the Post Modernism philosophy, introduces the work of its key proponents, provides a critical appraisal of Post Modernism thought and finally it compares the Post Modernism philosophy with philosophical heritage of Islamic faith and civilization and recommends ways to cope up with the challenge of postmodernism.

What Does Democracy Look Like: Religion and Secularism in the Pew Poll Results on Egypt

by Yasmin Moll

The Miniskirt and the Veil: Islam, Secularism and Women's Fashion in the New Europe

by Kristen Ghodsee