Conflict, Secularism, and Toleration

2021 ◽  
pp. 95-113
Author(s):  
Uday S. Mehta

This chapter is organized around a contrast between two views relating to religious diversity and toleration and the differing logics implicit in them. The first is that of M. K. Gandhi, in which religious diversity and toleration was taken to be a given feature of the fluid historical, social, and normative texture of India. It therefore did not take toleration as requiring a special intervention. In contrast, the second takes diversity as given, which necessarily tends toward conflict, and hence toward anarchy and ultimately death. The first takes religious identities and diversity as given; the second is reliant on the functioning of the state, because it has to mediate between the contending claims of identity.

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Nurul Fajriah

This article is a study of literature describing religious harmony: the relevance of Article 25 of the Medina Charter and Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution. The Medina Charter was made in the 7th century (classical century) and Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution was born in modern times, around the 20th century. Both have relevancy which states that every citizen is free to adhere to their respective religions. The plurality of society in Indonesia has similarities and differences from the plurality of society in Medina around 622 AD. The stability and harmony of religious communities in the Medina at that time was regulated in the Medina charter which is the constitution of the Medina state. Harmony among religious communities in Indonesia is also an important concern of the Indonesian government as stipulated in Article 29 of the 1945 Constitution. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the state because the state believes that religious diversity is not a disintegrating factor for the Indonesian people.Abstrak: Artikel ini adalah kajian literatur yang mendeskripsikan kerukunan umat beragama: relevansi pasal 25 Piagam Madinah dan Pasal 29 UUD 1945. Piagam Madinah dibuat pada abad VII (abad klasik) dan pasal 29 UUD 1945 baru lahir pada zaman modern, sekitar abad XX. Keduanya memiliki relevansi yang menyatakan bahwa setiap warga negara bebas menganut agamanya masing-masing. Kemajemukan masyarakat di Indonesia mempunyai sisi-sisi persamaan dan perbedaan dengan kemajemukan masyarakat di Madinah sekitar tahun 622 M. Keberlangsungan dan keharmonisan umat beragama di negara Madinah pada waktu itu diatur dalam piagam Madinah yang merupakan konstitusi negara Madinah. Kerukunan antar umat beragama di Indonesia juga menjadi perhatian penting pemerintah dengan adanya kebijakan Negara Republik Indonesia dari segi agama yang tertuang dalam pasal 29 UUD 1945. Kebebasan beragama ini dijamin oleh negara karena keyakinan bahwa keberagaman agama tidak akan menjadi disentegrating factor bagi bangsa Indonesia


Author(s):  
Rochana Bajpai

What role does secularism have in the governance of religious diversity in an age marked by the assertion of religio-cultural identities across the world? India, with its long history of religious pluralism, a state ideology of secularism, and the ascendancy of Hindu nationalism, is a key site for examining the disposition of secularism towards religious identities and diversity. Secularism and multiculturalism are often seen as opposed in political debates involving religious minorities, notably the well-known French headscarf case. Several scholars have suggested that religious traditions offer better resources for toleration than modern secularism (for India, see, for example, Madan 1998: 316; Nandy 1998:336–7). Others, more sympathetic to secularism, have also suggested that it may be deficient in the normative resources required for the accommodation of religious practices, particularly in the case of minorities (Mahajan, this volume; Modood 2010).


Author(s):  
Andrew Copson

Secularism has always been controversial. But today both the official secularism of constitutional republics and the secular ethic of liberal democracies are also being rocked by rapid social changes, resurgent religious identities and nationalisms, increasing migration, and many other factors. Secularism is an idea under siege by its opponents at the same time as conflicts within secularism pit its different aspects against each other in new tensions. ‘Hard questions and new conflicts’ considers secularism in practice, education as a feature of secularism, blasphemy and criticism of religions, religious expression in a secular state, religious diversity in the West, and resurgent political religion.


2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 487-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Syafiq Hasyim

This article highlights the role of Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI, the Council of Indonesian Ulama) in making anti-pluralism discourse and practice which are evident in its fatwa on belief (Arabic: ‘aqīda). It begins with the explanation of MUI which in the first three decades of its establishment was a fatwa body that supported pluralism, but since the downfall of the authoritarian Suharto regime in 1998, has changed its position from supporter to detractor of pluralism. This article argues that the institutionalization of anti- pluralism discourse through the MUI fatwa creates complexity especially because Indonesia contains the idea of pluralism (respecting cultural and religious diversity) in its constitution. The situation becomes more complex when the state and also Muslim organizations strengthen the position of MUI in monopolizing fatwa-making on ‘aqīda issues. The monopolization of fatwa on Islamic belief issues creates such a negative impact for religious freedom in Indonesia due to its fundamental characteristics that allow only a single judgment for the Muslim communities in understanding and interpreting their Islamic belief. Finally this article concludes the importance of Indonesia for protecting pluralism for maintaining the diversity of cultures and religions in this country.


2018 ◽  
pp. 139-158
Author(s):  
Mariana Rosca

This paper reviews the religious diversity theory in the writings of Hick, Legenhausen and Netland, among others. It distinguishes two main approaches to religious diversity, pluralism and exclusivism, and examines their negative and positive application in the current situation of new minorities’ management policies. Drawing on current praxis the negative consequences of religious minorities’ disintegration processes are identified. The paper argues for the need to develop further actions that could effectively accommodate minority´s religious identities, in order to build a common and shared framework, with a certain degree of flexibility to be able to adapt to future social and cultural changes.


Author(s):  
Muhammad Wildan

As the profile of religions in the world is changing rapidly, religious diversity is becoming a more common phenomenon nowadays in almost every society. Indonesia and European Union (EU) are not an exception to be more diverse and plural societies. Although religious diversity gives such richness of culture in society, religions are known as vulnerable entities. Many social problems caused by religions brought about various conflicts and violent actions on a big scale and also numerous hostilities, discriminations, and hatred on a small scale. Many regulations have been issued to address such social tensions both in Indonesia and the EU. However, many conflicts, hostilities or discriminations are recurring in both Indonesia and EU states. Interestingly, in many cases, hostilities and discrimination even done by the apparatus of the state. The current paper is dedicated to explore how these countries deal with religious diversity and whether there are social tensions and discriminations occurred. Religion as a common phenomenon in the world should be seen more as a challenge for every country rather than a contentious threat.


Author(s):  
Gilles Dorronsoro ◽  
Olivier Grojean

This introductory chapter provides an overview of identity and identity hierarchies, identifying the three ways in which hierarchies are transformed. The rapid and even brutal transformation of identity hierarchies, a common feature in the countries studied here, is based on three dynamics: a revolution in which the center redefines the reference identity, socio-economic transformations increasing the level of interaction and competition, and moral shocks or changes to the regimes of subjectification. The brutal denaturalization of group hierarchies occurs when the state instigates a new relative value of religious or ethnic identities in the aftermath of a revolution. Moreover, migrations, rural exodus, and the redefinition of ethnic skills in industrialized modes of production all transform the value of identities. Lastly, the shift from the left-wing “revolutionary idea” to Islamism brings with it new regimes of subjectification, placing religious identities at the center of the political stage and of individuals' identifications.


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