Can the post-colonial be post-religious? Reflections from the secular metropolis

If, following Masuzawa, Fitzgerald and others we assume that "the religious" is a category produced by Western colonial regimes in tandem with that of "the secular," then consequently the post-secular would need to be post-religious, as well. Here I demonstrate how in one metropo...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Critical research on religion
Main Author: Viefhues-Bailey, Ludger H. 1965- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Sage [2015]
In: Critical research on religion
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Germany / Secularism / Postcolonialism / Political identity / Cultural identity / Religion / Post-secularism
RelBib Classification:AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism
AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
KBB German language area
ZC Politics in general
Further subjects:B Religion
B Politics
B Secularism
Online Access: Volltext (Resolving-System)
Description
Summary:If, following Masuzawa, Fitzgerald and others we assume that "the religious" is a category produced by Western colonial regimes in tandem with that of "the secular," then consequently the post-secular would need to be post-religious, as well. Here I demonstrate how in one metropolitan case, Germany, the religious and secular divide is evoked to produce a particular exclusivist narrative of national identity. A substantial part of German civil society, media, and legal establishment mobilize an imagined culturally Christian vision of Germany in order to exclude from public visibility and political participation German born Muslims of Turkish descent. The colonial twin categories of secular-religious still operate in the shaping of the German polity. Decolonizing it would thus require not only to enter a post-secular dialogue with religious presentations in the public sphere, as Habermas contends; rather a post-secular polity would require the post-religious.
ISSN:2050-3040
Contains:Enthalten in: Critical research on religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/2050303215584518