Rethinking the Role of Religion in Changing Public Spheres: Some Comparative Perspectives

Similarly nuanced analysis of the concept of the secular is provided by historian Nikki Keddie, who emphasizes the fact that the word secular has had a far greater variety of meanings than current usage may suggest.89 For centuries in Europe, it referred to the change in clerical status whereby a monk became a secular priest.90 It was only in the nineteenth century that secularism became known as the independent doctrine that religious institutions and values should play no role in the affairs of the state.91

Keddie compares the rise and fall of secular and religious politics in various parts of the world and notes the contextual factors that influence these trends.92 For example, Muslim countries have negative views of secularism because they associate it with autocratic rule and western influence.93 This is well evidenced in the case of Nigeria, where Nigerian Muslims commonly critique the purported neutrality of the secular state as a western Christian conspiracy to undermine Islam.94 By comparison, Islam as a force for mobilization still seems relatively untainted. Yet somewhat paradoxically, Keddie notes, the Islamic country where anti-clerical feelings run highest and secularist reforms have been successful is present-day Iran.95

Keddie contends that constant battles in South Asia-namely in India and Sri Lanka-between religious nationalism and secular movements serve to weaken support for secularism in the region.96 So too does the imposition of secularist ideas from the top down, without ensuring support for them at the popular level or from religious leaders.97 Since Western political hegemony is less of an issue in India than it is in the Muslim world, there are many Indian intellectuals who defend secularism even if they may criticize its application.98 In fact, Keddie states that contemporary India has probably produced the largest body of writing in the modern world debating the merits of secularism.99 With the controversial efforts of the previous Indian government (the Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP) to promote Hindu nationalism to the detriment of religious minorities,100 a number of recent publications advocate the need to move beyond current understandings of secularism in order to effectively protect minority interests.101

The writings of scholars like Asad and Keddie teach that there is a need to put the concepts of secularism and religion in their appropriate historical and cultural contexts. Seen in context, these concepts are not always as unequivocal or as polarized as is commonly assumed.102 Furthermore, secularization has been in progress around the world for far longer, and its success has been far more partial, than is often known. This comparative and historical knowledge could help mitigate some of the current tensions and misunderstandings over secularism, notably in states such as Nigeria.103

B. Religious Pluralism

Accompanying the increased role of religion in the public sphere is the challenge and opportunity of religious diversity. In some parts of the world, such as Latin America, the concern is less about secularization and the marginalization of religion and more about the rise of new religious groups competing for power, recognition, and resources. Disestablishing state religions and dismantling the complicities between dominant religions and state power have changed the stakes of coexistence between religious communities. Against the backdrop of the forces of democratization, mediatization, and the global market, religious groups are compelled to justify their existence to the state and consumers alike. These processes are clearly visible in many Latin American countries, where the powerful Roman Catholic Church now has to compete in the marketplace along with burgeoning evangelical groups and indigenous revival movements.