edited by Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Saba Mahmood and Peter G. Danchin
University of Chicago Press, 2015 Cloth: 978-0-226-24847-9 | Paper: 978-0-226-24850-9 | eISBN: 978-0-226-24864-6 Library of Congress Classification BL65.P7P64235 2015 Dewey Decimal Classification 323.442
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
ABOUT THIS BOOK
In a remarkably short period of time, the realization of religious freedom has achieved broad consensus as an indispensable condition for peace. Faced with widespread reports of religious persecution, public and private actors around the world have responded with laws and policies designed to promote freedom of religion. But what precisely is being promoted? What are the cultural and epistemological assumptions underlying this response, and what forms of politics are enabled in the process?
The fruits of the three-year Politics of Religious Freedom research project, the contributions to this volume unsettle the assumption—ubiquitous in policy circles—that religious freedom is a singular achievement, an easily understood state of affairs, and that the problem lies in its incomplete accomplishment. Taking a global perspective, the more than two dozen contributors delineate the different conceptions of religious freedom predominant in the world today, as well as their histories and social and political contexts. Together, the contributions make clear that the reasons for persecution are more varied and complex than is widely acknowledged, and that the indiscriminate promotion of a single legal and cultural tool meant to address conflict across a wide variety of cultures can have the perverse effect of exacerbating the problems that plague the communities cited as falling short.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan is professor in and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also an affiliated professor of law at Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law.Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is associate professor in the Departments of Political Science and (by courtesy) Religious Studies at Northwestern University. Saba Mahmood is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Peter G. Danchin is professor of law and director of the International and Comparative Law Program at the University of Maryland School of Law.
REVIEWS
"This rich collection brings together scholars from different fields to dispel simplistic ideas about religious freedom. Through numerous case studies exploring complex and changeable meanings of the term in different parts of the world, the authors show that religious freedom is not the universal standard of democracy its proponents intend for it to be. At the same time, the contributors reach beyond their main topic to demonstrate the importance, and even necessity, of interdisciplinary work. Thus in dispelling simplistic ideas about a supposedly universal norm, this fine book announces a new era of academic collaboration."
— Amanda Porterfield, Florida State University, author of Conceived in Doubt
"The principle of religious freedom, central to the liberal politics of the modern world, is increasingly becoming an object of critical reflection. This collection, edited by four distinguished scholars, is a welcome contribution to this important topic. I have learnt something from each of these thoughtful essays. Everyone interested in recent debates on secularism will benefit from reading them."
— Talal Asad, Graduate Center, City University of New York
"This extraordinary volume brings together the leading scholars of the idea and practice of 'religious freedom' today, in conversation with each other and with their critics. Beyond any simple for/against dichotomy, the contributors show how the admirable resonance of 'religious freedom' masks a more troubling reality, both at the historical origins of the concept and in its contemporary strategic deployments. Among the book’s many contributions is its sustained and careful examination of the mutual entanglement of 'religion,' in its modern semantic range, and law, and the implication of both in national and global politics, from early modernity forward. The Politics of Religious Freedom is a definitive collection of the best critical work on the subject."
— Robert Orsi, Northwestern University
“The contributors repeatedly make the point [that], rather than a single, stable principle of universal application, religious freedom is polyvalent and reflects the historical conditions of its composition. . . . Highly recommended.”
— Choice
“A book which is deeply satisfying both for quality of writing and for quality of scholarship, one which I look forward to using extensively in my work and in the construction of syllabi."
— Jessica L. Radin, University of Toronto, Middle East Law and Governance
"Taken individually, these essays are erudite, consistently interesting, and well written. Taken collectively, they are a tour de force for deepening our knowledge and understanding of a concept many or most of us have simply taken for granted in our intellectual lives.”
— Daniel Liechty, Illinois State University, Religion
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Saba Mahmood, and Peter G. Danchin
PART 1. Religion
Preface Winnifred Fallers Sullivan
Chapter 1. Imagining the Hebrew Republic: Christian Genealogies of Religious Freedom Robert Yelle
Chapter 2. On the Freedom of the Concepts of Religion and Belief Yvonne Sherwood
Chapter 3. Believing in Religious Freedom Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Chapter 4. What Is Religious Freedom Supposed to Free? Webb Keane
Chapter 5. The Power of Pluralist Thinking Courtney Bender
Chapter 6. Refl ections on the Politics of Religious Freedom, with Attention to Hawaii Greg Johnson
Chapter 7. Traditional, African, Religious, Freedom? Rosalind I. J. Hackett
PART 2. History
Preface Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Chapter 8. The Problem with the History of Toleration Evan Haefeli
Chapter 9. Religious Minorities and Citizenship in the Long Nineteenth Century: Some Contexts of Jewish Emancipation David Sorkin
Chapter 10. Varieties of Religious Freedom and Governance: A Practical Perspective Robert W. Hefner
Chapter 11. Religious Freedom between Truth and Tactic Samuel Moyn
Chapter 12. Religious Freedom, Minority Rights, and Geopolitics Saba Mahmood
Chapter 13. Ceylon/Sri Lanka: The Politics of Religious Freedom and the End of Empire
Benjamin Schonthal
Chapter 14. Liberty as Recognition
Nandini Chatterjee
PART 3. Law and Politics
Preface Peter G. Danchin
Chapter 15. Postapartheid Treatment of Religious Freedom in South Africa Waheeda Amien
Chapter 16. Religious Freedom in Postrevolutionary Tunisia Nadia Marzouki
Chapter 17. Beyond Establishment Lori G. Beaman
Chapter 18. The Bishops, the Sisters, and Religious Freedom Elizabeth A. Castelli
Chapter 19. The World That Smith Made Winnifred Fallers Sullivan
Chapter 20. Religious Freedom in the Panopticon of Enlightenment Rationality Peter G. Danchin
Chapter 21. Everson’s Children Ann Pellegrini
PART 4. Freedom
Preface Saba Mahmood
Chapter 22. Protecting Freedom of Religion in the Secular Age Cécile Laborde
Chapter 23. Freeing Religion at the Birth of South Sudan Noah Salomon
Chapter 24. Is Religion Free? Michael Lambek
Chapter 25. Religious Freedom and the Bind of Suspicion in Contemporary Secularity Hussein Ali Agrama
Chapter 26. Religious Repression and Religious Freedom: An Analysis of Their Contradictions in (Post- )Soviet Contexts Mathijs Pelkmans
Chapter 27. Religious Freedom’s Oxymoronic Edge Wendy Brown
Contributors
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who has a disability that prevents you
from using this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the disability coordinator at your school fill out this form.
edited by Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Saba Mahmood and Peter G. Danchin
University of Chicago Press, 2015 Cloth: 978-0-226-24847-9 Paper: 978-0-226-24850-9 eISBN: 978-0-226-24864-6
In a remarkably short period of time, the realization of religious freedom has achieved broad consensus as an indispensable condition for peace. Faced with widespread reports of religious persecution, public and private actors around the world have responded with laws and policies designed to promote freedom of religion. But what precisely is being promoted? What are the cultural and epistemological assumptions underlying this response, and what forms of politics are enabled in the process?
The fruits of the three-year Politics of Religious Freedom research project, the contributions to this volume unsettle the assumption—ubiquitous in policy circles—that religious freedom is a singular achievement, an easily understood state of affairs, and that the problem lies in its incomplete accomplishment. Taking a global perspective, the more than two dozen contributors delineate the different conceptions of religious freedom predominant in the world today, as well as their histories and social and political contexts. Together, the contributions make clear that the reasons for persecution are more varied and complex than is widely acknowledged, and that the indiscriminate promotion of a single legal and cultural tool meant to address conflict across a wide variety of cultures can have the perverse effect of exacerbating the problems that plague the communities cited as falling short.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Winnifred Fallers Sullivan is professor in and chair of the Department of Religious Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She is also an affiliated professor of law at Indiana University Bloomington Maurer School of Law.Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is associate professor in the Departments of Political Science and (by courtesy) Religious Studies at Northwestern University. Saba Mahmood is associate professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Peter G. Danchin is professor of law and director of the International and Comparative Law Program at the University of Maryland School of Law.
REVIEWS
"This rich collection brings together scholars from different fields to dispel simplistic ideas about religious freedom. Through numerous case studies exploring complex and changeable meanings of the term in different parts of the world, the authors show that religious freedom is not the universal standard of democracy its proponents intend for it to be. At the same time, the contributors reach beyond their main topic to demonstrate the importance, and even necessity, of interdisciplinary work. Thus in dispelling simplistic ideas about a supposedly universal norm, this fine book announces a new era of academic collaboration."
— Amanda Porterfield, Florida State University, author of Conceived in Doubt
"The principle of religious freedom, central to the liberal politics of the modern world, is increasingly becoming an object of critical reflection. This collection, edited by four distinguished scholars, is a welcome contribution to this important topic. I have learnt something from each of these thoughtful essays. Everyone interested in recent debates on secularism will benefit from reading them."
— Talal Asad, Graduate Center, City University of New York
"This extraordinary volume brings together the leading scholars of the idea and practice of 'religious freedom' today, in conversation with each other and with their critics. Beyond any simple for/against dichotomy, the contributors show how the admirable resonance of 'religious freedom' masks a more troubling reality, both at the historical origins of the concept and in its contemporary strategic deployments. Among the book’s many contributions is its sustained and careful examination of the mutual entanglement of 'religion,' in its modern semantic range, and law, and the implication of both in national and global politics, from early modernity forward. The Politics of Religious Freedom is a definitive collection of the best critical work on the subject."
— Robert Orsi, Northwestern University
“The contributors repeatedly make the point [that], rather than a single, stable principle of universal application, religious freedom is polyvalent and reflects the historical conditions of its composition. . . . Highly recommended.”
— Choice
“A book which is deeply satisfying both for quality of writing and for quality of scholarship, one which I look forward to using extensively in my work and in the construction of syllabi."
— Jessica L. Radin, University of Toronto, Middle East Law and Governance
"Taken individually, these essays are erudite, consistently interesting, and well written. Taken collectively, they are a tour de force for deepening our knowledge and understanding of a concept many or most of us have simply taken for granted in our intellectual lives.”
— Daniel Liechty, Illinois State University, Religion
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments
Introduction Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Elizabeth Shakman Hurd, Saba Mahmood, and Peter G. Danchin
PART 1. Religion
Preface Winnifred Fallers Sullivan
Chapter 1. Imagining the Hebrew Republic: Christian Genealogies of Religious Freedom Robert Yelle
Chapter 2. On the Freedom of the Concepts of Religion and Belief Yvonne Sherwood
Chapter 3. Believing in Religious Freedom Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Chapter 4. What Is Religious Freedom Supposed to Free? Webb Keane
Chapter 5. The Power of Pluralist Thinking Courtney Bender
Chapter 6. Refl ections on the Politics of Religious Freedom, with Attention to Hawaii Greg Johnson
Chapter 7. Traditional, African, Religious, Freedom? Rosalind I. J. Hackett
PART 2. History
Preface Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Chapter 8. The Problem with the History of Toleration Evan Haefeli
Chapter 9. Religious Minorities and Citizenship in the Long Nineteenth Century: Some Contexts of Jewish Emancipation David Sorkin
Chapter 10. Varieties of Religious Freedom and Governance: A Practical Perspective Robert W. Hefner
Chapter 11. Religious Freedom between Truth and Tactic Samuel Moyn
Chapter 12. Religious Freedom, Minority Rights, and Geopolitics Saba Mahmood
Chapter 13. Ceylon/Sri Lanka: The Politics of Religious Freedom and the End of Empire
Benjamin Schonthal
Chapter 14. Liberty as Recognition
Nandini Chatterjee
PART 3. Law and Politics
Preface Peter G. Danchin
Chapter 15. Postapartheid Treatment of Religious Freedom in South Africa Waheeda Amien
Chapter 16. Religious Freedom in Postrevolutionary Tunisia Nadia Marzouki
Chapter 17. Beyond Establishment Lori G. Beaman
Chapter 18. The Bishops, the Sisters, and Religious Freedom Elizabeth A. Castelli
Chapter 19. The World That Smith Made Winnifred Fallers Sullivan
Chapter 20. Religious Freedom in the Panopticon of Enlightenment Rationality Peter G. Danchin
Chapter 21. Everson’s Children Ann Pellegrini
PART 4. Freedom
Preface Saba Mahmood
Chapter 22. Protecting Freedom of Religion in the Secular Age Cécile Laborde
Chapter 23. Freeing Religion at the Birth of South Sudan Noah Salomon
Chapter 24. Is Religion Free? Michael Lambek
Chapter 25. Religious Freedom and the Bind of Suspicion in Contemporary Secularity Hussein Ali Agrama
Chapter 26. Religious Repression and Religious Freedom: An Analysis of Their Contradictions in (Post- )Soviet Contexts Mathijs Pelkmans
Chapter 27. Religious Freedom’s Oxymoronic Edge Wendy Brown
Contributors
Index
REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
If you are a student who has a disability that prevents you
from using this book in printed form, BiblioVault may be able to supply you
with an electronic file for alternative access.
Please have the disability coordinator at your school fill out this form.
It can take 2-3 weeks for requests to be filled.
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE