Hinduism, Christianity, and liberal religious toleration

Political Theory

Volumn 33, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 28-57

  Spinner Halev, Jeff ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA LINCOLN   (United States)

Author keywords

Hinduism; Liberalism; Religion; Toleration

Indexed keywords

EID: 12944262169     PISSN: 00905917     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1177/0090591704271472     Document Type: Article

References (92)

1. E. Valentine Daniel, "The Arrogation of Being by the Blind-Spot of Religion," in Discrimination and Toleration: New Perspectives, ed. Kirsten Hastrup and George Ulrich (The Hague, the Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 2001), 5; and Frits Staal, Rules without Meaning: Ritual, Mantras, and the Human Sciences (New York: Peter Lang, 1989), 415.
2. E. Valentine Daniel, "The Arrogation of Being by the Blind-Spot of Religion," in Discrimination and Toleration: New Perspectives, ed. Kirsten Hastrup and George Ulrich (The Hague, the Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 2001), 5; and Frits Staal, Rules without Meaning: Ritual, Mantras, and the Human Sciences (New York: Peter Lang, 1989), 415.
3. General histories of toleration include Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); Joseph Lecler, Toleration and the Reformation, 2 vols., trans. T. L. Westow (New York: Association Press, 1960); and Perez Zagorin, How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). A history of skepticism, which is closely related to toleration, is Richard Henry Popkin, The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes, rev. ed. (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964).
4. General histories of toleration include Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); Joseph Lecler, Toleration and the Reformation, 2 vols., trans. T. L. Westow (New York: Association Press, 1960); and Perez Zagorin, How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). A history of skepticism, which is closely related to toleration, is Richard Henry Popkin, The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes, rev. ed. (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964).
5. General histories of toleration include Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); Joseph Lecler, Toleration and the Reformation, 2 vols., trans. T. L. Westow (New York: Association Press, 1960); and Perez Zagorin, How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). A history of skepticism, which is closely related to toleration, is Richard Henry Popkin, The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes, rev. ed. (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964).
6. General histories of toleration include Henry Kamen, The Rise of Toleration (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967); Joseph Lecler, Toleration and the Reformation, 2 vols., trans. T. L. Westow (New York: Association Press, 1960); and Perez Zagorin, How the Idea of Religious Toleration Came to the West (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). A history of skepticism, which is closely related to toleration, is Richard Henry Popkin, The History of Scepticism from Erasmus to Descartes, rev. ed. (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1964).
7. See Edward Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Lewis William Spitz, The Protestant Reformation, 1517-1559 (New York: Harper & Row, 1985); and Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York: Scribner, 1971).
8. See Edward Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Lewis William Spitz, The Protestant Reformation, 1517-1559 (New York: Harper & Row, 1985); and Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York: Scribner, 1971).
9. See Edward Muir, Ritual in Early Modern Europe (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997); Lewis William Spitz, The Protestant Reformation, 1517-1559 (New York: Harper & Row, 1985); and Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic (New York: Scribner, 1971).
10. Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, 75-76.
11. My discussion of the Edict of Nantes is based on Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), and is also indebted to Richard Dees, "Establishing Toleration," Political Theory 27 (1999): 667-93.
12. My discussion of the Edict of Nantes is based on Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562-1629 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995), and is also indebted to Richard Dees, "Establishing Toleration," Political Theory 27 (1999): 667-93.
13. John Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration (Indianapolis: Hackett, 1689/1983), 38.
14. Lecler, Toleration and the Reformation, 502.
15. John Locke, "A Third Letter Concerning Toleration," in Works (London: T. Davison, 1801), 144.
16. Of course, not every Christian agreed with this liberal conceptualization of religion. To say that this is now the dominant Protestant view doesn't mean it yields universal agreement among Christians today.
17. J. J. Scarisbrick, The Reformation and the English People (Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1984), 163.
18. John Milton, "A Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," in The Works of John Milton, ed. Frank Patterson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1932), 19; and Locke, Letter, 50. Though many commentators assume that Locke denied toleration to Catholics, Jeremy Waldron has recently argued otherwise. See Jeremy Waldron, God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations of John Locke's Political Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 218-23.
19. John Milton, "A Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," in The Works of John Milton, ed. Frank Patterson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1932), 19; and Locke, Letter, 50. Though many commentators assume that Locke denied toleration to Catholics, Jeremy Waldron has recently argued otherwise. See Jeremy Waldron, God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations of John Locke's Political Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 218-23.
20. John Milton, "A Treatise on Civil Power in Ecclesiastical Causes," in The Works of John Milton, ed. Frank Patterson (New York: Columbia University Press, 1932), 19; and Locke, Letter, 50. Though many commentators assume that Locke denied toleration to Catholics, Jeremy Waldron has recently argued otherwise. See Jeremy Waldron, God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations of John Locke's Political Thought (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 218-23.
21. For the story of how Protestantism gradually loosened its grip in the U.S. in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, see Robert Handy, Undermined Establishment: Church-State Relations in America, 1880-1920 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991); and George M. Marsden, The Soul of the University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
22. For the story of how Protestantism gradually loosened its grip in the U.S. in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, see Robert Handy, Undermined Establishment: Church-State Relations in America, 1880-1920 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1991); and George M. Marsden, The Soul of the University: From Protestant Establishment to Established Nonbelief(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994).
23. John Dunn, "The Claim of Freedom of Conscience: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Worship?" in From Persecution to Toleration: The Glorious Revolution and Religion in England, ed. Ole Peter Grell, Jonathan Irvine Israel, and Nicholas Tyacke (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991); John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the "Two Treatises of Government" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969); and Andrew R. Murphy, Conscience and Community: Revisiting Toleration and Religious Dissent in Early Modern England and America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001).
24. John Dunn, "The Claim of Freedom of Conscience: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Worship?" in From Persecution to Toleration: The Glorious Revolution and Religion in England, ed. Ole Peter Grell, Jonathan Irvine Israel, and Nicholas Tyacke (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991); John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the "Two Treatises of Government" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969); and Andrew R. Murphy, Conscience and Community: Revisiting Toleration and Religious Dissent in Early Modern England and America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001).
25. John Dunn, "The Claim of Freedom of Conscience: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Thought, Freedom of Worship?" in From Persecution to Toleration: The Glorious Revolution and Religion in England, ed. Ole Peter Grell, Jonathan Irvine Israel, and Nicholas Tyacke (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991); John Dunn, The Political Thought of John Locke: An Historical Account of the Argument of the "Two Treatises of Government" (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969); and Andrew R. Murphy, Conscience and Community: Revisiting Toleration and Religious Dissent in Early Modern England and America (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2001).
26. Michael Walzer says this about liberal toleration; "It is a very good way, one that is adapted to the experience of Protestant congregations in certain sorts of societies, but its reach beyond that experience and those societies has to be argued, not simply assumed." This tantalizing thought, however, is left unexplored. Michael Walzer, On Toleration (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 4. Gary Jacobsohn discuss the differences between Hinduism and how the U.S. Constitution conceptualizes religion, but he does not look at the differences in terms of liberal toleration. Gary J. Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law: India's Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). Marc Galanter also comments on the differences between Hinduism and Christianity, but only briefly. Marc Galanter, Law and Society in Modern India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), 249-50.
27. Michael Walzer says this about liberal toleration; "It is a very good way, one that is adapted to the experience of Protestant congregations in certain sorts of societies, but its reach beyond that experience and those societies has to be argued, not simply assumed." This tantalizing thought, however, is left unexplored. Michael Walzer, On Toleration (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 4. Gary Jacobsohn discuss the differences between Hinduism and how the U.S. Constitution conceptualizes religion, but he does not look at the differences in terms of liberal toleration. Gary J. Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law: India's Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). Marc Galanter also comments on the differences between Hinduism and Christianity, but only briefly. Marc Galanter, Law and Society in Modern India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), 249-50.
28. Michael Walzer says this about liberal toleration; "It is a very good way, one that is adapted to the experience of Protestant congregations in certain sorts of societies, but its reach beyond that experience and those societies has to be argued, not simply assumed." This tantalizing thought, however, is left unexplored. Michael Walzer, On Toleration (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1997), 4. Gary Jacobsohn discuss the differences between Hinduism and how the U.S. Constitution conceptualizes religion, but he does not look at the differences in terms of liberal toleration. Gary J. Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law: India's Secularism in Comparative Constitutional Context (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003). Marc Galanter also comments on the differences between Hinduism and Christianity, but only briefly. Marc Galanter, Law and Society in Modern India (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), 249-50.
29. C. John Sommerville, The Secularization of Early Modern England: From Religious Culture to Religious Faith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 19; and Nigel Aston, Christianity and Revolutionary Europe, 1750-1830 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 24.
30. C. John Sommerville, The Secularization of Early Modern England: From Religious Culture to Religious Faith (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), 19; and Nigel Aston, Christianity and Revolutionary Europe, 1750-1830 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 24.
31. William Boyd and Edmund James King, The History of Western Education, 11th ed. (London: A. and C. Black, 1975), chap. 10.
32. Albert O. Hirschman, Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to Decline in Firms, Organizations, and States (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1970).
33. Encyclical mirari vos, 1832.
34. Staal, Rules without Meaning, 389.
35. Duncan J. Derrett, Religion, Law and the State in India (New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1999), 58.
36. Staal, Rules without Meaning, 115-30. Meaningless rituals may still serve a purpose -they may be enjoyable to perform, or help mark out borders within or between communities.
37. Wendy Doniger, "Hinduism by Any Other Name," Wilson Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1991): 35-40.
38. C. A. Bayly, Origins of Nationality in South Asia: Patriotism and Ethical Government in the Making of Modern India (New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1998), chap. 7.
39. There are some similarities between Hinduism's external toleration and the Ottoman Millet system, which gave Muslims, Jews, and Christians autonomy in religious affairs. Yet the two latter communities were clearly subordinate, and were tolerated as "people of the book." Hinduism's external tolerance is less qualified than the Millet system's tolerance.
40. Bayly, Origins of Nationality in South Asia, chap. 7.
41. Ashis Nandy, "The Politics of Secularism and the Recovery of Religious Tolerance," in Secularism and Its Critics, ed. Rajeev Bhargava (New Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1998), 336.
42. In addition to Nandy, see T. N. Madan, "Secularism in Its Place," in Bhargava, Secularism and Its Critics.
43. For the view that what we call Hinduism is really Brahmanism, see Gail Omvedt, Dalit Visions: The Anti-Caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity (New Delhi, India: Orient Longman, 1995). The pervasive discrimination that Dalits face is described in Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany, The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty, and the State in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). A good modern history of caste is Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). The classic but controversial text on caste is Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications, rev. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980).
44. For the view that what we call Hinduism is really Brahmanism, see Gail Omvedt, Dalit Visions: The Anti-Caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity (New Delhi, India: Orient Longman, 1995). The pervasive discrimination that Dalits face is described in Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany, The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty, and the State in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). A good modern history of caste is Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). The classic but controversial text on caste is Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications, rev. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980).
45. For the view that what we call Hinduism is really Brahmanism, see Gail Omvedt, Dalit Visions: The Anti-Caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity (New Delhi, India: Orient Longman, 1995). The pervasive discrimination that Dalits face is described in Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany, The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty, and the State in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). A good modern history of caste is Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). The classic but controversial text on caste is Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications, rev. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980).
46. For the view that what we call Hinduism is really Brahmanism, see Gail Omvedt, Dalit Visions: The Anti-Caste Movement and the Construction of an Indian Identity (New Delhi, India: Orient Longman, 1995). The pervasive discrimination that Dalits face is described in Oliver Mendelsohn and Marika Vicziany, The Untouchables: Subordination, Poverty, and the State in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998). A good modern history of caste is Susan Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India from the Eighteenth Century to the Modern Age (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999). The classic but controversial text on caste is Louis Dumont, Homo Hierarchicus: The Caste System and Its Implications, rev. ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980).
47. Imtiaz Ahmad, Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims in India, 2nd ed. (New Delhi, India: Manohar, 1978); and Donald Eugene Smith, India as a Secular State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963), 325.
48. Imtiaz Ahmad, Caste and Social Stratification among Muslims in India, 2nd ed. (New Delhi, India: Manohar, 1978); and Donald Eugene Smith, India as a Secular State (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1963), 325.
49. Mendelsohn and Vicziany, The Untouchables, 41.
50. Bina Agarwal, A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
51. Mark Tully, No Full Stops in India (New York: Viking, 1991), chap. 3.
52. Caste is shaped by Jati (birth group) and varna (order, class, or kind). There are thousands of jatis, but only four varnas. Traditionally, the varnas are Brahmans (priests), Kshatriyas (rulers, warriors, landed groups), Vaishyas (businesspeople), and Shudras (servile toilers). Dalits are outside this system.
53. Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India, 274. See, too, Gurpreet Mahajan's comments on how affirmative action makes it harder to uproot caste from Indian society. Gurpreet Mahajan, Identities and Rights: Aspects of Liberal Democracy in India (Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1998), 144-46.
54. Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India, 274. See, too, Gurpreet Mahajan's comments on how affirmative action makes it harder to uproot caste from Indian society. Gurpreet Mahajan, Identities and Rights: Aspects of Liberal Democracy in India (Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1998), 144-46.
55. Jonathan P. Parry, Death in Banaras (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
56. John Rawls, Political Liberalism (New York: Columbia University Press, 1993), 61, 63, xxiv.
57. Ibid., xxiv.
58. Yet Rawls also states that "I shall suppose - perhaps too optimistically - that, except for certain kinds of fundamentalism, all the main historical religions... may be seen as reasonable comprehensive doctrines. " Rawls is being too optimistic here. Ibid., 170.
59. Smith, India as a Secular State, 233. See the criticism of Smith on this and other grounds in Marc Galanter, "Secularism, East and West," in Bhargava, Secularism and Its Critics. 40. This question is asked in the Eastern European context in Will Kymlicka and Magdalena Opalski, Can Liberal Pluralism Be Exported? Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
60. Smith, India as a Secular State, 233. See the criticism of Smith on this and other grounds in Marc Galanter, "Secularism, East and West," in Bhargava, Secularism and Its Critics. 40. This question is asked in the Eastern European context in Will Kymlicka and Magdalena Opalski, Can Liberal Pluralism Be Exported? Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
61. Smith, India as a Secular State, 233. See the criticism of Smith on this and other grounds in Marc Galanter, "Secularism, East and West," in Bhargava, Secularism and Its Critics. 40. This question is asked in the Eastern European context in Will Kymlicka and Magdalena Opalski, Can Liberal Pluralism Be Exported? Western Political Theory and Ethnic Relations in Eastern Europe (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).
62. Most predominately Catholic countries in Europe have become Protestant as they now see religion as a private matter. I unfortunately cannot expand upon this argument here.
63. Will Kymlicka, Multicultural Citizenship: A Liberal Theory of Minority Rights (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 158.
64. Will Kymlicka, Liberalism, Community and Culture (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989), 196.
65. Tim Mulgan argues that liberal political philosophy cannot account for religions that treat the dead as agents with interests. While I am in general agreement with Mulgan about this, he treats the dead as having the same interests as the living, which is doubtful in many religions. Rather, the dead must be mollified in various ways. Tim Mulgan, "The Place of the Dead in Liberal Political Philosophy," Journal of Political Philosophy 7, no. 1 (1999): 52-70.
66. The issues of choice within groups is a matter of controversy among liberal theorists. An argument that contemporary liberalism tolerates too much discrimination within religions is in Susan Moller Okin, "'Mistresses of Their Own Destiny': Group Rights, Gender and Realistic Rights of Exit," Ethics 112, no. 2 (2002): 205-30. The opposite argument, that liberalism interferes too much within religious group life, is in Lucas Swaine, "A Liberalism of Conscience," Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 4 (2003): 369-91; see also Chandran Kukathas, Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). For a variety of views on choice and the right to exit within liberal theory and practice, see the essays in Avigail Eisenberg and Jeff Spinner-Halev, eds., Minorities within Minorities: Rights, Equality and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
67. The issues of choice within groups is a matter of controversy among liberal theorists. An argument that contemporary liberalism tolerates too much discrimination within religions is in Susan Moller Okin, "'Mistresses of Their Own Destiny': Group Rights, Gender and Realistic Rights of Exit," Ethics 112, no. 2 (2002): 205-30. The opposite argument, that liberalism interferes too much within religious group life, is in Lucas Swaine, "A Liberalism of Conscience," Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 4 (2003): 369-91; see also Chandran Kukathas, Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). For a variety of views on choice and the right to exit within liberal theory and practice, see the essays in Avigail Eisenberg and Jeff Spinner-Halev, eds., Minorities within Minorities: Rights, Equality and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
68. The issues of choice within groups is a matter of controversy among liberal theorists. An argument that contemporary liberalism tolerates too much discrimination within religions is in Susan Moller Okin, "'Mistresses of Their Own Destiny': Group Rights, Gender and Realistic Rights of Exit," Ethics 112, no. 2 (2002): 205-30. The opposite argument, that liberalism interferes too much within religious group life, is in Lucas Swaine, "A Liberalism of Conscience," Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 4 (2003): 369-91; see also Chandran Kukathas, Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). For a variety of views on choice and the right to exit within liberal theory and practice, see the essays in Avigail Eisenberg and Jeff Spinner-Halev, eds., Minorities within Minorities: Rights, Equality and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
69. The issues of choice within groups is a matter of controversy among liberal theorists. An argument that contemporary liberalism tolerates too much discrimination within religions is in Susan Moller Okin, "'Mistresses of Their Own Destiny': Group Rights, Gender and Realistic Rights of Exit," Ethics 112, no. 2 (2002): 205-30. The opposite argument, that liberalism interferes too much within religious group life, is in Lucas Swaine, "A Liberalism of Conscience," Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 4 (2003): 369-91; see also Chandran Kukathas, Liberal Archipelago: A Theory of Diversity and Freedom (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003). For a variety of views on choice and the right to exit within liberal theory and practice, see the essays in Avigail Eisenberg and Jeff Spinner-Halev, eds., Minorities within Minorities: Rights, Equality and Diversity (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005).
70. A collection of essays that includes considerable discussion on autonomy and religion in education is Kevin McDonough and Walter Feinberg, Education and Citizenship in Liberal-Democratic Societies: Teaching for Cosmopolitan Values and Collective Identities (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003).
71. Locke, Letter, 42.
72. The laws outlawing the devadasi and animal sacrifices are rather dubious from a liberal point of view. The practice of devadasi may have degenerated into prostitution, but that makes the case for reform not abolition. One can outlaw prostitution without making dancing illegal. There may be a case for regulating animal sacrifices to prevent cruelty to them, but this too does not mean outlawing animal sacrifices. Kay K. Jordan, "Devadasi Reform: Driving the Priestesses or the Prostitutes out of Hindu temples?" in Religion and Law in Independent India, ed. Robert Baird (New Delhi, India: Manohar, 1993). For an interesting argument on religious animal sacrifices, see Paula Casal, "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Animals?" Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 1 (2003): 1-22.
73. The laws outlawing the devadasi and animal sacrifices are rather dubious from a liberal point of view. The practice of devadasi may have degenerated into prostitution, but that makes the case for reform not abolition. One can outlaw prostitution without making dancing illegal. There may be a case for regulating animal sacrifices to prevent cruelty to them, but this too does not mean outlawing animal sacrifices. Kay K. Jordan, "Devadasi Reform: Driving the Priestesses or the Prostitutes out of Hindu temples?" in Religion and Law in Independent India, ed. Robert Baird (New Delhi, India: Manohar, 1993). For an interesting argument on religious animal sacrifices, see Paula Casal, "Is Multiculturalism Bad for Animals?" Journal of Political Philosophy 11, no. 1 (2003): 1-22.
74. For the ineffectual laws about Dalits, see Galanter, Modern India, chap. 9. For state oversight of temple finances, see Franklin A. Presler, Religion under Bureaucracy: Policy and Administration for Hindu temples in South India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1987). The problems that rural woman face despite legal reforms are described in Agarwal, A Field of One's Own.
75. For the ineffectual laws about Dalits, see Galanter, Modern India, chap. 9. For state oversight of temple finances, see Franklin A. Presler, Religion under Bureaucracy: Policy and Administration for Hindu temples in South India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1987). The problems that rural woman face despite legal reforms are described in Agarwal, A Field of One's Own.
76. For the ineffectual laws about Dalits, see Galanter, Modern India, chap. 9. For state oversight of temple finances, see Franklin A. Presler, Religion under Bureaucracy: Policy and Administration for Hindu temples in South India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1987). The problems that rural woman face despite legal reforms are described in Agarwal, A Field of One's Own.
77. Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India, 156; Mendelsohn and Vicziany, The Untouchables, 95.
78. Bayly, Caste, Society and Politics in India, 156; Mendelsohn and Vicziany, The Untouchables, 95.
79. As I write this, Hindu nationalism is quite strong in India.
80. Galanter, Modern India, chap. 10.
81. Prasenjit Duara, "The New Politics of Hinduism," Wilson Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1991): 42-49; and Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law, chap. 7. For a general treatment of recent Hindu nationalism see Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999).
82. Prasenjit Duara, "The New Politics of Hinduism," Wilson Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1991): 42-49; and Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law, chap. 7. For a general treatment of recent Hindu nationalism see Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999).
83. Prasenjit Duara, "The New Politics of Hinduism," Wilson Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1991): 42-49; and Jacobsohn, The Wheel of Law, chap. 7. For a general treatment of recent Hindu nationalism see Thomas Blom Hansen, The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999).
84. Germany is a liberal state that has managed to outlaw certain kinds of speech while upholding generally liberal values.
85. Martha C. Nussbaum, Sex and Social Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 116; and Jeff Spinner-Halev, "Feminism, Multiculturalism, Oppression and the State," Ethics 112, no. 1 (2001): 84-113.
86. Martha C. Nussbaum, Sex and Social Justice (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999), 116; and Jeff Spinner-Halev, "Feminism, Multiculturalism, Oppression and the State," Ethics 112, no. 1 (2001): 84-113.
87. Mendelsohn and Vicziany, The Untouchables, 111-17. There is a large debate about caste and its role in Indian society, but almost all scholars agree that caste continues to persist, even if the nature of caste changes, and even its role in the urban elite is less pronounced than in other segments of society. (India remains largely rural.) See the essays in C. J. Fuller, Caste Today (Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1996).
88. Mendelsohn and Vicziany, The Untouchables, 111-17. There is a large debate about caste and its role in Indian society, but almost all scholars agree that caste continues to persist, even if the nature of caste changes, and even its role in the urban elite is less pronounced than in other segments of society. (India remains largely rural.) See the essays in C. J. Fuller, Caste Today (Delhi, India: Oxford University Press, 1996).
89. One well-known sect is the Arya Samaj, which arose in the nineteenth century partly in response to Christian missionary activity. The Arya Samaj declared that there was one God, wanted to get rid of idolatry, caste, child marriage, Brahmanical claims of superiority, pilgrim ages, horoscopes, the ban against widow marriage, death rituals, and food taboos. The movement argued that there were certain texts that were central to Hinduism - the Vedas - and wanted a rationalistic monotheism. They also developed services with a Vedic fire ritual, hymns, and a lecture or sermon. They embraced proselytization. While these changes are clearly influenced by Christianity, it is also the case that they can lead to a more egalitarian Hinduism. Kenneth W. Jones, Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-century Punjab (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1976).
90. This is not to suggest that groups and poverty are unrelated in the West, since many poor groups are racially or ethnically marked (blacks, North African immigrants, and so on). Still, this connection is not as strong as it is with caste in India.
91. I explore this issue in Spinner-Halev, "Feminism, Multiculturalism, Oppression and the State."
92. Locke, Letter, 52.