State and Secularism : Perspectives from Asia

by Siam-heng, Michael Heng; Liew, Ten Chin

• ISBN13: 9789814282376
• ISBN10: 9814282375
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-05-30
• Publisher: Textstream

Summary

The concept of a secular state is important in many parts of Asia and how this is resolved has important implications for The social, economic and political development of various Asian countries. Unfortunately, problems of the secular state have all along been studied based on the historical experience of state formation in Europe, with little (or no) input from the Asian perspective. This book will for The very first time, present mainly Asian perspectives, while drawing on Western experience as well. Conceptual issues are discussed together with detailed accounts on how different countries and traditions understand and seek to implement the ideas of a secular state.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
List of Contributors	p. ix
An East Asian Perspective on Religion and Secularism	p. 1
Secularism and its Limits	p. 7
The Secular State and its Challenges	p. 23
Rawlsian Liberalism, Secularism, and the Call for Cosmopolitanism	p. 37
The Machiavellian Problem and Liberal Secularism	p. 61
Secularism, Critical Conviction and the 21st Century Project of the European Union: Some Thoughts from Asia	p. 77
Secular Religiosity in Chinese Politics: A Confucian Perspective	p. 95
State and Secularism, the French Laïcité System	p. 123
Secularism and the Constitution: Striking the Right Balance	p. 137
Secularism and Vaidic Worldview	p. 155
Secularism in India—A Minority Perspective	p. 169
The Pakistan Islamic State Project: A Secular Critique	p. 185
State and Secularism in Bangladesh	p. 213
The State, Egyptian Intellectuals, Intolerance and Religious Discourse	p. 235
Perda, Fatwa and the Challenge to Secular Citizenship in Indonesia	p. 263
Malaysia: Multicultural Society, Islamic State, or What?	p. 279
Religious Revival and the Emerging Secularism in China	p. 301
State and Religion in Turkey: Which Secularism?	p. 319
Pragmatic Secularism, Civil Religion, and Political Legitimacy in Singapore	p. 339
Index	p. 359
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