Secularism and Cosmopolitanism: Critical Hypotheses on Religion and Politics (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism)

What is the relationship between cosmopolitanism and secularism―the worldwide and the worldly? While cosmopolitan politics may seem inherently secular, existing forms of secularism risk undermining the universality of cosmopolitanism because they privilege the European tradition over all others and transform particular historical norms into enunciations of truth, valid for all cultures and all epochs. In this book, the noted philosopher Étienne Balibar explores the tensions lurking at this troubled nexus in order to advance a truly democratic and emancipatory cosmopolitanism, which requires a secularization of secularism itself. Balibar argues for the idea of the universal against its particular dominant institutions. He questions the assumptions that underlie popular ideas of secularism and religion and outlines the importance of a new critique for the contemporary world. Balibar holds that conflicts between religious and secular discourses need to be reframed from a point of view that takes into account the cultural hybridization, migration and mobility, and transformation of borders that have reshaped the postcolonial age. Among the topics discussed are the uses and misuses of the category of religion and the religious, the paradoxical genealogy of monotheism, French laïcité’s identitarian turn, and the implications of the responses to the Charlie Hebdo attacks for an extended definition of free speech. Going beyond circumscribed notions of religion and the public sphere, Secularism and Cosmopolitanism is a profound rethinking of identity and difference that seeks to make room for a renewed political imagination. What is the relationship between cosmopolitanism and secularism--the worldwide and the worldly? While cosmopolitan politics may seem inherently secular, existing forms of secularism risk undermining the universality of cosmopolitanism, because they privilege the European tradition over all others and transform particular historical norms into enunciations of the truth. In this book, the noted philosopher Etienne Balibar explores the tensions lurking at this troubled nexus in order to advance a truly democratic and emancipatory cosmopolitanism, which requires a secularization of secularism itself. Balibar argues for the universal against its dominant institutions. He questions the categories of thought that underlie popular ideas of secularism and religion and outlines the importance of a new critique for the contemporary world. He argues that conflicts between religious and secular discourses need to be reframed from a point of view that takes into account the cultural hybridization, migration and mobility, and transformation of borders, which have reshaped the postcolonial age. The book considers the uses and misuses of the category of religion and the religious, as well as the crises of national and religious universality. Among the topics discussed are the articulation of religion and culture within the ideological realm; the paradoxical genealogy of monotheism; French laicite as a hegemonic construction that is now becoming narrowly identitarian; and the implications of the responses to the Charlie Hebdo attacks for an extended definition of free speech in the age of terrorism and counterterrorism. Going beyond circumscribed notions of religion and the public sphere, Secularism and Cosmopolitanism is a profound rethinking of identity and difference that seeks to make room for a renewed political imagination. Table of Contents Preface Introduction. Critique in the Twenty-First Century: Political Economy Still, Religion Again Part I: Saeculum 1. Circumstances and Objectives 2. Secularism and Cosmopolitanism: An Aporia? 3. Double Binds: Politics of the Veil 4. Cosmo-Politics and Conflicts between Universalities 5. Finishing with Religion? 6. Culture, Religion, or Ideology 7. Religious Revolutions and Anthropological Differences 8. Secularism Secularized: The Vanishing Mediator 9. Envoi Part II: Essays 10. Note on the Origins and Uses of “Monotheism” 11. “God Will Not Remain Silent”. Zionism, Messianism, and Nationalism 12. What Future for Laïcité? Part III: Statements 13. Three Words for the Dead and the Living (after Charlie Hebdo) 14. On "Freedom of Expression" and the Question of "Blasphemy" 15. Identitarian Laïcité Notes Index Etienne Balibar explores the tensions between cosmopolitanism and secularism in order to advance a truly democratic and emancipatory cosmopolitanism, which requires a secularization of secularism. Going beyond circumscribed notions of religion and the public sphere, Secularism and Cosmopolitanism is a profound rethinking of identity and difference.