Religion and the State

A Comparative Sociology

Edited by Jack Barbalet, Adam Possamai, Bryan S. Turner

Publication date:

15 December 2011

Publisher

Anthem Press

Dimensions:

229x153mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780857287984

With a clear statement of the theoretical issues in the debates about secularization and post-secularism, ‘Religion and the State: A Comparative Sociology’ considers a number of major case studies – from China, Europe, Singapore and South Asia – in order to understand the rise of public religions in the modern state. By distinguishing between political secularization – the separation of state and religion – and social secularization – the transformation of the everyday practice of religion – this volume offers an integrating framework within which to analyze these different societies.

Introduction: States, Consumption and Managing Religion; PART I: FROM DEPRIVITIZATION TO SECURITIZATION; 1. Religion in Liberal and Authoritarian States; 2. Religion in Prisons and in Partnership with the State; 3. The Secularization Thesis and the Secular State: Reflections with Special Attention to Debates in Australia; 4. Secularism, Religion and the Status Quo; 5. Managing China’s Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor and the Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang; 6. The Tension Between State and Religion in American Foreign Policy; 7. Church, State and Society in Post-communist Europe; PART II: FROM PIETISM TO CONSUMERISM; 8. Chinese Religion, Market Society and the State; 9. Hindu Normalization, Nationalism and Consumer Mobilization; 10. Clash of Secularity and Religiosity: The Staging of Secularism and Islam through the Icons of Atatürk and the Veil in Turkey; 11. Gramsci, Jediism, the Standardization of Popular Religion and the State; PART III: CONCLUDING COMMENTS; 12. Concerning the Current Recompositions of Religion and of Politics; 13. Public Religions and the State: A Comparative Perspective

‘Religion has emerged as a key variable in understanding modern societies, and all modern nations, no matter their formal definitions of church-state relations, must engage in the management of religions and religious groups in order to maintain peace between rival religious factions as well as societal harmony. This volume by eminent scholars in the field offers great insight into how public religions are functioning in a variety of modern states, the perils and benefits garnered as governmental authorities attempt to manage this crucial area of public life, and the need to redefine the meaning of secularization in the modern world.’ —Dr James T. Richardson, University of Nevada, Reno