Claims made in the name of secularism vary greatly. At one extreme, self-described secularists in the United States portray their cause as the beleaguered defense of the separation of church and state. As their critics rightly point out, faith in naturalistic worldviews often bubbles up in the fuzzy definitions of secularism that underlie their advocacy. At the other extreme, political and critical theorists use the term as shorthand for a master theory of global modernity. They see secularism as a set of discourses, policies, and constitutional arrangements whereby modern states and liberal elites have sought to regulate religion and, in the process, have contributed to the “immanent frame” in which religion is now located. Rather than advocacy, they see their task as the demystification of secularism.
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Queer faiths: Can conversions uncover and unsettle racialized religion?
by Jana GlaeseJournalists, politicians and even scholars in Europe commonly use the word “Muslim” to refer not to religion, but to a person’s national origin, ethnicity, migration background, and incomplete membership in the national imaginary. This slippage happens as religion is used as an overarching category to speak about Maghrebi and Turkish migrants, and as immigration, Islam, and delinquency are consistently mentioned in the same breath, even in governmental studies. The conflation of religious and racial categories is important to understand because it pertains to a wider tendency of veiling anti-immigrant and racist sentiments in a language of cultural critique. It also makes one wonder whether the secular ideal of separating religion, culture, and politics is unfulfilled, if not hypocritical. But how exactly does religion become akin to a racial category? And how can we unravel their association?
Christianity and human rights at Religion Dispatches
by The EditorsAs part of a joint project, Religion Dispatches contributing editor Austin Dacey has written a series of posts on The Immanent Frame's recent discussion on Christianity and human rights. The last in the series asks what is the true extent of Catholicism's contribution to the contemporary discourse of human rights.
John Boehner resigning
by The EditorsAmidst growing tension between conservative factions in Washington, Speaker of the House John Boehner has announced his intention to resign from Congress in October, leading some to speculate on whether yesterday's remarks from Pope Francis played a role in Boehner's decision.
The religious roots of ISIS
by The EditorsAt Arc of the Universe, Daniel Philpott draws from the recent New York Times article, "ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape" and the earlier Atlantic article, "What ISIS Really Wants," to add to the long-running debate on the universality of religious freedom, and emphasizes the importance of political theology.