This book examines key debates on religion and democratization from three main perspectives:
- Religious traditions have core elements which are more or less conducive to democratization and democracy;
- Religious traditions may be multi-vocal – but at any moment there may be dominant voices more or less receptive to and encouraging of democratization;
- Religious actors rarely if ever determine democratization outcomes. However, they may in various ways and with a range of outcomes be of significance for democratization.
The contributions are divided into two sections: (1) Religion, democratization and democracy, and (2) Secularization, democratization and democracy. Overall, they examine the three assertions in the bullet points above. The book’s starting point is that in general around the world, religions have left their assigned place in the private sphere. This means they have in many cases become recognisably politically active in various ways and with assorted outcomes. This re-emergence from political marginality dates back until at least the 1980s. At that time, the US sociologist, Jose Casanova noted that ‘what was new and became "news" … was the widespread and simultaneous refusal of religions to be restricted to the private sphere’. This involved a remodelling and re-assumption of public roles by religion, which theories of secularisation had long condemned to social and political marginalisation.
This book was published as a special issue of Democratization.
1. Religion and Democratizations: An Introduction Jeffrey Haynes Section 1: Religion, Democratization and Democracy 2. The Multi-Faceted Role of Religious Actors in Democratization Processes: Empirical Evidence from Five Young Democracies Mirjam Künkler and Julia Leininger 3. ‘Catholic Waves’ of Democratization? Roman Catholicism and its Potential for Democratization Jodok Troy 4. Democratization in Israel, Politicized Religion and the Failure of the Oslo Peace Process Claudia Baumgart-Ochse 5. Democratizing State–Religion Relations: A Comparative Study of Turkey, Egypt and Israel Amal Jamal 6. Spiritual Capital and Democratization in Zimbabwe: A Case Study of a Progressive Charismatic Congregation Gladys Ganiel Section 2: Secularization, Democratization and Democracy 7. Islam and Democratization in Turkey: Secularism and Trust in a Divided Society Ioannis N. Grigoriadis 8. The Fethullah Gülen Movement and Politics in Turkey: A Chance for Democratization or a Trojan Horse? İştar B. Gözaydin 9. A Rights-Based Discourse to Contest the Boundaries of State Secularism? The Case of the Headscarf Bans in France and Turkey Amélie Barras 10. The Problematic Nature of Religious Autonomy to Minorities in Democracies: The Case of India’s Muslims Ayelet Harel-Shalev 11. Conclusion: Religion, Democratization and Secularization Jeffrey Haynes
Biography
Jeffrey Haynes is Associate Head of Department with responsibility for Research and Postgraduate Studies, Department of Law, Governance and International Relations, London Metropolitan University.
