• Religious aspirations, public religion, and the secularity of pluralism

    Author(s):
    Patrick Eisenlohr (see profile)
    Date:
    2014
    Group(s):
    Anthropology
    Subject(s):
    Religion, History, Islam, Secularization, Religions, South Asia
    Item Type:
    Book chapter
    Tag(s):
    Postsecularism, Public Sphere, Secularity, Talal Asad, Charles Taylor, History of religions, Indian religions, South Asian religions
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/M6482W
    Abstract:
    In this contribution, I critically engage with the notion of the postsecular through the lens of religious mobilizations among Muslims in Mauritius and in Mumbai. Religious activism among Sunnis in Mauritius and Shi‘ites in Mumbai conforms to a trend of increasingly salient public religion in the world today that has led to widespread doubting of the classical secularization hypothesis. At the same time, these mobilizations also provide an illustration of how processes of globalization and religious activism intersect. Nevertheless, the forms of public religion I discuss also show the deep imprint of the nation-state and its regimes of religious diversity. In a combination of displays of public piety with pledges to good citizenship, religious vitality among Sunni Muslims in Mauritius and Shi‘ite Muslims in Mauritius responds to dominant forms of governance and associated notions of public order in its national contexts. In Mauritius and India, as in many other nation-states, the latter need no justification by divine actors, but follow an immanent logic that can be called secular in a specific sense.
    Metadata:
    Published as:
    Book chapter    
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    6 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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