After Secular Law (The Cultural Lives of Law)

Many today place great hope in law as a vehicle for the transformation of society and accept that law is autonomous, universal, and above all, secular. Yet recent scholarship has called into question the simplistic narrative of a separation between law and religion and blurred the boundaries between these two categories, enabling new accounts of their relation that do not necessarily either collapse them together or return law to a religious foundation.This work gives special attention to the secularism of law, exploring how law became secular, the phenomenology of the legal secular, and the challenges that lingering religious formations and other aspects of globalization pose for modern law's self-understanding. Bringing together scholars with a variety of perspectives and orientations, it provides a deeper understanding of the interconnections between law and religion and the unexpected histories and anthropologies of legal secularism in a globalizing modernity. Recent Scholarship Has Called Into Question The Simplistic Narrative Of A Separation Between Law And Religion And Blurred The Boundaries Between These Two Categories, Enabling New Accounts Of Their Relation That Do Not Necessarily Either Collapse Them Together Or Return Law To A Religious Foundation. This Book Gives Special Attention To The Secularism Of Law, Exploring How Law Became Secular, The Phenomenology Of The Legal Secular, And The Challenges That Lingering Religious Formations And Other Aspects Of Globalization Pose For Modern Law's Self-understanding. Moses' Veil : Secularization As Christian Myth / Robert A. Yelle -- Secular Law And The Realm Of False Religion / Jakob De Roover -- Assenting To The Law : Sacrifice And Punishment At The Dawn Of Secularism / Jonathan Sheehan -- National Security And Secularization In The English Revolution Of 1688 / Rachel Weil -- Intolerant Of Intolerance In The Unitarian Controversy : The Theology Of Baker V. Fales / Stephanie L. Phillips -- The University And The Advent Of The Academic Secular : The State's Management Of Public Instruction / Tomoko Masuzawa -- Stasiology : Political Theology And The Figure Of The Sacrificial Enemy / Banu Bargu -- Against Sovereign Impunity : The Political Theology Of The International Criminal Court / Bruce Rosenstock -- Sovereign Power And Secular Indeterminacy : Is Egypt A Secular Or Religious State? / Hussein Ali Agrama -- The Ruse Of Law : Legal Equality And The Problem Of Citizenship In A Multireligious Sudan / Noah Salomon -- The Religio-secular Continuum : Reflections On The Religious Dimensions Of Turkish Secularism / Markus Dressler -- The Spirits Were Always Watching : Buddhism, Secular Law, And Social Change In Thailand / David M. Engel -- Secular Speech And Popular Passions : The Antinomies Of Indian Secularism / Thomas Blom Hansen -- Courting Culture : Unexpected Relationships Between Religion And Law In Contemporary Hawaii / Greg Johnson -- The Peculiar Stake U.s. Protestants Have In The Question Of State Recognition Of Same-sex Marriages / Mary Anne Case -- Sacred Property : Searching For Value In The Rubble Of 9/11 / Mateo Taussig-rubbo -- When Is Religion, Religion, And A Knife, A Knife, And Who Decides? : The Case Of Denmark / Tim Jensen. Edited By Winnifred Fallers Sullivan, Robert A. Yelle, Mateo Taussig-rubbo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents......Page 10 Contributors......Page 12 Introduction......Page 18 Part I: Histories of the Legal Secular......Page 38 1. Moses’ Veil: Secularization as Christian Myth......Page 40 2. Secular Law and the Realm of False Religion......Page 60 3. Assenting to the Law: Sacrifice and Punishment at the Dawn of Secularism......Page 79 4. National Security and Secularization in the English Revolution of 1688......Page 97 5. “Intolerance of Intolerance” in the Unitarian Controversy: The Theology of Baker v. Fales......Page 118 6. The University and the Advent of the Academic Secular: The State’s Management of Public Instruction......Page 136 7. Stasiology: Political Theology and the Figure of the Sacrificial Enemy......Page 157 8. Against Sovereign Impunity: The Political Theology of the International Criminal Court......Page 177 Part II: Ethnographies of the Legal Secular......Page 196 9. Sovereign Power and Secular Indeterminacy: Is Egypt a Secular or a Religious State?......Page 198 10. The Ruse of Law: Legal Equality and the Problem of Citizenship in a Multireligious Sudan......Page 217 11. The Religio-Secular Continuum: Reflections on the Religious Dimensions of Turkish Secularism......Page 238 12. “The Spirits Were Always Watching”: Buddhism, Secular Law, and Social Change in Thailand......Page 259 13. Secular Speech and Popular Passions: The Antinomies of Indian Secularism......Page 278 14. Courting Culture: Unexpected Relationships between Religionand Law in Contemporary Hawai‘i......Page 299 15. The Peculiar Stake U.S. Protestants Have in the Question of State Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages......Page 319 16. Sacred Property: Searching for Value in the Rubble of 9/11......Page 339 17. When Is Religion, Religion, and a Knife, a Knife—and Who Decides?: The Case of Denmark......Page 358 Index......Page 382 Moses' veil : secularization as Christian myth / Robert A. Yelle Secular law and the realm of false religion / Jakob De Roover Assenting to the law : sacrifice and punishment at the dawn of secularism / Jonathan Sheehan National security and secularization in the English Revolution of 1688 / Rachel Weil "Intolerant of intolerance" in the Unitarian controversy : the theology of Baker v. Fales / Stephanie Phillips The university and the advent of the academic secular : the state's management of public instruction / Tomoko Masuzawa Stasiology : political theology and the figure of the sacrificial enemy / Banu Bargu Against sovereign impunity : the political theology of the International Criminal Court / Bruce Rosenstock Sovereign power and secular indeterminacy : is Egypt a secular or religious state? / Hussein Ali Agrama The ruse of law : legal equality and the problem of citizenship in a multi-religious Sudan / Noah Salomon The religio-secular continuum, or, Secular law as a theological discourse in Turkey / Markus Dressler "The spirits were always watching" : Buddhism, secular law, and social change in Thailand / David M. Engel Secular speech and popular passions : the antinomies of Indian secularism / Thomas Blom Hansen Courting culture : unexpected relationships between religion and law in contemporary Hawai'i / Greg Johnson The peculiar stake U.S. Protestants have in the question of state recognition of same-sex marriages / Mary Anne Case Sacred property : searching for value in the rubble of 9/11 / Mateo Taussig-Rubbo When is religion, religion, and a knife, a knife, and who decides? : the case of Denmark / Tim Jensen. Many today place great hope in law as a vehicle for the transformation of society and accept that law is autonomous, universal, and above all, secular. Yet recent scholarship has called into question the simplistic narrative of a separation between law and religion and blurred the boundaries between these two categories, enabling new accounts of their relation that do not necessarily either collapse them together or return law to a religious foundation. This work gives special attention to the secularism of law, exploring how law became secular, the phenomenology of the legal secular, and the challenges that lingering religious formations and other aspects of globalization pose for modern law's self-understanding. Bringing together scholars with a variety of perspectives and orientations, it provides a deeper understanding of the interconnections between law and religion and the unexpected histories and anthropologies of legal secularism in a globalizing modernity.