Secularism and the state: Towards clarity and global comparison

New Left Review

Volumn , Issue 226, 1997, Pages 21-39

  Keddie, Nikki R ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 0039560090     PISSN: 00286060     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (46)

1. This article had its origins in a paper written for a conference on past and future fins de siècle held at the Library of Congress in late 1994 and organized by Bruce Mazlish and Alvin Kibel. Thanks for helpful suggestions are due to them and the other participants, and also to others who have read and commented on the paper, including Charles Tilly, Perry Anderson, Robin Blackburn and Theda Skocpol.
2. Roy Wallis and Steve Bruce, 'Secularization: The Orthodox Model', in Steve Bruce, ed., Religion and Modernization: Sociologists and Historians Debate the Secularization Thesis, Oxford 1994, pp. 8-9.
3. For the secularization thesis and some articles critical of it, see especially Bruce, Religion and Modernization; the US is the focus of Roger Finke's contribution, 'An Unsecular America', pp. 145-69. The whole idea of a uniform process of secularization is attacked in David Martin, The Religious and the Secular: Studies in Secularization, London 1969.
4. For the secularization thesis and some articles critical of it, see especially Bruce, Religion and Modernization; the US is the focus of Roger Finke's contribution, 'An Unsecular America', pp. 145-69. The whole idea of a uniform process of secularization is attacked in David Martin, The Religious and the Secular: Studies in Secularization, London 1969.
5. Steve Bruce, The Rise and Fall of the New Christian Right: Conservative Protestant Politics in America 1978-7988, Oxford 1988. The book does make valid points about the narrow base and legislative failures of the Christian Right.
6. Bryan R. Wilson, 'Reflections on a Many-Sided Controversy', in Bruce, Religion and Modernization.
7. Some of the pros and cons of the secularization thesis are discussed in various articles by Karel Dobbelaere, who also provides bibliographies: 'Secularization: A Multi-Dimensional Concept', Current Sociology, vol. 29, no. 2, Summer 198L., pp. 1-213; 'Secularization Theories and Sociological Paradigms: A Reformulation of the Private-Public Dichotomy and the Problem of Societal Integration', Sociological Analysis, vol. 46, no. 4, Winter 1985, pp. 377-386; 'Some Trends in European Sociology of Religion: The Secularization Debate', Sociological Analysis, same issue, pp. 107-37.
8. Some of the pros and cons of the secularization thesis are discussed in various articles by Karel Dobbelaere, who also provides bibliographies: 'Secularization: A Multi-Dimensional Concept', Current Sociology, vol. 29, no. 2, Summer 198L., pp. 1-213; 'Secularization Theories and Sociological Paradigms: A Reformulation of the Private-Public Dichotomy and the Problem of Societal Integration', Sociological Analysis, vol. 46, no. 4, Winter 1985, pp. 377-386; 'Some Trends in European Sociology of Religion: The Secularization Debate', Sociological Analysis, same issue, pp. 107-37.
9. Some of the pros and cons of the secularization thesis are discussed in various articles by Karel Dobbelaere, who also provides bibliographies: 'Secularization: A Multi-Dimensional Concept', Current Sociology, vol. 29, no. 2, Summer 198L., pp. 1-213; 'Secularization Theories and Sociological Paradigms: A Reformulation of the Private-Public Dichotomy and the Problem of Societal Integration', Sociological Analysis, vol. 46, no. 4, Winter 1985, pp. 377-386; 'Some Trends in European Sociology of Religion: The Secularization Debate', Sociological Analysis, same issue, pp. 107-37.
10. See especially Ervand Abrahamian, Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic, Berkeley 1993, p. 57: 'The government in Islam', Khomeini elaborated, 'is a primary rule having precedence over secondary rulings such as praying, fasting, and performing the hajj . . . ' In short, the state, so long as it was a truly Islamic state, could overrule the highest-ranking clerics and their interpretation of the sacred law'.
11. In John Ruedy's excellent summary, 'Secular is a term used to distinguish the temporal or worldly from the spiritual, while secularism has come to denote a philosophy that privileges the domain of the temporal and diminishes that of the spiritual. The former grows to cover civil affairs and education, while the latter is increasingly restricted to the areas of private belief, worship, and conduct. While secularism as a philosophy is central to the Western experience, it should be borne in mind that the concept has evolved historically and that it is still doing so. What was considered the proper province of human rational decision was different in the fifteenth century than in the nineteenth century and is even more different in the late twentieth. Secondly, it should be stressed that the struggle over the frontier between the secular and the religious is one characterized by continuous tension and that, up to now, the exact line of the frontier between the two has never been agreed upon. One must also recognize that in the West there has seldom been agreement among secularists as a group, nor among the religious as a group, as to where exactly that frontier should be'. Introduction to John Ruedy, ed., Islamism and Secularism in North Africa, New York 1994, p. xiv.
12. Peter G. Forster, 'Secularization in the English Context: Some Conceptual and Empirical Problems', The Sociological Review, vol. 20, no. 2, May 1972, pp. 153-68. Forster notes that sociologists tend to dismiss the importance of English state defense of the Church, but that it includes 'the position of the monarch as head of church as well as state, the bishops in the House of Lords, the Mayor's Sunday, the oath in court, religious broadcasting on the BBC, church parades in the armed forces, subsidies to church schools, and above all the collective worship and religious instruction in state schools. Though these observances are not generally obligatory, one must generally contract out to avoid them... Nearly every English child is exposed to the religious component of dominant values... when the truth of Christianity is affirmed at morning assembly'. (pp. 164-5) Recent writers have noted the frequent use in urban schools of legally allotted religious time to teach things other than Christianity, however.
13. One article estimates that 25 per cent of US schools still begin with Bible or prayer reading, and many end with released time for religious instruction. N.J. Demerath III and Rhys H. Williams, 'A Mythical Past and an Uncertain Future', Church-State Relations -Tensions and Transitions, New Brunswick 1987.
14. See especially the chapters by Guenther D. Sontheimer and Robert Eric Frykenberg in Sontheimer and Hermann Kulke, eds, Hinduism Reconsidered, Delhi 1959.
15. On Islam and the state, see especially Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution, London 1995, ch. 15, and the sources cited therein. Among the best-informed are Sami Zubaida, Islam, The People and the State, London 1989; Nazih N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London 1991 and 'Rethinking the Public/Private Dichotomy: Radical Islam and Civil Society in the Middle East, Contention, vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995, pp. 79-105; and Ira Lapidus, 'The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, IJMES, vol. 6, no. 4, 1975, pp. 363-85.
16. On Islam and the state, see especially Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution, London 1995, ch. 15, and the sources cited therein. Among the best-informed are Sami Zubaida, Islam, The People and the State, London 1989; Nazih N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London 1991 and 'Rethinking the Public/Private Dichotomy: Radical Islam and Civil Society in the Middle East, Contention, vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995, pp. 79-105; and Ira Lapidus, 'The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, IJMES, vol. 6, no. 4, 1975, pp. 363-85.
17. On Islam and the state, see especially Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution, London 1995, ch. 15, and the sources cited therein. Among the best-informed are Sami Zubaida, Islam, The People and the State, London 1989; Nazih N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London 1991 and 'Rethinking the Public/Private Dichotomy: Radical Islam and Civil Society in the Middle East, Contention, vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995, pp. 79-105; and Ira Lapidus, 'The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, IJMES, vol. 6, no. 4, 1975, pp. 363-85.
18. On Islam and the state, see especially Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution, London 1995, ch. 15, and the sources cited therein. Among the best-informed are Sami Zubaida, Islam, The People and the State, London 1989; Nazih N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London 1991 and 'Rethinking the Public/Private Dichotomy: Radical Islam and Civil Society in the Middle East, Contention, vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995, pp. 79-105; and Ira Lapidus, 'The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, IJMES, vol. 6, no. 4, 1975, pp. 363-85.
19. On Islam and the state, see especially Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World: Resistance and Revolution, London 1995, ch. 15, and the sources cited therein. Among the best-informed are Sami Zubaida, Islam, The People and the State, London 1989; Nazih N. Ayubi, Political Islam: Religion and Politics in the Arab World, London 1991 and 'Rethinking the Public/Private Dichotomy: Radical Islam and Civil Society in the Middle East, Contention, vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995, pp. 79-105; and Ira Lapidus, 'The Separation of State and Religion in the Development of Early Islamic Society, IJMES, vol. 6, no. 4, 1975, pp. 363-85.
20. Niyazi Berkes, The Development of Secularism in Turkey, Montreal 1964, ch. 2.
21. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 15. In a famous article, important for information other than its main thesis, Bernard Lewis argues that the French Revolution was quickly influential in Ottoman Turkey and could be so because its ideas were secular, not Christian. I have contested this idea in Iran and the Muslim World, as have other scholars. See 'The Impact of the French Revolution on Turkey', Journal of World History, vol. 1, July 1953, pp. 105-25; also Serif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962, 169ff; Niyazi Berkes, Secularism, pp. 83-5; and Ibrahim Abu Lughod, The Arab Rediscovery of Europe, Princeton 1963, p. 134, n. 28.
22. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 15. In a famous article, important for information other than its main thesis, Bernard Lewis argues that the French Revolution was quickly influential in Ottoman Turkey and could be so because its ideas were secular, not Christian. I have contested this idea in Iran and the Muslim World, as have other scholars. See 'The Impact of the French Revolution on Turkey', Journal of World History, vol. 1, July 1953, pp. 105-25; also Serif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962, 169ff; Niyazi Berkes, Secularism, pp. 83-5; and Ibrahim Abu Lughod, The Arab Rediscovery of Europe, Princeton 1963, p. 134, n. 28.
23. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 15. In a famous article, important for information other than its main thesis, Bernard Lewis argues that the French Revolution was quickly influential in Ottoman Turkey and could be so because its ideas were secular, not Christian. I have contested this idea in Iran and the Muslim World, as have other scholars. See 'The Impact of the French Revolution on Turkey', Journal of World History, vol. 1, July 1953, pp. 105-25; also Serif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962, 169ff; Niyazi Berkes, Secularism, pp. 83-5; and Ibrahim Abu Lughod, The Arab Rediscovery of Europe, Princeton 1963, p. 134, n. 28.
24. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 15. In a famous article, important for information other than its main thesis, Bernard Lewis argues that the French Revolution was quickly influential in Ottoman Turkey and could be so because its ideas were secular, not Christian. I have contested this idea in Iran and the Muslim World, as have other scholars. See 'The Impact of the French Revolution on Turkey', Journal of World History, vol. 1, July 1953, pp. 105-25; also Serif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962, 169ff; Niyazi Berkes, Secularism, pp. 83-5; and Ibrahim Abu Lughod, The Arab Rediscovery of Europe, Princeton 1963, p. 134, n. 28.
25. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 15. In a famous article, important for information other than its main thesis, Bernard Lewis argues that the French Revolution was quickly influential in Ottoman Turkey and could be so because its ideas were secular, not Christian. I have contested this idea in Iran and the Muslim World, as have other scholars. See 'The Impact of the French Revolution on Turkey', Journal of World History, vol. 1, July 1953, pp. 105-25; also Serif Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought, Princeton 1962, 169ff; Niyazi Berkes, Secularism, pp. 83-5; and Ibrahim Abu Lughod, The Arab Rediscovery of Europe, Princeton 1963, p. 134, n. 28.
26. On Egyptian nineteenth-century reform and secularism see Juan R.I. Cole, Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East: Social and Cultural Origins of Egypt's 'Urabi Movement, Princeton 1993; Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, Cambridge, Mass. 1990; Afaf Lutfi al Sayyid Marsot, Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad 'Ali, Cambridge 1984, and the works they cite.
27. On Egyptian nineteenth-century reform and secularism see Juan R.I. Cole, Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East: Social and Cultural Origins of Egypt's 'Urabi Movement, Princeton 1993; Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, Cambridge, Mass. 1990; Afaf Lutfi al Sayyid Marsot, Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad 'Ali, Cambridge 1984, and the works they cite.
28. On Egyptian nineteenth-century reform and secularism see Juan R.I. Cole, Colonialism and Revolution in the Middle East: Social and Cultural Origins of Egypt's 'Urabi Movement, Princeton 1993; Albert Hourani, A History of the Arab Peoples, Cambridge, Mass. 1990; Afaf Lutfi al Sayyid Marsot, Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad 'Ali, Cambridge 1984, and the works they cite.
29. On Ottoman developments since the eighteenth century, including the Young Ottomans, see especially Berkes, Secularism in Turkey, and Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London 1961. On the Young Ottomans see especially Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought.
30. On Ottoman developments since the eighteenth century, including the Young Ottomans, see especially Berkes, Secularism in Turkey, and Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London 1961. On the Young Ottomans see especially Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought.
31. On Ottoman developments since the eighteenth century, including the Young Ottomans, see especially Berkes, Secularism in Turkey, and Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey, London 1961. On the Young Ottomans see especially Mardin, The Genesis of Young Ottoman Thought.
32. Berkes, Secularism, p. 479.
33. Ibid., ch. 17.
34. On the secularism of (particularly Shi'i) minorities, see Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 10 and Keddie, 'The Shi'a of Pakistan', Von Grunebaum Center Working Paper, Los Angeles 1993.
35. On the secularism of (particularly Shi'i) minorities, see Nikki R. Keddie, Iran and the Muslim World, ch. 10 and Keddie, 'The Shi'a of Pakistan', Von Grunebaum Center Working Paper, Los Angeles 1993.
36. On Indian communalism, see especially Tapan Raychaudhuri, 'Shadows of the Swastika', Contention vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995; Daniel Gold, 'Organized Hinduisms: From Vedic Truth to Hindu Nation', in Martin E. Marty and Scott Appleby, eds, Fundamentalisms Observed, Chicago 1991; Sucheta Mazumdar, unpublished paper on gender and fundamentalism; Achin Vanaik, The Furies of Indian Communalism, Verso, London 1997.
37. On Indian communalism, see especially Tapan Raychaudhuri, 'Shadows of the Swastika', Contention vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995; Daniel Gold, 'Organized Hinduisms: From Vedic Truth to Hindu Nation', in Martin E. Marty and Scott Appleby, eds, Fundamentalisms Observed, Chicago 1991; Sucheta Mazumdar, unpublished paper on gender and fundamentalism; Achin Vanaik, The Furies of Indian Communalism, Verso, London 1997.
38. On Indian communalism, see especially Tapan Raychaudhuri, 'Shadows of the Swastika', Contention vol. 4, no. 2, Winter 1995; Daniel Gold, 'Organized Hinduisms: From Vedic Truth to Hindu Nation', in Martin E. Marty and Scott Appleby, eds, Fundamentalisms Observed, Chicago 1991; Sucheta Mazumdar, unpublished paper on gender and fundamentalism; Achin Vanaik, The Furies of Indian Communalism, Verso, London 1997.
39. For a striking study of one case, see Eugen Weber, Peasants into Frenchmen: The Modernization of Rural France 1870-1914, Stanford 1976.
40. Walker, In Defense of American Liberties, ch. 4.
41. Leonard Levy, The Establishment Clause: Religion and the First Amendment, New York 1986, pp. 122-3.
42. Ibid., pp. 162-3.
43. See Walker, In Defense of American Liberties, ch. 4.
44. A variety of poll data show religious belief, including belief in a number of 'irrational' ideas like Creationism, and also church membership and attendance are far higher in the US than in any other Western country. A Gallup poll in 1981 asking 'Are you affiliated with a church or religious organization?' got a 57 per cent positive response from Americans, as compared to 4 per cent of French, 5 per cent of Italians, 13 per cent of West Germans, 15 per cent of Spaniards, and 22 per cent of the British. For the most complete survey data on religion in America, see Barry A. Kosmin and Seymour P. Lachman, One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society, New York 1993; the Gallup poll is reported on p. 9.
45. A variety of poll data show religious belief, including belief in a number of 'irrational' ideas like Creationism, and also church membership and attendance are far higher in the US than in any other Western country. A Gallup poll in 1981 asking 'Are you affiliated with a church or religious organization?' got a 57 per cent positive response from Americans, as compared to 4 per cent of French, 5 per cent of Italians, 13 per cent of West Germans, 15 per cent of Spaniards, and 22 per cent of the British. For the most complete survey data on religion in America, see Barry A. Kosmin and Seymour P. Lachman, One Nation Under God: Religion in Contemporary American Society, New York 1993; the Gallup poll is reported on p. 9.
46. The similarities and differences between the areas characterized by religiosity and those characterized by religious nationalism (communalism) are discussed in Nikki R. Keddie, 'The New Religious Politics: Where, When, and Why do "Fundamentalisms" Appear?' forthcoming in Comparative Studies in Society and History. In that article I also propose replacing the term 'fundamentalism', to which there are some valid objections, with 'New Religious Politics' and the adjective 'religio-political', both defined for such discussions as excluding predominantly liberal or socialist religious politics. I have not adopted this change here, as it requires a lengthy explanation and justification. My own objections to the term 'fundamentalism' are not strong enough to preclude my using it when it is still the only widely accepted common global term.