Secularism, Religion and Multicultural Citizenship

by Edited by Geoffrey Brahm Levey , Tariq Modood , Foreword by Charles Taylor

• ISBN13: 9780521873604
• ISBN10: 0521873606
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-12-22
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Islamist attacks of 9/11, the Danish cartoon affair and rioting by Muslim youths in France are just some of the events that have caused the 'Muslim question' to become a key issue of public debate in many western democracies. Secularism, Religion and Multicultural Citizenship argues that the Muslim case raises important questions about how we understand western secularism and respond to new religious claims in multicultural democracies. The contributors challenge prevailing assumptions about the history and practice of western secularism and recover the pragmatism behind liberal principles in negotiating new conditions. By situating the Muslim experience in relation to western secularism and liberal democratic practice, and through examining a variety of national contexts (including Britain, Germany, France, Denmark, the United States, Australia and India), this book extends thinking about our contemporary condition and considers the broader significance for multicultural liberal democracies.

Table of Contents

Foreword: What is secularism?

Secularism and religion in a multicultural age

Debating Secularism

The shallow legitimacy of secular liberal orders: the case of early modern

France on the knife-edge of religion: commemorating the centenary of the law of 9 December 1905 on the separation of church and state

Political secularism: why it is needed and what can be learnt from its Indian version

Secularism, public reason or moderately agonistic democracy?

Secularism and Multicultural Citizenship

Immigration and the new religious pluralism: a European/United States comparison

Muslims, religious equality and secularism

Contemporary politics of secularism

Muslims in the west and their attitudes to full participation in western societies: some reflections

Liberal democracy, multicultural citizenship and the Danish cartoon affair

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