POL 3114 Chapter : Bhargava reading notes.doc
6 Jul 2014
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In short, western conceptions of political secularism do not appear to have travelled all that well to other societies. What is surprising is that such conceptions and the secular states they underpin are coming under strain even in europe where only some time back they were believed to be firmly entrenched and secure. It is true that substantive secularization of european societies has also brought in its wake extensive secularization of european states. Regardless of their religious affiliation, citizens have a large basket of civil and political rights unheard of in religion-centered states, past or present. First, migration from former colonies and an intensified globalization have thrown together on western public spaces pre-christian faiths, christianity, and islam. The cumulative result is unprecedented religious diversity, the weakening of the public monopoly of single religions, and the generation of mutual suspicion, distrust, hostility, and conflict.
