This edited collection of 12 essays promotes comparative discussion on religious plural traditions in Europe and South Asia. The intention is to explore religious history and the dynamic process through which people engage with one another in and through their deepest differences, as a history of plural systems of religions in Europe and South Asia. It argues that while the significance of Christianity for Europe and Hinduism for South Asia cannot be ignored, this should not lead to overlook the importance of other religious traditions. Consequently, the complex network of different religious attitudes cannot be characterized by singular closed systems like Huntington's reductionist clash of civilizations suggests. Rather it requires a different view point: replacing the dominant monocausal and mono-linear concept of religious history through a "polyfocal" analysis of an open, pluralist field.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Part I: 1. Historical Roots of Plurality in Europe, 2. Religions of India: Plurality and Pluralism by 3. Plurality of Religion Plurality in Religion 4. French laicity: Representations and Realities by, 5. Multiculturalism, Communitarianism and Liberal Pluralism by, 6. Multiple Identities and Communities: Recontextualising Religion by, 7. Invisible Religion between Individualization and Cultural Defense by, Denial of Plurality: Thinking of Converstion Through Gandhi by, 9. Religious Plurality in the Chisthi Tradition: A Case Study of the Khanqah at Salon in Awadh by, 10. Spaces of Encounter and Plurality: A Look at Certain Aspects of Architecture in Pre-Colonial North-India by, 12. Telling the Story of Communal Conflicts in South Asia: Interim Report on a Personal Search for Defining Myths by Ashis Nandy.
Contents
Preface
Introduction
Part I: 1. Historical Roots of Plurality in Europe, 2. Religions of India: Plurality and Pluralism by 3. Plurality of Religion Plurality in Religion 4. French laicity: Representations and Realities by, 5. Multiculturalism, Communitarianism and Liberal Pluralism by, 6. Multiple Identities and Communities: Recontextualising Religion by, 7. Invisible Religion between Individualization and Cultural Defense by, Denial of Plurality: Thinking of Converstion Through Gandhi by, 9. Religious Plurality in the Chisthi Tradition: A Case Study of the Khanqah at Salon in Awadh by, 10. Spaces of Encounter and Plurality: A Look at Certain Aspects of Architecture in Pre-Colonial North-India by, 12. Telling the Story of Communal Conflicts in South Asia: Interim Report on a Personal Search for Defining Myths by Ashis Nandy.