Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity

Talal Asad

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Formations of the Secular

Christianity, Islam, Modernity

Talal Asad

Language: English

Published/Copyright: 2003

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About this book

Opening with the provocative query “what might an anthropology of the secular look like?” this book explores the concepts, practices, and political formations of secularism, with emphasis on the major historical shifts that have shaped secular sensibilities and attitudes in the modern West and the Middle East.

Talal Asad proceeds to dismantle commonly held assumptions about the secular and the terrain it allegedly covers. He argues that while anthropologists have oriented themselves to the study of the “strangeness of the non-European world” and to what are seen as non-rational dimensions of social life (things like myth, taboo, and religion),the modern and the secular have not been adequately examined.

The conclusion is that the secular cannot be viewed as a successor to religion, or be seen as on the side of the rational. It is a category with a multi-layered history, related to major premises of modernity, democracy, and the concept of human rights. This book will appeal to anthropologists, historians, religious studies scholars, as well as scholars working on modernity.

Author / Editor information

Talal Asad is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is the author of Genealogies of Religion.

Reviews

"...one of the most interesting scholars of religious writing today."—Christian Scholar's Review --- "...Asad's brilliant study remains a defining piece of intellectual and scholarly contribution for all of those interested in exploring the religious and the secular in the modern era."—The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences --- "This wonderfully illuminating book should be read alongside the author's Genealogies of Religion . . ."—Religion --- "Formations of the Secular is also a difficult if stunningly eloquent book, a response both elusive and forthright to the many shelves of 'books on terrorism' which this country's trade publishers are rushing into print."—Bryn Mawr Review of Comparative Literature --- "A dark but brilliantly original work, Formations of the Secular is one of the most important books on religion and the modern in recent years."—H-Net Reviews

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Frontmatter
i

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Contents
vii

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Acknowledgments
ix

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Introduction: Thinking about Secularism
1

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SECULAR
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1 What Might an Anthropology of Secularism Look Like?
21

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2 Thinking about Agency and Pain
67

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3 Reflections on Cruelty and Torture
100

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SECULARISM
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4 Redeeming the “Human” Through Human Rights
127

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5 Muslims as a “Religious Minority” in Europe
159

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6 Secularism, Nation-State, Religion
181

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SECULARIZATION
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7 Reconfigurations of Law and Ethics in Colonial Egypt
205

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Index
257

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Publishing information

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

eBook published on:

September 7, 2020

eBook ISBN:

9780804783095

Pages and Images/Illustrations in book

Main content:

280

https://doi.org/10.1515/9780804783095

eBook ISBN: 9780804783095

Audience(s) for this book

For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research

Formations of the Secular

Overview

About this book

Author / Editor information

Reviews

Topics

Table of contents

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Thinking about Secularism

1 What Might an Anthropology of Secularism Look Like?

2 Thinking about Agency and Pain

3 Reflections on Cruelty and Torture

4 Redeeming the “Human” Through Human Rights

5 Muslims as a “Religious Minority” in Europe

6 Secularism, Nation-State, Religion

7 Reconfigurations of Law and Ethics in Colonial Egypt

Index

Bibliographic data