City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Secularism and state policies toward religion, the United States, France, and Turkey, Ahmet T. Kuru

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Secularism and state policies toward religion

bibliography

Ahmet T. Kuru

Cambridge studies in social theory, religion, and politics

the United States, France, and Turkey

"Why do secular states pursue different policies toward religion? This book provides a generalizable argument about the impact of ideological struggles on the public policy making process, as well as a state-religion regimes index of 197 countries. More specifically, it analyzes why American state policies are largely tolerant of religion, whereas French and Turkish policies generally prohibit its public visibility, as seen in their bans on Muslim headscarves. In the United States, the dominant ideology is "passive secularism, " which requires the state to play a passive role, by allowing public visibility of religion. Dominant ideology in France and Turkey is "assertive secularism, " which demands that the state play an assertive role in excluding religion from the public sphere. Passive and assertive secularism became dominant in these cases through certain historical processes, particularly the presence or absence of an ancien regime based on the marriage between monarchy and hegemonic religion during state-building periods."--Publisher's description

Introduction -- Analyzing secularism : history, ideology, and policy -- The United States -- Passive secularism and the Christian Right's challenge (1981-2008) -- Religious diversity and the evolution of passive secularism (1776-1981) -- France -- Assertive secularism and the multiculturalist challenge (1989-2008) -- The war of two Frances and the rise of assertive secularism (1789-1989) -- Turkey -- Assertive secularism and the Islamic challenge (1997-2008) -- Westernization and the emergence of assertive secularism (1826-1997)