Affective dynamics of conflicts between religious practice and secular self-understanding

This chapter proposes an understanding of the emotional dynamics involved in the conflicts between religion and the ideal of a secular public in many contemporary Western societies. This understanding encompasses the relations between societal groups and the recognition of cultural difference, which have proven to be key challenges of many late modern societies. Regarding these emotional dynamics, we suggest a perspective that is not primarily concerned with speculating about people’s phenomenal feelings vis-à-vis these debates, but with the discursive construction and political strategies at evoking such emotions as well as with the social ramifications of these religious and secular emotions.