Moderate Secularism, Religion as Identity and Respect for Religion

Political secularism takes many forms but a fundamental distinction is between radical and moderate kinds. The latter is a genuine secularism and not just a failure to take secularism to its logical conclusion. The failure to appreciate this obscures the secularism that exists in western Europe. Namely, an accommodation of organised religion which sees it as a potential public good or national resource (not just a private benefit), which the state can in some circumstances assist to realise—even through an 'established' church. I adumbrate five types of reasons the state might be interested in religion: truth, danger, utility, identity and respect. The challenge facing such secularism today is whether it can be pluralised or multiculturalised, in particular whether it can accommodate Muslims. A ground for optimism is the respect that some people, especially some Muslims, have for religions other than their own.     

Religion and National Identity in America and Europe

America and Europe have had very different religious experiences, and these differences have continuing consequences. In America, the preponderance of Reform Protestantism gave rise to religious and political pluralism, a religious marketplace, and the continuing vitality of the churches. In Europe, the dominance of state churches gave rise to the eventual rejection of these churches and religions when the traditional political and social authorities were rejected, particularly by the Generation of 1968. However, Europe’s extreme secularization has rendered it confused and ineffective in dealing with the new religious challenge posed by Muslim immigrant communities.

The Paradox of Integration: Habermas and the Unfinished Project of European Union

In a recent article Jürgen Habermas (1999) highlighted the potential for the European Union to act as a vehicle for the extension of democratic governance beyond the nation state, a project aimed at limiting the socially corrosive impact of globalisation. Yet this position appears paradoxical as the European Union itself exacerbates a major aspect of globalisation: the emasculation of national parliaments known as the 'democratic deficit'. This paradox can be understood by analysing the dynamics of post-war European integration through the lens of Habermasian social theory: EU evolution can lead either to the colonisation of the lifeworld by market and administrative subsystems (as with the democratic deficit), or to a process of lifeworld rationalisation conducive to pan-European solidarity and democracy. The latter of these tendencies could be encouraged through 'procedural democracy': this would institutionalise the conditions by which independent associations in European civil society, channelling their 'communicative power' through parliament, might reassert control over the two subsystems. In order to retain legitimacy, procedural EU democracy would have to link existing legislatures to the European Parliament, while citizenship would combine national and civic components. Hence the European Union would be more able than the nation-state to combine universal notions of justice with ethical pluralism.     

Democratic Theory and the Public Sphere Project: Rethinking Knowledge,Authority, and Identity

This paper is concerned with the problem of academic acquiescence in the decline of public discourse in the United States. Noting current tendencies for the university to operate as another transnational corporation, the argument targets and probes post-communal professionalism which as a sub-ideology is linked to the dualistic social imaginary of the corporate state. Discussing works by Rieff and Lasch, the critique situates this ideology in the liberal-progressivist middle-class culture that is much more bound to the transnational corporate state's consumer culture than many academics wish to acknowledge. A theoretical critique of the subjectivization of postmodern "resistance" is presented as one way of facilitating democratic Left intellectual interest in pursuing a true "border politics" between academic and general cultures. Disembodied, placeless visions of professionalism must be replaced with perspectives and projects foregrounding agency rather than "identity" and political action rather than "self-fulfillment." Scholars critical of the university's role in corporate globalization should take a lesson from John Dewey's "civic professionalism" and envision a post-professional politics projecting democratic public spheres that connect with recent political forms of grassroots globalization aiming at more sustainable ways of life.     

Corporate Identity and Solidarity Among the Railway Workers of Atbara, 1924-1946

This article examines the way in which railway employment and urban life have led to the development of a unique identity among the railway workers of Atbara, headquarters of the Sudan Railways. During the period covered by this article, Atbara's railway men formed the core of the Sudanese working class and inaugurated one of the best and most dynamic labor movements in Africa and the Middle East. As many scholars have noted, the development of labor activism, solidarity, and strong social bonds are among the most important characteristics of railway workers worldwide. This article argues that the development of these attributes were closely associated with the nature of railway employment, which involved intensive socialization and acculturation into the norms of the industry.     

论科学和宗教性质与作用的相通

近代以来的科学进步在十分深远的层面上改变了人们对世界的看法,伴随宗教在公共生活中的退隐,科学在今天正起着与中世纪的宗教相似的作用。科学与宗教的相似性质与在历史上地位的转换值得加以重视。     

Scottish Independence,State Religion and the Monarchy

The plans of the Scottish Executive/Government for the independence of Scotland, which are very sketchy, are explored in relation to desire to retain the monarchy. The Scottish Parliament has expressed support for the removal of religious discrimination from succession to the throne and instituted an alternative state religion—measures which suggest an alternative relationship between religion and the monarchy will be required in an independent Scotland. Repealing the Act of Union will require decisions as to whether the monarchy remains as Christian, Protestant and Presbyterian in Scotland or whether some alternative religious or secular arrangements will be developed. Accepting the existing religious settlement of the monarchy, or varying it, will generate challenging issues for a Scottish administration that is seeking to be more religiously inclusive.     

论马克思宗教批判的理论与现实意义

宗教批判是马克思思想必然的逻辑起点.宗教批判不仅可以使得马克思把对德国古典哲学、英国政治经济学、空想社会主义的改造有效地联成一个内在的整体,使之成为同一理论在不同角度、不同层次的表达.同时,也可成为深入理解马克思哲学变革的另一条线索,即:正是对宗教异化的批判才导致对其他异化的批判,作为起点的宗教批判与其作为最终目标的共产主义存在着逻辑与现实的关联.     

Max Weber, Religion, and the Disenchantment of the World

This article offers a re-evaluation of Max Weber’s analyses of both the disenchantment of the world and the origins of capitalism.     

Identity Salience, Identity Acceptance, and Racial Policy Attitudes: American National Identity as a Uniting Force

Political science has paid a great deal of attention to sources of intergroup conflict, but the discipline has focused less on forces that bring people together and lead them to transcend group boundaries. This study presents evidence that attachment to a shared superordinate identity can improve intergroup relations by reducing the social distance between people of different racial groups. Using a survey experiment, this research shows that making a superordinate identity salient increased support for a tax increase. The effects of the identity salience treatment are compared to a policy particularism treatment in terms of effect size and their interaction with each other. The size and direction of the identity salience effect is affected by the degree of respondents' acceptance of the proffered identity. Implications for social identity theory, racial policy attitudes, and American national identity are discussed.     

价值多元与差异政治——伯林价值多元论的后现代政治意韵

伯林虽是现代性语境中的思想家,是自由主义(也是现代性)的代言人,但其价值多元论却具有后现代性意韵.从后现代政治学视角来解读伯林的价值多元论,这种多元论思维在政治学研究中实际上开启了一种反基础主义的政治理论叙事方式.他对普遍人性论和一元论理性主义的批判,与后现代政治学对政治学的现代性基础的消解是一致的,在理论旨趣上与2泄纪60年代以来出现的多元、差异、冲突等后现代理论范式是相契合的,其多元的政治思考方式与后现代政治学的差异政治观又具有相同的价值旨归.     

哲学,宗教与中国文化精神:兼论中国人信仰的历史特点

中国化与世界其他主要化的重要不同在于,中国化的基本精神是人主义的,不是宗教神学的,在中国历史上,官方信仰了、学信仰也间信仰互相交错又彼此疏离,哲学和宗教的关系及其在整个民族化中的作用十分复杂,从全局上看,儒家哲学和道家哲学的互渗互补构成了中国传统褒庇的主干和基本线索,提供给中国人尤其是知识人以安身立命的依托。虽然道教、佛中国历史上也有长久的影响,但追求彼岸不是民族化的主要传统。了解中     

Manliness,Religion, and Our Manly Scientists

The source of the manly exaggerations characteristic of members of our species is our abstract and idealistic ability to imagine ourselves as more than we really are. Our scientists are right that religious cruelty has often been the product of our manly inclination to exaggerate our personal importance. Our scientists, however, characteristically forget that we also have the abstract and idealistic ability to imagine ourselves as less than we really are. Surely their theoretical manliness or proud self-transcendence is also unrealistically self-confident, and it can even produce its own forms of “dehumanizing” cruelty. In spite of our scientists’ criticisms, the truth will always be known by a particular person, and any realistic account of all we can know must include room for persons.