The Multicultural Riddle: Rethinking National, Ethnic and Religious Identities (Zones of Religion)

Multicultural Riddle is a comprehensive exploration of all the issues that shape our search for a multicultural society. The book examines how we can establish a state of justice and equality between and among three groups: those who believe in a unified national culture, those who trace their culture to their ethnic identity, and those who view their religion as their culture. To solve the multicultural riddle, one must rethink national identity, ethnicity and the role of religion in the modern world. In this rethinking comes a new concern with the meaning and making of culture emerges. Book Cover......Page 1 Title......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 About This Book......Page 8 ~I Have a Dream~;but Who Is It For?Civil Rights, Human Rights, or Community Rights?......Page 12 From Dreaming to Meaning: The Multicultural Triangle National Culture, Ethnic Culture, Religion as Culture......Page 28 The Nation-State, I: Postethnic or Pseudotribe? Why Nation-States Are Not Ethnically Neutral......Page 40 The Nation-State, II: Business or Temple? Why Nation-States Are Not Religiously Neutral......Page 52 Ethnicity: Blood or Wine? Not Biological Essence, but Cultivated Ferment......Page 68 Religion: Baggage or Sextant? Not Immutable Heritage, but Positioning in Context......Page 80 Culture: Having, Making, or Both? From an Essentialist through a Processual to a Discursive Understanding......Page 92 Multicultural Theory, I: The Sales Talk and the Small Print Are You Same Enough to Be Equal?......Page 108 Multicultural Theory, II: The Values and the Valid What Is It Prof. Taylor Should ~Recognize~?......Page 118 Multicultural Praxis: The Banal and the Best From Culti-Parading to Multi-Relating......Page 132 From Dreaming to Meaning: A Summary Multiculturalism Is a New Understanding of Culture......Page 146 From Meaning to Practice: What Students Can Do New Understandings Require New Projects......Page 154 References......Page 170 Index......Page 184 "A Riddle is a paradox that can be solved by rethinking the terms in which it is posed. Multiculturalism, too, is a riddle. It asks how we can establish a state of justice and equality between and among three parties: those who believe in a unified national culture, those who trace their culture to their ethnic identity, and those who view their religion as culture. To solve the riddle, one needs to rethink what is meant by nationality or the nation-state, by ethnic identity or ethnicity, and by religion as a basis of culture. What all three acts of rethinking have in common is a new concern with the meaning and making of culture. Multiculturalism is not the old concept of culture multiplied by the number of groups that exist, but a new, and internally plural, praxis of culture applied to oneself and to others. This is what this book tries to show."--Jacket Multicultural Riddle is a comprehensive exploration of all the issues that shape our search for a multicultural society. The book examines how we can establish a state of justice and equality between and among three groups: those who believe in a unified national culture, those who trace their culture to their ethnic identity, and those who view their religion as their culture. To solve the multicultural riddle, one must rethink national identity, ethnicity and the role of religion in the modern world.