Multiculturalism and Religious Identity: Canada and India

by Sonia Sikka, Lori G. Beaman

Overview

How, and to what extent, can religion be included within commitments to multiculturalism? Multiculturalism and Religious Identity addresses this question by examining the political recognition and management of religious identity in Canada and India. In multicultural policy, practice, and literature, religion has until recently not been included within broader discussions of multiculturalism, perhaps due to worries of potential for conflict with secularism. This collection undertakes a contemporary analysis of how the Canadian and Indian states each approach religious diversity through social and political policies, as well as how religion and secularism meet both philosophically and politically in contested public space. Although Canada and India have differing political and religious histories - leading to different articulations of multiculturalism, religious diversity, and secularism - both countries share a commitment to ensuring fair treatment for the different religious communities they include. Combining broader theoretical and normative reflections with close case studies, Multiculturalism and Religious Identity leads the way to addressing these timely issues in the Canadian and Indian contexts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780773543751
Publisher:	McGill-Queens University Press
Publication date:	08/05/2014
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Sonia Sikka is professor of philosophy at the University of Ottawa. Lori G. Beaman is Canada Research Chair in the Contextualization of Religion in a Diverse Canada and director of the Religion and Diversity Project at the University of Ottawa.

Table of Contents

Introduction Lori G. Beaman Sonia Sikka 3

Part 1 Models of Secularism

1 Multiculturalism and Religious Pluralism in Canada: Intimations of a "Post-Westphalian" Condition Peter Beyer 33

2 Religious Diversity and Multicultural Accommodation Gurpreet Mahajan 55

3 State, Religious Diversity, and the Crisis of Secularism Rajeev Bhargava 76

4 Secularism: A Possible Gandhian Reconstruction Bindu Puri 95

5 Lessons from the Management of Religious Diversity in Chinese Societies: A Diversity of Approaches to State Control André Laliberté 120

Part 2 Multiculturalism and Religion

6 Justice, Diversity, and Dialogue: Rawlsian Multiculturalism Ashwani Peetush 153

7 The Normativity of Inclusion and Exclusion: Should Multiculturalism Encompass Religious Identities? Gordon Davis 169

8 What Can Weberian Sociology Tell Us About Multiculturalism and Religion? Elke Winter 189

Part 3 Religious Majorities

9 The Ayodhya Dispute: Law's Imagination and the Functions of the Status Quo Deepak Mehta 211

10 Laws of General Application: The Retreat from Multiculturalism and Its Implications for Religious Freedom Lori G. Beaman 236

11 Theism and the Secular in Canada Solange Lefebvre 253

Part 4 Problems of Recognition

12 The Limits of Multiculturalism in Contemporary India Shail Mayaram 275

13 An Exploration of Multi-Religiosity within India: The Sahebdhani and the Matua Sects Sipra Mukherjee 301

14 The Difference "Difference" Makes: Jainism, Religious Pluralism, and Identity Politics Anne Vallely 318

15 Religion Education in a Multicultural Society Sonia Sikka 333

16 Doing Caste, Making Citizens: Differing Conceptions of Religious Identities and Autonomy in Hindu Law Gopika Solanki 353

Conclusion Sonia Sikka Lori G. Beaman 381

Contributors 393

Index 399