Overview
- Examines the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India as a case study of the issues of religion and secularism in multi-faith societies?
- Raises issues that may help craft interdisciplinary and international frameworks for conflict resolution
- Proposes policies in order to support the peaceful coexistence of secularism and religion
Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Political Science (BRIEFSPOLITICAL)
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Table of contents (4 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This Brief looks at the illustrative case of the Hindu-Muslim conflict in India, with the aim of understanding the dynamics of lived secularism as it exists in traditional multi-faith societies such as India. The data analyzed in this Brief comprise many interviews, conducted amidst Hindus and Muslims, with respondents of both sexes living in slum and middle class regions in the city of Mumbai. The volume begins by giving a brief summary of the historical and cultural background to the present situation in India. It then traces complementarities and similarities of opinions across diverse constituencies which cluster around three main anchoring points: communication, re-presentations and operationalizing of a shared dream. The first point explores the need to understand and to be understood, encourages processes of mutual acculturation, and describes the sensitive decoding of cultural symbols such as dress codes. The second point discusses changes in mind sets and mutual perceptions, where Muslims and Islam are portrayed in a balanced way and exploitation of religion for political purposes is stopped. The third main point is the involvement of the common, regular person, and a focus on children, as the unifying hope for the future.
Throughout the volume, emphasis is on moral maturation, cultural interpretation in lieu of cultural imposition and creation of a sensitive media policy. The issues raised may help craft interdisciplinary and international frameworks, which address conflict resolution in culturally diverse multi-faith societies. Accordingly, the book concludes with policy recommendations for supporting the peaceful coexistence of secularism and religion in society from a peace psychological perspective.
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Ragini Sen is affiliated with the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi and Logistics India, Mumbai. Her doctoral work was underatken at the London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Dr. Sen's main areas of interest are social and peace psychology where she focuses on religious conflict, group processes, identity politics, secularism and fundamentalism. She has been a Fulbright Scholar in Residence, New Hampshire, USA; Visiting Fellow, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria; Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, Paris, France and University of Picardie, Amiens, France.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Secularism and Religion in Multi-faith Societies
Book Subtitle: The Case of India
Authors: Ragini Sen, Wolfgang Wagner, Caroline Howarth
Series Title: SpringerBriefs in Political Science
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01922-2
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science, Behavioral Science and Psychology (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-01921-5Published: 11 October 2013
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-01922-2Published: 30 September 2013
Series ISSN: 2191-5466
Series E-ISSN: 2191-5474
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 83
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations
Topics: Personality and Social Psychology, Political Science, Religious Studies, general