ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to develop the concept of the public sphere and its articulation with religion. It begins by considering different stories of the genesis of the public sphere – secular and religious. It then argues that the concept of a unitary public sphere is no longer viable and needs to be replaced by an account of multiple, intersecting and contesting public spheres, whose inter-relation is problematic. It also argues that the political and historical character of the public sphere in different contexts needs to be more fully recognized, in particular in accounting for the articulation of religious and post-religious elements, and of national and cultural identities.
