ABSTRACT

Exploring the viability of new perspectives on secularisation and the idea of postsecularism, this book reflects on their relevance when considered in the context of different societies within and outside the West.

The topic of secularisation has been recently reconsidered by prominent theorists, such as Jürgen Habermas, Talal Asad, Charles Taylor, and José Casanova. Offering a comparative critique of postsecularism, the contributors extend the discourse on postsecularism to include non-Western experiences, providing comprehensive perspectives on the role of religion in the public sphere and considering the validity of the concept of postsecularism. Drawn from a variety of disciplines, the contributors articulate a coherent analysis of the role of religion in the public sphere from a perspective that engages in the envisaged dialogue.

This insightful book will be important for those researching secularism and postsecularism, especially from a non-Western perspective, and it will also be of interest to scholars working on politics and religion in general, political philosophy, and African studies.

chapter |9 pages

Introduction

Edited ByUchenna Okeja

chapter 1|15 pages

The aporias of global democracy

chapter 2|16 pages

Religion’s public sphere

Postsecularism and the world society

chapter 3|23 pages

Beyond legislative postsecularism in the West

Custom and constitution in an African context

chapter 4|19 pages

To be secular and neutral

The challenge of religion in South Africa

chapter 5|20 pages

Religion, culture and secularism

Beyond the Western paradigm

chapter 6|20 pages

Superstition and modernity

The conflict thesis, secularization thesis, and anti-Catholicism

chapter 7|25 pages

Religion and the postsecular

Reflections on the Indian experience 1

chapter 8|23 pages

“God reloaded”

The Pentecostal political transgression and Africa’s non-secularity