Does modernity make religion politically irrelevant?
Conventional scholarly and popular wisdom says that it does. The
prevailing view assumes that the onset of western
modernity--characterized by the rise of nationalism, the dominance
of capitalism, and the emergence of powerful state
institutions--favors secularism and relegates religion to the
purely private realm. This collection of essays on nationalism and
religion in Europe and Asia challenges that view. Contributors show
that religion and politics are mixed together in complex and
vitally important ways not just in the East, but in the West as
well.
The book focuses on four societies: India, Japan, Britain, and
the Netherlands. It shows that religion and nationalism in these
societies combined to produce such notions as the nation being
chosen for a historical task (imperialism, for example), the
possibility of national revival, and political leadership as a form
of salvation. The volume also examines the qualities of religious
discourse and practice that can be used for nationalist purposes,
paying special attention to how religion can help to give meaning
to sacrifice in national struggle. The book's comparative approach
underscores that developments in colonizing and colonized
countries, too often considered separately, are subtly
interrelated.
In addition to the editors, the contributors are Benedict R.
Anderson, Talal Asad, Susan Bayly, Partha Chatterjee, Frans Groot,
Harry Harootunian, Hugh McLeod, Barbara Metcalf, and Peter van
Rooden.
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