Religion after Secularization in Australia

by Stanley, Timothy

• ISBN13: 9781137536891
• ISBN10: 1137536896
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-09-02
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Religion's persistent and new visibility in political life has prompted a significant global debate. One of this debate's key features concerns the nature and impact of secularization. This collection of essays draws together leading sociologists, historians, philosophers of religion, and political theorists in order to provide a broad and up-to-date account of religion after secularization. Contributors explore the meaning and conceptual legacies of religion, as well as the unique features of the Australian case such as religion as it relates to law, education, gender, media, and radical political movements. Intervening in the current debate, this book provides summative accounts of the history, culture, and legal interactions that have informed Australia's relationship to religion and secularization. Contributors critically analyze and engage with secular political theory concerning the public sphere, while also dissecting deliberative politics and democratic practices. This book propels the debate over religion's place in public life in new directions and promotes urgently needed public understanding.

Author Biography

Timothy Stanley is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he teaches and researches topics on philosophy and religion. He has written on religion in the public sphere, the religious nature of technology, and the question of metaphysics and theology. He led the two year funded research project on Religion in Political Life based at the University of Newcastle, which was the impetus for the collection of essays in this book.

Table of Contents

Preface, Timothy Stanley
The Australian Case
1. A Political History of the Secular in Australia 1788-1945, Stephen A. Chavura and Ian Tregenza
2. Legacies of Sectarianism and the Convict Past in Australia, Hilary M. Carey
3. Framing the Kingdom: Growth and Change in a Conservative Social Movement Network, Marion Maddox
4. Australian Secularism, Whiteness and the British Monarchy, Holly Randell-Moon
5. The Place of Religion in Australian Socio-Legal Interaction, Paul Babie
6. Whose Rights Matter?: Women's Rights, Antidiscrimination Legislation, and the Case of Religious Exceptions, Kathleen McPhillips
After Secularization
7. Genealogies of the Secular, Matthew Chrulew
8. Freedom, Democracy and the Socialist Transformation, Roland Boer
9. Decisionism under Post-Democratic Conditions, Michael Hoelzl
10. Utopia and the Public Sphere, Timothy Stanley
Epilogue: Religion and Other Ideologies in Political Life, Gary Bouma
Bibliography