Religious Politics and Secular States by Scott W Hibbard

Religious Politics and Secular States by Scott W Hibbard

This comparative analysis probes why conservative renderings of religious tradition in the United States, India, and Egypt remain so influential in the politics of these three ostensibly secular societies. The United States, Egypt, and India were quintessential models of secular modernity in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1980s and 1990s, conservative Islamists challenged the Egyptian government, India witnessed a surge in Hindu nationalism, and the Christian right in the United States rose to dominate the Republican Party and large swaths of the public discourse. Using a nuanced theoretical framework that emphasizes the interaction of religion and politics, Scott W. Hibbard argues that three interrelated issues led to this state of affairs. First, as an essential part of the construction of collective identities, religion serves as a basis for social solidarity and political mobilization. Second, in providing a moral framework, religion's traditional elements make it relevant to modern political life. Third, and most significant, in manipulating religion for political gain, political elites undermined the secular consensus of the modern state that had been in place since the end of World War II. Together, these factors sparked a new era of right-wing religious populism in the three nations. Although much has been written about the resurgence of religious politics, scholars have paid less attention to the role of state actors in promoting new visions of religion and society. Religious Politics and Secular States fills this gap by situating this trend within long-standing debates over the proper role of religion in public life.

Students of contemporary religion and contemporary politics should consider Hibbard's argument very seriously-- Jack David Eller Anthropology Review Database With its accessible language and rich examples, this book would be of interest to a wide audience that includes general readers as well as scholars of religion and politics. Choice His analysis, carried through across three different religions, is impressive. -- Jonathan Benthall Times Literary Supplement This is a fascinating work, well worth a careful read by Middle East specialists. -- Paul Sedra Review of Middle East Studies

Scott W. Hibbard is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at DePaul University. He is the coauthor of Islamic Activism and U.S. Foreign Policy.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781421405773
ISBN 10	1421405776
Title	Religious Politics and Secular States
Author	Scott W Hibbard
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Johns Hopkins University Press
Year published	2012-07-15
Number of pages	328
Prizes	Winner of IPSA Charles H. Levine Memorial Book Prize 2011 (United States)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable