January 30 — “Is India Still a Secular Country?”
India recently celebrated its 60th anniversary as a country. Six decades is a long time for such a religiously-fragmented and religiously-passionate country to stay secular … how much longer can it keep it up?
When: Wednesday, January 30, 7:00–9:00 p.m.
Where: Butler University, Krannert Room of Clowes Memorial Hall
Answering the question “Is India Still a Secular Country?” will be Dr. Mark Juergensmeyer, Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies and a professor of sociology and religious studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His widely-read Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (revised edition 2003), is based on interviews with violent religious activists around the world — including individuals convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, leaders of Hamas, and abortion clinic bombers in the United States. When it was released, it was listed by the Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times as one of the best nonfiction books of the year. A previous book, The New Cold War? Religious Nationalism Confronts the Secular State (1993) covers the rise of religious activism and its confrontation with secular modernity. It was named by the New York Times as one of the notable books of the year. Juergensmeyer is following up that study this year with Global Rebellion: Religious Challenges to the Secular State, from Christian Militias to al Qaeda. His recently reprinted book Gandhi’s Way: A Handbook on Conflict Resolution (2005), was selected as Community Book of the Year at the University of California, Davis.
Respondents to Dr. Juergensmeyer will be Dr. Nandini Ramaswamy, a political scientist from Chennai (Madras), India, is an assistant director of institutional research at Butler University; and Dr. Chad Bauman, assistant professor of religion at Butler University and a specialist on religion in India.
Know before you go … Read this short article on “The forgotten fundamentalism: Hinduism and nationalism in modern India.” And check out Provocate’s For More Information about India page.
If this event sounds interesting, check out … discussions of religious fundamentalism in Pakistan January 29; and Israel February 13.
December 26th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
[…] January 30 — “Is India Still a Secular Country?” India recently celebrated its 60th anniversary as a country. Six decades is a long time for such a religiously-fragmented and religiously-passionate country to stay secular … how much longer can it keep it up? check it out […]