Linell E. Cady - Comparative Secularisms in a Global Age [2010][A]

Book Description
Comparative Secularisms in a Global Age explores the history and politics of secularism and the public role of religion in France, India, Turkey, and the United States. It interprets the varieties of secularism as a series of evolving and contested processes of defining and remaking religion, rather than a static solution to the challenges posed by religious and political difference. It features essays from leading scholars from across disciplines, secular and religious traditions, and regional expertise. The volume illustrates a new approach to the hotly contested relation between political authority and religious tradition.

Reviews
"This fascinating and timely volume warns us against assuming any facile understanding of the definition of secularism and the relation between religion and society. The contributors to this volume ably show us how, in the words of the introduction, 'various modes of secularism provide different spaces for religion.'" - Journal of Contemporary Religion

"As the study of secularism continues to expand, this volume crucially extends our knowledge of secularism as a relational category. It de-centers the religion-secular binary and the presumption of European origins in favor of comparative study of France, India, Turkey, and the United States. If you want a better understanding of both histories of secularism and the conflicts driving events in today's world, read this book." - Janet Jakobsen, Editor with Ann Pellegrini of Secularisms

"This rich collection of essays not only provides deep insight into processes of secularization in France, India, Turkey, and the US, it also enables us to reconceptualize what is meant by 'the secular' and 'the religious.'It adds important empirical and theoretical insight to current conversations on this question and, indeed, reframes the entire debate." - Joan W. Scott, Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science, Institute for Advanced Study

About the Author
Linell E. Cady is the Franca G. Oreffice Dean’s Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at Arizona State University, and the Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. She is the author of Religion, Theology and American Public Life (1993), and co–editor of Religious Studies, Theology, and the University: Conflicting Maps, Changing Terrain (2002), and Religion and Conflict in South and Southeast Asia: Disrupting Violence (2007). She is also co-editor of ReligionDispatches, an online magazine devoted to advancing public scholarship and reflection on religion and public affairs.
Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Northwestern University. She writes and teaches about the cultural and religious foundations of international relations, with a focus on relations between Europe, the United States, and the Middle East. Her book The Politics of Secularism in International Relations was published by Princeton in 2008.