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Resumo Espiritualidade é a força que une os diferentes aspectos componentes do ser e, quando trabalhada, proporciona uma vivência harmônica e promove equilíbrio entre bem-estar físico, social e mental. Nesse sentido, objetivou-se abordar, secularmente, como a espiritualidade é vista na medicina, sua influência na saúde e a percepção de profissionais e pacientes acerca desse assunto. Para tanto, realizou-se revisão narrativa que priorizou buscas na plataforma PubMed por meio dos seguintes descritores: “medicine and spirituality and secularismo” e “placebo effect and spirituality and medicine”. Em seguida foram analisadas fontes referenciadas pela leitura dos artigos primordiais. Percebeu-se que há confusão quanto ao uso do termo espiritualidade e que a capacidade e efetividade do cuidado espiritual prestado por profissionais da saúde são débeis, contrastando com inúmeros benefícios oferecidos por essa atenção, que é uma ferramenta para um trabalho mais ético e humano. Abstract Spirituality is a uniting force between different constituents of the human being and, when exercised, provides a harmonious experience and promotes balance between physical, social, and mental well-being. As such, this narrative review proposes a secular approach to how spirituality is understood by medicine, its influence on health, and how it is perceived by professionals and patients. Bibliographic search was conducted on the PubMed database, using the following descriptors: “medicine and spirituality and secularism” and “placebo effect and spirituality and medicine.” After reading the primary articles, the referenced sources were analyzed. Results show a confusion on how the term spirituality is used and a weak capacity and effectiveness with respect to the spiritual care provided by health personnel, thus ignoring the several benefits offered by such care, which is a tool for a more ethical and humane work. Resumen La espiritualidad es la fuerza que une los diferentes componentes del ser y al estimularse proporciona una experiencia armoniosa, además de promover el equilibrio de bienestar físico, social y mental. Ante lo anterior, este texto tuvo por objetivo abordar cómo se ve secularmente la espiritualidad en la medicina, su influencia en la salud y la percepción de profesionales y pacientes sobre este tema. Para ello, se realizó una revisión narrativa en la base de datos PubMed utilizando los siguientes descriptores: “medicine and spirituality and secularismo” y “placebo effect and spirituality and medicine”. Después, se analizaron las fuentes mediante la lectura de los artículos principales. Se encontró una confusión con relación al uso del término espiritualidad, y es deficiente la habilidad y eficacia del cuidado espiritual que brindan los profesionales de la salud, contrastando con los numerosos beneficios de este cuidado, una herramienta para un trabajo más ético y humanizado.

In this article, we expose the actions of Dom Justino José de Sant'Ana in the face of the rise of modernity in Juiz de Fora (MG). In 1925, the first bishop of the then diocese arrived in the city permeated by strong industrialization and religious and cultural plurality. It promotes actions that will reaffirm the hegemony of the Catholic Church, and the confrontation with secular traits, experienced in Brazil between the 17th century and the middle of the 20th century. Based on this scenario, we question: how can we interpret Dom Justino's actions in the midst of an industrialized, religiously plural and cultural society at the beginning of the 20th century? Secularization is opposed to the conservatism of the Church, by defending, among so many features, religious freedom, threatening the hegemony of the institution. We are based on bibliographical research and on the analysis of the researched content from the proposal of Laurence Bardin, from the quantitative perspective, analyzing the frequency of occurrence of certain constructions and references about the bishopric in question.In this article, we expose the actions of Dom Justino José de Sant'Ana in the face of the rise of modernity in Juiz de Fora (MG). In 1925, the first bishop of the then diocese arrived in the city permeated by strong industrialization and religious and cultural plurality. It promotes actions that will reaffirm the hegemony of the Catholic Church, and the confrontation with secular traits, experienced in Brazil between the 17th century and the middle of the 20th century. Based on this scenario, we question: how can we interpret Dom Justino's actions in the midst of an industrialized, religiously plural and cultural society at the beginning of the 20th century? Secularization is opposed to the conservatism of the Church, by defending, among so many features, religious freedom, threatening the hegemony of the institution. We are based on bibliographical research and on the analysis of the researched content from the proposal of Laurence Bardin, from the quantitative perspective, analyzing the frequency of occurrence of certain constructions and references about the bishopric in question.

De décembre 2019 à mars 2020, l’Inde a été agitée par des manifestations contre deux mesures législatives, soit l’Amendement à la Loi sur la citoyenneté (MLC) et le Registre national des citoyens (RNC), qui discriminaient les musulmans. Les manifestations ont été historiques, même dans un pays de forte culture protestataire. Elles ont été marquées par une solidarité interreligieuse, intergénérationnelle et intercommunautaire et ont été largement menées par des femmes musulmanes. Les manifestations ont provoqué des débats au sujet de la religion et de la citoyenneté dans un état laïc, des débats autant entre manifestants qu’entre les contestataires et les partisans des lois de l’État. Cet article examine les deux slogans contestataires qui ont suscité le débat : un poème ourdou, et la proclamation de foi religieuse des musulmans, la chahada. Il soutient que les débats éclairent quelques-uns des paradoxes de la citoyenneté laïque et posent à nouveau les questions qui ont préoccupé les nationalistes anticolonialistes du 20e siècle. Enfin, l’article suggère que ces controverses sont nécessaires et constitutives des politiques des états ayant une importante pluralité religieuse., From December 2019 through March 2020, India was rocked by protests against two pieces of legislation, the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Registry of Citizens (NRC), that discriminated against Muslims. Protests against this legislation were historic, even in a country with a strong culture of political protest: they were marked by inter-religious, inter-generational, and inter-community solidarity and were largely spearheaded by Muslim women. The protests sparked debates about religion and citizenship in a secular state, debates among protesters as well as between protesters and supporters of the state’s laws. This article examines two protest chants that elicited debate: an Urdu poem and the Muslim statement of faith, the Shahada. It argues that the debates illuminate some of the paradoxes of secular citizenship and renew questions that preoccupied anti-colonial nationalists of the twentieth century. Ultimately, the article suggests that these controversies are necessary to and constitutive of politics in religiously-plural states., Desde diciembre 2019 hasta marzo 2020, la India ha sido trastornada por manifestaciones contra dos elementos de la legislación: la Enmienda a la Ley sobre la ciudadanía (ELC) y el Registro nacional de ciudadanos (RNC), que discrimina a los musulmanes. Las manifestaciones contra dicha legislación han sido históricas, incluso par un país con una fuerte cultura de protesta. Han estado marcadas por una solidaridad interreligiosa, intergeneracional e intercomunitaria y han sido generalmente dirigidas por mujeres musulmanas. Las manifestaciones han suscitado debates sobre la religión y la ciudadanía en un Estado laico, debates tanto entre manifestantes como entre contestatarios y los partidarios de las leyes del Estado. Este artículo analiza los dos eslóganes contestatarios que suscitaron el debate: un poema urdu y la proclamación de la fe religiosa de los musulmanes la shahada. Se propone que los debates muestran algunas de las paradojas de la ciudadanía laica y plantean nuevamente las cuestiones que han preocupado a los nacionalista anticolonialistas del siglo XX. Finalmente, el artículo sugiere que dichas controversias son necesarias y constitutivas de las políticas de los Estado que poseen una importante pluralidad religiosa.

[Resumo] Entre a Gloriosa e a IIª República, durante a Restauración borbónica, xesuítas e liberais enfrontáronse entre si a través de obras literarias. No transfondo desta disputa entre tradicionalistas e republicanos, entre clericais e anticlericais, arredor da cuestión relixiosa e a cuestión escolar, dirimíanse dous modelos educativos, e, á vez, dous modelos de sociedade: un tradicionalista, monárquico, confesional; outro progresista, republicano, laico. Obxectivar historicamente esta confrontación pode servir de axuda para tratar de resolver problemas herdados vencellados á relixión, á escola, aos sistemas de goberno, que seguen interpelándonos na actualidade [Resumen] Entre la Gloriosa y la IIª República, durante la Restauración borbónica, jesuitas y liberales se enfrentaron entre si a través de obras literarias. En el trasfondo de esta pugna entre tradicionalistas y republicanos, entre clericales y anticlericales, en torno a la cuestión religiosa y a la cuestión escolar, se dirimían dos modelos educativos, y, a la vez, dos modelos de sociedad: uno tradicionalista, monárquico, confesional; otro progresista, republicano, laico. Objetivar históricamente esta confrontación puede servir de ayuda para tratar de resolver problemas heredados vinculados a la religión, a la escuela, a los sistemas de gobierno, que siguen interpelándonos en la actualidad [Abstract] During the Bourbon Restoration, Jesuits and liberals squared up to each other through their literary works. What lay at the heart of this dialectical clash over questions of religion and education between traditionalists and republicans, clerics and anticlericals, were two different models of education and society: one traditionalist, monarchist and confessional; the other progressive, republican and secular. The aim of this article is to examine perspective on the inherited problems of religion, education and government that continue to affect our society today

This article proposes a new way of approaching the roots of secularism and its outcome that is secularization. The fact that this phenomenon arises precisely in a Christian world, which ultimately leads to a complete emancipation of that what is worldly toward religion, profanum toward sacrum, is astonishing. The process of European secularism has its beginning in the 11th century, when the so-called dispute about reason was initiated resulting, in the next epochs of human history, in an intensifying departure from transcendence in favour of a secular interpretation of reality. What ensued is a fading away of the classical understanding of truth as a “compatibility of entities with intellect” (adaequatio rei et intellectus), that is compatibility of understanding and reality, replacing understanding with one’s own crafting of reality, making of a new society. An examination of the history of the European secularization can contribute to a rise of a new humanism, which rests upon reasonableness that originates at the deepest basis of the Logos.

Este trabajo analiza el conflicto planteado en Francia a raíz de la publicación de las caricaturas de Mahoma, renovado actualmente por la celebración del juicio por los atentados del año 2015 y que ha impulsado, entre otras razones, el proyecto de ley para reforzar los valores de la república. Parte de la idea de que este tipo de cuestiones requiere un enfoque político-normativo, que evalúe las instituciones y los procedimientos -la laicidad, en este caso- atendiendo a los valores que las justifican -la igualdad- y al contexto en el que actúan. A partir de la distinción entre los diferentes planos de las caricaturas (su publicación, su contenido burlesco y la asociación con la violencia) muestra, en primer lugar, un posible acercamiento desde los criterios establecidos por el Consejo de Europa sobre los límites de la libertad de expresión. Continúa con la exposición de una perspectiva político-normativa, tomando como referencia los valores que propone reforzar el proyecto de ley francés para combatir el islamismo radical. Concluye, además de la insuficiencia de un enfoque meramente legal, que este tipo de valores se convierten en algo intangible, algo que no admite la crítica, contribuyendo a reforzar el asimilacionismo típicamente francés, en detrimento del valor de la igualdad. This paper analyses from a normative perspective the conflict that arose in France as a result of the publication of the Muhammad cartoons, currently renewed by the trial for the attacks of 2015 and which has prompted the law to reinforce the values of the Republic. It is based on the idea that this type of issue requires a political—normative approach, which evaluates institutions and procedures —secularism, in this case— considering the values that justify them —equality— and the context in which they operate. Based on the distinction between the different aspects of caricatures: their publication, their burlesque content, and their association with violence, it first shows a possible approach based on the criteria established by the Council of Europe on the limits of freedom of expression. It goes on to present a normative perspective, taking as a reference the values that the French law proposes to reinforce in order to combat radical islamism. It concludes, in addition to the inadequacy of a merely legal approach, that this type of values become intangible, something that does not admit criticism, contributing to the reinforcement of typically French assimilationism, to the detriment of the value of equality.

Resumo Com frequência entende-se que se a escola pública é laica o ensino religioso confessional não pode ser permitido. Neste artigo analiso como o Supremo Tribunal Federal brasileiro rejeita essa ideia, permitindo o ensino religioso confessional na escola pública. Pondero se o tribunal abriu mão de valores políticos fundamentais na ordem institucional instaurada na Constituição política, e se abandonou a função republicana presente na inclusão do ensino religioso na escola pública, adotando uma função de acordo com a qual o ensino público assiste na formação moral-religiosa dos discentes. Para apoiar esta tese identifico e avalio os quatro argumentos mais relevantes oferecidos pelo tribunal para apoiar sua decisão, a saber: o argumento facultativo, de acordo com o qual o fato do ensino confessional ser optativo garante a proteção dos valores políticos de uma democracia liberal; o argumento constitutivo, defendendo que só o ensino confessional pode ser ensino religioso; o argumento de acordo com o qual receber ensino religioso confessional é um direito básico; e o argumento histórico, que ressalta o fato de não haver razões suficientes para transformar o status quo de cooperação e reconhecimento da religião por parte do Estado. Ressalto que o ensino religioso confessional não é entendido como constitutivo da formação de virtudes democráticas, mas como assistência ao interesse das famílias em brindar educação religiosa a seus filhos e filhas. Defendo, portanto, que o tribunal não abriu mão da escola laica, mas tomou distância de uma concepção da escola laica que propõe a formação cidadã, e não a formação religiosa ou moral, como um dos seus propósitos fundamentais. Abstract If a public school is to be secular, it is often assumed, then confessional religious education should not be allowed. In this article, I show how the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court rejected such implication, hence allowing religious confessional education in public schools. The article argues that the Court abandoned core constitutional values, substituting the republican function underlying the introduction of religious education in public schooling for a function that offers assistance to families in fulfilling their task of providing moral and religious education. To offer support to this claim, I identify the four main arguments presented by the Court in favor of its decision. The first one is the Facultative Argument. It argues that non mandatory confessional religious education is sufficient for guaranteeing basic liberal-democratic values. The second one is the Constitutive Argument. It maintains that only confessional education can be genuine religious education. The third one is the ‘Religion is a basic right’ argument, which maintains that confessional religious education must be permitted in public schools because access to religion is a basic right. The fourth argument is the Historical Argument. It defends the absence of strong reasons for forsaking the status quo of state – religions cooperation and mutual official recognition.

The political salience of religious issues and identities has been rising in Thailand, and this is increasingly reflected in electoral politics. Thai political parties seek to position themselves in relation to struggles over the location of the ideological centre of gravity, which has pitted defenders of the religio-political status quo—a monarchy-centred civil-religious nationalism—against Buddhist nationalists, on the one hand, and proponents of greater secularization, on the other. In the 2019 general election, political entrepreneurs ‘particized’ these religio-political differences, which has far-reaching implications for majority-minority relations, to an extent that appears unprecedented in recent Thai political history. This argument is developed through an analysis of the platforms, policies, and rhetoric put forward by political parties contesting the election, which concluded an almost five-year period of direct military rule. This analysis suggests we need to pay greater attention to the role of political parties and electoral competition in maintaining and contesting the secular settlement in Thailand.

If we think about the future of theology, we must speak about the situation of religion in society today. Fewer people identify as Christians while more people feel a great distance from religion or do not follow any religion at all. This gives rise to pressing challenges for theology. On the one hand, theology must make its epistemological assumptions and premises transparent. On the other hand, normative concepts of what it means to be human must be fundamentally reconsidered. Further, the political dimension of faith must be addressed. These topics offer new impetuses for the design and content of university courses, which expand students’ professional competencies to confidently navigate a less faithful society., Konfessionslosigkeit ist die neue gesellschaftliche Signatur, in die hinein die Theologie ihre Botschaft spricht. Daraus ergeben sich verschiedene Herausforderungen für eine Theologie, die zukunftsfähig sein will. Zum einen muss die Theologie ihre erkenntnistheoretischen Annahmen und Prämissen transparent machen. Zum anderen müssen normative Konzepte von Menschsein grundlegend überdacht werden. Weiter lohnt es sich, gegenwärtig die politische Dimension des Glaubens zu akzentuieren. Diese Themen geben neue Impulse für ein universitäres Lehrangebot, das stärker darauf abzielt, die professionelle Kompetenz zukünftiger Lehrkräfte angesichts der Konfessionslosigkeit zu fördern, und sich als professionsorientiert versteht., Limina, 6, 1 p. 156-173

The purpose of the article is to study the relationship between secularism and religiosity, to reveal the internal structure of their contextual meaning. The first part of the article examines the place of the principle of secularism in the system of spiritual and religious values. Secularization, secular, and references to secularization in most cases may be unclear. Currently, there is no easy way to standardize each term by associating it with only one concept. But the fact that different terms have a single linguistic root should not hide that they work in different conceptual frameworks with different histories. Although they sometimes inform each other, we must distinguish between the scope of application, such as a reference to temporary life or secular life, Constitutions that separate religion from politics, and the possible collapse of religion. The second part reveals the place of the concept of religiosity in the system of philosophical knowledge. The inconsistency and multilevel nature of religious life can be traced from the earliest time, primarily in religious analysis. The problem of determining the qualitative state of a believing person, aspirations, values, optimality of human behavior is reflected in this ideological scientific search for determining her religiosity, classification of types religion, religious behavior. Therefore, to date, the authors have not been able to avoid, firstly, an ethical assessment of the situations under consideration, and secondly, not to link the analysis conducted with the tasks and activities of a religious organization. The problem of religiosity in the consciousness and behavior of people, radical changes took place in society, which led to the emergence of new religious trends and changes in traditional trends. The terms denoting the main phenomena in religious life have undergone changes following religious life.

Islamophobia is an issue raised by Islamic antagonist groups to portray Islam as a radical, anarchist and primitive religion. Secularism is a thought product with the concept of separating religion and the world, which is being forced to become an ideology that is accepted internationally. China, as an influential economic country in the world, provides penetration with its economic strength so that ideas that are contrary to Islamic principles dominate global ideologies. No matter how great an ideology is, it turns out to have a fragility, this is what the Chinese State has forgotten. Success in the economic field has in fact caused problems in various sectors. This article presents the historical facts of how the fall of China's power was due to over-imposing an ideology that contradicts the holy Islamic shari'ah. The research method used in this research is descriptive analysis method. The research data were collected from various sources, then analyzed using the literature review technique. The results showed that the influence of cultural values, selfishness, high nationalism culture accompanied by the political heat of the country, became a barrier for Chinese people to accept the values of the spirit of faith contained in Islamic teachings.

En Italie, les débats sur le rapport entre religion et école sont nombreux et récurrents, que ce soit sur les cantines scolaires, les contenus et les illustrations à caractère religieux dans les manuels scolaires, etc. Le débat principal porte sur l’enseignement de la religion à l’école, un thème qui réapparaît régulièrement dans l’histoire de l’Italie républicaine. L’enseignement religieux recoupe quant à lui d’autres questions, notamment le rôle des écoles religieuses dans le système d’instruction publique et le respect des droits religieux au sein de l’institution scolaire. Ces dernières années, l’importance publique et politique accordée à l’islam a également orienté les débats dans le champ éducatif.

A general overview of the essentials of the Christology of the great 20th century German preacher and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer., Huwa f'waqtu li napprezzaw il-figura straordinarja ta' Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945). M'ghandi l-ebda dubju li din il-ħarġa tar-rivista se tiftah tieqa ghall-pubbliku tal-ġzejjer tagħna dwar dan il-bniedem profetiku ta' zminijietna. Hija ħasra li ħajtu ntemmet hesrem qabel iz-zmien, kagun tar-rezistenza detenninata tiegħu lir-reġim Nazista. Mingħajr ma nippretendi li jien xi espert dwar Bonhoeffer, madankollu se nfittex li niffoka fuq aspett wiehed biss f'rabta ma' dan il-pastor Luteran u l-kitbiet tieghu. Se nkun qed inpoggi l-lenti fuq il-kristoloġija tiegħu, fi kliem iehor ir-riflessjonijiet tiegħu dwar Gesu Kristu. Il-kollega tiegħi fid-Dipartiment tat-Teologija Dommatika għal madwar għoxrin sena, Rev. Dr Rene Camilleri, f'intervista fl-2016 fuq Campus FM ma' Dr Pauline Dimech, darba ddeskriva lil Bonhoeffer bħala defiant kontra r-regim u l-ideologija ta' Hitler. Għalkemm kien predikatur kapaci, fil-kaz ta' Bonhoeffer, kif jistqarr Camilleri għandna "teoloġija mhux maħduma wara skrivanija, imma mahdurna fil-ħajja." Dan jispjega l-għala l-kristoloġija ta' Bonhoeffer hija partikulari ħafna., peer-reviewed

Ahmad Sadzali in his book describes the relationship between religion and the state, which according to him is a conversation that has been going on for a long time and continues, including in Indonesia. This book is divided into three chapters, explaining theocracy, secularism, and tamyiz. Tamyiz is a thought that bridges the two extreme opinions between theocracy and secularism, which is a form of the middle way of thinking. This book does not look at what is no less important than the theme of the relationship between religion and the state, which is related to citizen participation in political decision-making. Often in a secular state, ignoring the opinions of religious people is considered inconsistent with the principles of state neutrality, as stated by John Rawls, especially in the theory of public reason.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan adanya proses terjadinya evolusi sekularisme dan kecenderungannya untuk berjumpa dengan multikulturalisme. Artikel ini berargumen bahwa dalam iklim multikultural yang dipengaruhi sekularisme itu, agama menjadi pilihan subjektif-personal nyaris privat sehingga tidak dapat lagi dipaksakan oleh suatu dominasi hegemoni tertentu, baik yang bersifat religius maupun politis. Dalam ranah ini, iklim multikultural yang dipengaruhi sekularisme justru semakin mendukung pertumbuhan dan perkembangan agama menjadi semakin dewasa, yaitu bukan sebagai suatu pemaksaan dari hegemoni tertentu, melainkan sebagai suatu pilihan personal-subjektif yang diambil secara bertanggung jawab.

This paper analyzes the hardening religious difference in contemporary Canadian society and explains why the presence of Muslims, including new converts, constantly incites in the public imagination the primordial threat of Islam to the secular accomplishments of Canadian society. Relying on the available data and previous research on the historical formation of the secular in Canada, the author attempts to detect a paradox within the state-lead politics of recognition that unintentionally creates the conditions for new communal conflicts” (warna kuning) diubah menjadi “Relying on the available data and previous research on the historical formation of the secular in Canada, the author attempts to detect a paradox within the statelead politics of recognition that unintentionally creates the conditions for new communal conflicts. By using an inductive generalization, the author argues that the perceived incompatibility between Islam and secular values is derived not so much from cultural and theological differences or actual political threats posed by Muslims or Indigenous converts. It instead emanates from the self-understanding of the majority of Canadians that defined the nation as essentially Christians and simultaneously secular.

The paper aims to analyze the early ecumenical views of Amfilohije Radović with reference to the influence exerted on him by his spiritual father Justin Popović. This investigation is important because Radović’s ecumenical engagement is often a matter of controversy, which results in conflicting views. Sources for studying Radović’s early ecumenical views are: his correspondence with Justin Popović on ecumenism, his engagement in editing and publishing Popović’s book Orthodox Church and Ecumenism, and finally, his article written as a report from an inter-Orthodox conference held in September 1972 in Thessalonica. In addition to Radović’s similarity with Popović's views, the paper also aims to show their differences, i.e. their different interpretations of the same phenomena.

Modern Russia shows an increasing interest in religion not just as an individual psychological phenomenon, but as a social institution that occupies a prominent place and actively participates in the life of the state and society. Against the background of the spiritual revival of the country, anticlerical trends appear, speculating on the constitutional principle of secularism and seeing its violation in almost any contacts of the state with religious associations. The main thesis of the paper is that the secular model of the state does not accept the interference of religious associations and authorities in each other’s affairs, but at the same time assumes their interaction, which should be outlined by the legislative framework.The author examines the semantics of the term “clericalization” and concludes that it means not just the rapprochement of the state with the most influential confessions in society, but also the process of promoting the church’s interests with the help of state power. Based on an analysis of the current legislation, the historical experience of Russia’s development, the current state of state-confessional relations, it is concluded that it is premature to talk about clericalization in our country. This is supported by the existence of strict legal prohibitions and restrictions on the direct participation of religious associations and their representatives in politics, as well as the formal distancing of the church and the state from each other in solving political issues. The state and church interaction in the field of education is quite clearly regulated. However, in other areas of public life, the boundaries of such interaction are conditional, so the author believes that certain prerequisites are emerging for the development of clerical tendencies. Legal, historical and ideological prerequisites are highlighted. The author proposes to improve the legal regulation of some problematic aspects of state-confessional relations.

This research aims to analyze the influence of political theology in the foreign policy of Indian and Turkish from 2014 to 2019. India and Turkey used political theology as one of the essential considerations for the conduct of foreign policies during the humanitarian crisis. Both countries were trying to conduct “politics of salvation” to protect their fellow faithful from the oppression in the neighboring regions. While conducting its politics of salvation in their foreign policies, India and Turkey were trying to protect their fellow faithful from the oppression from the constructed others. This research argues that the politics of salvation in its foreign policy will influence both countries’ religious freedom and secularism. This research would like to utilize the concept of “politics of principled pluralism” that Robert Joustra developed. In its analysis, this research engages with several articles from news outlets and research journals to construct arguments on the conduct of the foreign policy of India and Turkey in times of humanitarian crisis. This research found that India and Turkey had tried to implement their version of “politics of salvation” that deteriorate religious freedom and inclusive democracy.

Sub-Saharan African societies are widely seen as highly religious. However, at least 30 million Sub-Saharan Africans identify themselves as “religious nones” and are supposedly not affiliated with any religious tradition. While research interest in religious nones has been growing in the United States, Canada, and Western Europe, there is a dearth of literature on nones in Sub-Saharan Africa. In this paper, we offer an overview of this understudied subject and dwell on key challenges for studying African nones, including preconceived notions and structural oppositions. We further muse on the identity of African nones and consider differences from the characteristics established concerning Western nones. The article draws on quantitative data from across the region (primarily from Afrobarometer and Pew Research Center) and supplements them with interview data collected in Chad, Kenya, and South Africa.

The article notes that the issue of gender equality in Uzbekistan has become a priority of public policy, especially the creation of an equal legal framework for the activities of women in all areas. But unfortunately, our people do not use them widely or are not allowed by their relatives. The gaps in our legal consciousness, in our spirituality, are clearly visible in the problem of gender equality. Gender equality is sometimes seen as the opposite of our national and religious values. To what extent do Islamic morality conform to the principle of gender equality, including whether there are equal opportunities for Muslims and non-Muslims in matters of education, and what is the status of gender equality in Muslim families? issues such as whether it is supported are covered in the scientific article on the basis of clear arguments.

This article examines the development of a Marxian frame for the critique of religion in twentieth century Iranian political thought by Taqi Erāni and Bizhan Jazani. It argues that, following Marx, Erāni and Jazani understand religion to be a superstructural relic from an earlier stage of human development which will gradually and inevitably withdraw from collective human life as a consequence of the material dialectics of history. It further shows that Erāni and Jazani consider religion to be instrumental in sustaining relations of oppression, and they view with skepticism attempts to reform religion or to use religious faith as an instrument for mass mobilization in revolutionary struggles.

This paper examines the changing nature of Muslim political mobilization in contemporary India in the context of Hindu nationalism’s ascendancy into power and the consequent crisis of traditional Muslim politics. Through an ethnographic case study of the Popular Front of India, we argue that a qualitatively new form of political mobilization is taking place among Indian Muslims centered on an articulation of “self-defense” against a “Hindu nationalist threat.” This politics of self-defense is constructed on the reconciliation of two contradictory processes: use of extensive legal pragmatism, and defensive ethnicization based on Islamic identity. The paper also examines the consequences of the emerging politics of competing ethnicization for even a normative and minimal idea of secularism and how it contributes to the process of decoupling of secularism and democracy in contemporary India.

The article examines the situation of the Tatars and other Muslim minorities in Bulgaria during the communist period. The policy of the state in relation to Muslim minorities after the proclamation of the People`s Republic of Bulgaria and the establishment of socialism in the state according to the Soviet model, when the political, economic and social models of the USSR were imported and introduced without taking into account the national characteristics of Bulgaria, are analyzed. As in the Soviet Union (especially in the early stage of its formation, religion was banned and this applied to all confessions without exception. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) made every effort eradicate religious identity and, in particular, Islamic identity. It was planned to replace the religious ideological fragment with a socialist one, and then, on its platform, form and stimulate the development of the national, modernist and Soviet identity of Muslims. Moreover, the emphasis was also placed on improving the way of life and the material situation of the Muslim population, which, according to the Marxist theory of culture, should have contributed to a more effective formation of socialist consciousness. The ruling party saw in the Muslim religious consciousness and rudiments of the Ottoman past, an obstacle on the way of socialist progress and formation of socialist consciousness. Emasculating elements of the religious worldview from the mind of people, the BCP set itself the task of creating a modern, secular, socialist personality. To this end, in 1946–1989 the government implemented a number of economic, educational and cultural establishments.

In contemporary Europe, where the hegemony of modern secular governance remains largely uncontested, how do minority religious communities – especially Muslims – negotiate the tension between religious duty and forms of secularised civic belonging? This contribution takes Twelver Shi’a Muslim activism in Europe as a starting place to interrogate the encounter between Islamic and secular values. In particular I examine the emergence of what I call the discourse of ‘Shi’a rights’, through which Shi’a Muslims are seeking to gain minority recognition within the European context. Combining elements of Shi’a Islamic ethics with the language of secular humanitarianism, the discourse of ‘Shi'a rights’ is emancipatory and outward-facing while simultaneously being exclusionary and particularistic in the way it promotes specific understandings of what it means to be ‘Shi’a’. Crucially, I argue that this ambivalent nature of ‘Shi’a rights’ is a product of the encounter with secular liberal governance, especially the secular ideal of religious equality. Rather than representing a natural division between religion and society, contemporary secularism cultivates particular ethical attachments that ultimately serve to problematise the status of religious minorities. A focus on ‘Shi’a rights’ in Europe thus serves to illuminate the fractures and fissures that contemporary secular discourse seeks to hide.

ispartof: RELIGION STATE & SOCIETY vol:49 issue:4-5 pages:331-349 status: published

In this article, I argue that a universalistic thrust of secularism should not be located in a Habermasian deontological liberal principle of the priority of universal morality over particularistic ethical doctrines. I show that Habermas cannot plausibly demonstrate that this principle can be invariably applied across different cases. However, in order not to succumb to parochialism, the failure of the deontological model should not prompt us to give up on the search for a universalistic drive behind secularism. To this end, I advocate a Derridean critique of religion and secularism as an alternative solution. By deconstructing the Kantian dichotomy of faith vs. knowledge, Jacques Derrida shows that secularism is, paradoxically, both a concrete socio-political regime and a possibility for a radical change.

The collapse of the Mubarak regime on 25 January 2011 marked the beginning of profound discursive challenges in Egypt. Following the January Revolution, the political forces and discourses long suppressed by Mubarak finally felt free to participate in the political struggles of the time, and attempted to lead the charge in the rebuilding and reorganizing process of Egyptian society. To shed light on the origin and characteristics of these discourses, attempts have been made in this paper to explain through discourse analysis the four major political discourses in today’s Egypt: democratic Islamism, authoritarian Islamism, secular democracy, and secular authoritarianism, and also to identify the political groups representing each discourse, their target groups, the method of their argumentation, and finally their proposed political agenda. To explain these discourses, the a posteriori discourse method is used, i.e. identifying the history of the formation of components and features of discourses. To this end, the discourse analysis of theorists such as Foucault and Van Dyke has been used to examine political discourses in Egypt. The factors used to examine the discourses are: discourse producers, discourse audiences, discourse content, and discourse actions.

Author(s): Blankholm, Joseph | Abstract: This essay reassembles many of the key points in the thematic issue ‘Anthropology Within and Without the Secular Condition’ nto create a coherent picture of the fragments that comprise secularity and secularism. Understanding what secularism often affirms, such as a materialist ontology and an empiricist epistemology, makes it easier to recognize the vast diversity within the secular discursive tradition. Exploring this internal diversity is important for giving a better account of the secular condition and for finding alternatives to the most common ways of being secular, which have become worthy objects of critique. This essay then looks more closely at two aspects of the secular that are usually overlooked: a poetic language ideology and the locus of explanatory satisfaction. A better understanding of what it means to be secular, in all its variety, will help scholars better control for the ways in which secular discourse shapes their feelings and the knowledge they desire to produce.

This response inverts a question raised in the introduction to this thematic issue. Rather than inquire how anthropologists relate to scholarship produced in fields such as theology and religious s...

The “exquisite corpse” in this title refers to a gift book presented to Mrs. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller in December 1931, which contains signed notes from Rockefeller’s domestic employees, friends, ministers, art dealers, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) employees, and also a signed painting by Diego Rivera. The book’s construction highlights the intersecting social networks and associations among a variety of religious, artistic, philanthropic, and domestic organizations and individuals that are more typically investigated as distinct or non-connecting. As such, the book invites an alternate reading of influences shaping MoMA’s earliest years. This interpretation takes inspiration from the surrealist games and conceits of ethnographic and artistic surrealism—an approach that is generatively suggested by the Tribute Book’s construction. Read in this way, I take the gift book to open up a range of associations that make possible modes of interpretation through which to consider the secular and the modern religious. I use the book’s intertextual qualities as an entry point into a new consideration of the presence and effects of liberal-protestant spiritual aesthetics in MOMA’s earliest years. I argue that such spiritual aesthetics shaped the secular museum’s curation, display, and interpretation of political artists including Rivera and European surrealists.

This article investigates Western European right-wing populists’ ambiguous relationship with religion and secularism using the example of the French Rassemblement National (RN). Drawing on social cleavage theory, survey data and elite interviews with RN leaders, French mainstream politicians and Church authorities, it finds that the RN employs Catholicism and laïcité as cultural identity markers against Islam to mobilise voters around a new identity cleavage between liberal-cosmopolitans and populist-communitarians. However, instead of a rapprochement with Christian policy positions, ethics and institutions, this article finds that the RN is becoming increasingly secularist in its policies, personnel and electorate. This finding is of significant relevance for the broader populism and religion literature not only because it suggests the centrality of right-wing identity politics for populist parties, but also because it challenges traditional assumptions about the relationship between right-wing populism and religion by providing evidence that in Western Europe the former is increasingly dominated by its ‘post-religious’ wing.

Though Nigeria is regarded as a secular state, there are two major religions which are predominantly practiced. Religious sentiments have permeated the societal space in Nigeria and often times the ardent practice and observance of religious tenets lead to perennial conflicts with governmental policies. It is one of the fundamental precepts of human rights that the religious belief of individuals should be respected, therefore the provision for the protection of right to religion in the national laws and some international instruments. The education system requires specific dress codes which must be observed. It is against this backdrop that this paper examines the right to practice religion in Nigeria and the obvious conflicts between this practice and policies in the Nigerian education system particularly at primary and post-primary school levels. The paper addresses the scope of the right to practice one’s religion under the law vis-à-vis governmental policies in educational institutions.

In 1999, Rodney Stark announced that the secularization theory had died and should be buried in a graveyard of failed doctrines. He presented the rationale for this verdict in Secularization, R.I.P., which was supposed to show that the theory of secularization is not capable of correctly describing either the past or the current state of religiosity in European countries, and even more so in the rest of the world. While Stark’s findings have been accepted by many scholars, the current researches show that Stark was too hasty with his conclusion, and the theory of secularization still has significant descriptive and explanatory potential. Thus, the results of recent research by Ronald F. Inglehart show that, although religions continue to play an important role in the modern world, their importance is steadily declining even in countries and regions that were previously considered permanently religious (for example, in the United States or in South America). Accordingly, Inglehart speaks of “recent acceleration of secularization” as the reality in which most countries in the world live. In the situation of the ongoing discussion about how fully and accurately the secularization theory is able to describe the laws and mechanics of social changes, it also becomes relevant to consider the question of why the previous criticism of the theory, including that of Stark, was not very effective. It seems that in Stark’s case the following factors have played a negative role: an ideologized approach equating the theory of secularization with secularism, the interpretation of the subjective religiosity of some societies as an unchangeable constant, which, moreover, should be accepted as constant for all other societies, and an extremely simplified interpretation of fundamental principles of secularization theory, which, according to Stark, is no more than the prophecy about the end of religion. The incorrectness of some Stark’s critical ideas is demonstrated by a statistical analysis of long-term trends in the religiosity of Iceland, Great Britain, and the United States. The most telling example seems to be that of Iceland, whose religious landscape has changed dramatically over the past three decades and bears little resemblance to the image of rural religiosity of the 1980s that Stark drew in Secularization, R.I.P., and which he considered unchanged.

In his book From Seminary to University: An Institutional History of the Study of Religion in Canada, Aaron Hughes provides a unique analysis of how the study of religion developed throughout the history of Canada by examining the evolution of its institutional context, that is, from faith-based seminaries and theological colleges to secular departments of religious studies. He situates these institutional changes in the development of the Canadian social order. In this uniquely Canadian context, the study of religion moved, Hughes notes, “from religious exclusion to secularism, from Christocentrism to multiculturalism, and from theology to secular religious studies.” While this is an important and original argument, Hughes offers only a cursory analysis of the unique developments in francophone Quebec universities (as he readily admits) and ignores the study of religion in other disciplines. Moreover, while Hughes traces the motivation for the transformation of the study of religion in the 1960s to the new ethno-religious diversity of Canada, I argue that it should be traced to a growing liberal cosmopolitanism that had infiltrated Canadian society, including its churches, seminaries, and theological colleges. Hughes does not adequately explore the religious roots of why Canadian Christians decided to secularize the study of religion. Finally, while Hughes examines patriarchy and colonialism in his analysis of the study of religion in earlier periods, he drops these topics in his discussion of the secularization of the study of religion, which did not address either of these issues sufficiently.

This introductory essay explores the secular constitution of the discipline of anthropology. Anthropology has reflexively interrogated the influence of the colonial, post-colonial, and rhetorical c...

This article is part of my dissertation on The Czech Republic as a Secular State. Its purpose is to explain what a secular state is, how it originated, how it has developed, and how it can be defined. Since the model of the laic state was primarily created in the gradually developing process of secularization in France and is linked to the local constitutional principle of laïcité, the article focuses primarily on this country. The article is divided into three interrelated parts. The first part discusses the constitutional principle of laïcité, unique to France, and its development up to 1958; the second part examines the process of the separation of the state from the church and the process of the formation of the secular state, taking into account the legal and constitutional aspects of this process; and the third, the most extensive part, examines the development of both legal secularism and laïcité from 1958 to the present. Moreover, it puts the whole development in the context of the state’s, gradually escalating, reaction to the growing influence of the “new” religions, especially Islam.

Our country is a secular nation, but the way the term is understood there differs from how it is understood elsewhere in the globe. In India, secularism refers to more than just the absence of religious recognition by the state. Instead, it indicates that everyone is free to adhere to their own personal rules and that the state respects and honours all major world faiths. Distinct statutes have different maintenance-related clauses. But Section 125 of the 1973 Code of Criminal Procedure also contains a secular rule of maintenance. Hindus' personal laws contain their maintenance laws; Muslims' personal laws contain their maintenance laws. In addition, the CrPC's maintenance legislation is also provided; this law is secular in character and can be invoked by anybody, regardless of faith. Compared to other personal laws, the CrPC has a special characteristic in this area. The sole subject of this research endeavour is the person's wife.

In the course of the 20th century, Thai political elites fashioned a religiopolitical settlement that has a great deal in common with covenantal pluralism. They did so, furthermore, by rediscovering a historic precedent in the Indian emperor Asoka, and reinterpreting the image of this paragon of Buddhist kingship so as to emphasize theological humility and a benevolent embrace of religious pluralism. Since the fall of the absolute monarchy in 1932, this Asokan ideal has been reflected in the Buddhist Thai king’s constitutionally defined role as upholder of religions – in the plural. However, recent developments in Thailand highlight the difficulties associated with sustaining a tolerant and robustly pluralistic policy regime over time, and the inescapable normative trade-offs that this involves.