Three cheers for liberal modesty

ABSTRACT

Many liberals have been immodest in postulating that their own progressive, secular liberalism is the only one that can be justified in public reason. In Liberalism’s Religion, I articulate a more modest theory of liberalism and religion. While I personally endorse progressive secular liberalism, I argue that it is only one of the reasonable conceptions of liberal justice. This liberal modesty has profound, hitherto unnoticed implications for (i) the role of religious arguments in the public sphere, (ii) the legitimacy of religious establishment, and (iii) the justifiability of religious exemptions. In this article, I defend these three claims by providing replies to my critics.     

党的第三代领导集体关于宗教和宗教问题的论述

党的十三届四中全会以来,以江泽民同志为核心的党的第三代领导集体,根据冷战结束后国际格局的一系列变化和民族宗教问题发展的形势,结合我国改革开放和现代化建设的新实践,提出了一系列关于宗教和宗教问题的基本观点。     

宗教妇女观对妇女现代化的影响

宗教关于妇女的地位、权利和义务、婚姻、品行等问题,均有许多看法,具有二重性,既有尊重妇女、符合主流社会规范的观念,也有贬低妇女、妨碍妇女发展的思想。在现代社会,宗教的妇女观对妇女的现代化依然有较大的影响。宗教的妇女观对妇女现代化有许多有益的启示和借鉴,有助于妇女实现观念、行为、人格的现代化。     

20世纪前半叶的云南少数民族民间文学研究

云南有着得天独厚的少数民族民间文学资源 ,系统全面地对这些资源的发掘、整理与研究已经历了近百年历程。从 2 0世纪初开始发现云南少数民族民间文学的文学价值与学术价值 ,到 2 0世纪 5 0年代～ 60年代民间文学的大规模搜集与整理、 70年代末及 80年代的系统研究 ,直到 90年代以来的多维研究 ,云南少数民族民间文学取得了丰硕的成果 ,形成了一定的特色 ,但也存在着一些值得深思的问题。     

都市民族社区的宗教生活与文化认同--昆明顺城街回族社区调查

长期以来,昆明顺城街回族社区居民共同的宗教生活,促成了他们对本民族文化的认同,维系了回族社区的存在。但在现代文化的冲击和都市文化的濡化下,该地区居民的宗教信仰和宗教活动也发生着不断的变化,出现了中老年人对伊斯兰教更虔诚,对本民族的文化认同感增强,而年轻人却与之相悖而行的状况。     

非法宗教活动对国家主流文化安全的威胁与破坏--以新疆为例

本文在对新疆地区非法宗教活动进行梳理的基础上，着力分析了非法宗教活动对新疆地区主流文化安全的威胁与破坏，把脉影响新疆稳定安全的重大现实问题，旨在引起高度重视，有效加以应对，维护边疆稳定与国家安全。     

社会转型期青年的宗教需求研究——广州青年的宗教信仰调查分析

通过对广州青年的宗教信仰进行实证调查,发现广州青年宗教活动参与制度化程度较低;不同年龄,不同性别,是否独生子女,其信教的动机不同;家庭环境是信教青年了解、皈依宗教的最重要途径。宗教让信教青年获得心灵的宁静、更明确的人生目标,但对幸福感影响不明显。研究建议,关注青年的情感需求,用"无私的爱"进一步拉近共青团组织与青年的距离,用分类引导的手法切实提升青年工作实效。     

THE INDIAN CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY AND THE MAKING OF HINDUS AND MUSLIMS IN JAMMU AND KASHMIR

Article 370 of the Indian constitution gives the northern province of Jammu and Kashmir special status within the union. Today that provision forms a nucleus of fierce political contention between secularists and religious nationalists in India, despite the manifest whittling down of the article's most significant aspects. This development is counterintuitive: the original intent of the article's introduction had no relation to questions of religion. This essay attempts to understand this unanticipated role, as a marker of the state's secularity or lack thereof, the article has come to play in Indian politics. It contends that the seeds were sown even at the time of shaping the Indian constitution of a perspective that viewed the people of Jammu and Kashmir according to their religious affiliations.     

United We Stand?

Abstract

On September 11, 2001, almost 3000 people died due to terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. Almost all Americans were shocked and saddened by these attacks and agreed that those responsible must be brought to justice. However, not everyone had the same views. College students at two midwestern universities were surveyed. On 13 of 21 questions, there were significant bivariate differences between White and Nonwhite students. Generally, the differences between the two groups of students continued even in multivariate analysis after controlling for the effects of gender, age, and academic level.     

解读西南少数民族崇尚的色彩语言—"黑"

色彩语言是指人类社会中作为信息传递手段的色彩和意义结合的符号系统。西南不少民族崇尚黑色,以黑为美,以黑为贵,就在于色彩语言中的"黑"能传递出他们所企盼的信息。影响民族尚黑习俗形成的因素是复杂多样的,主要有三大因素:一是西南地区特有的自然环境和生产方式;二是原始宗教;三是历史上的文化接触与融合。但民族尚黑习俗的形成并不要求这三大因素必须同时起作用。