Secularism Assimilation And The Crisis Of Multiculturalism

Jansen's book shows how even the most sophisticated academic views defending secularism and assimilation remain rooted in unexamined 'modernist dichotomies' inherited from French (and to some extent, European) modernism. Â℗ƯRainer Bauboeck, European University Institute, "For anyone who seeks to understand the roots of the "deepening crisis of multiculturalism" in Europe, Yolande Jansen's book is required reading. Jansen's brilliant and insightful analysis draws on a variety of fields and lucidly shows how the crisis is a crisis in modernity. Subtly weaving Proust into the argument, she brings a dry subject to life." -- Brian Klug, University of Oxford.

This remarkable study develops a theoretical critique of contemporary discourses on secularism and assimilation, arguing that the perspective of assimilating distinct religious minorities by incorporating them into a secular and supposedly neutral public sphere may be self-subverting. To flesh out this insight, Jansen draws on the paradoxes of assimilation as experienced by the French Jews in the late 19th century through a contextualised reading of Proust's In Search of Lost Time. She proposes a dynamic, critical multiculturalism as an alternative to discourses focusing on secularism, assimilation and integration.

At a time when many public commentators are turning against multiculturalism in response to fears about militant Islam, immigration or social cohesion, Tariq Modood, one of the world's leading authorities on multiculturalism, provides a distinctive contribution to these debates. He contends that the rise of Islamic terrorism has neither discredited multiculturalism nor heralded a clash of civilizations. Instead, it has highlighted a central challenge for the 21st century - the urgent need to include Muslims in contemporary conceptions of democratic citizenship. In the second edition of this popular and compelling book, Modood updates his original argument with two new chapters. He reassesses the relationship between multiculturalism, cosmopolitanism and assimilation, demonstrating that multiculturalism is crucial for successful integration. He also argues that while multiculturalism poses a significant challenge to existing forms of secularism, this challenge should not be exaggerated into a crisis. In so doing, Modood adds new vigor to the claim that multiculturalism remains a living force which is shaping our polities, even as its death is repeatedly announced. This book will appeal to students, researchers and teachers of politics, sociology and public policy, as well as to anyone interested in the prospects of multiculturalism today.

In this collection of essays Tariq Modood argues that to grasp the nature of the problem we have to see how Muslims have become a target of a cultural racism, Islamophobia.

This volume provides a comprehensive overview of the various features and challenges of the relationships between peace, state, law, and education in their transnational and international context.

As recent headlines reveal, conflicts and debates around the world increasingly involve secularism. National borders and traditional religions cannot keep people in tidy boxes as political struggles, doctrinal divergences, and demographic trends are sweeping across regions and entire continents. And secularity is increasing in society, with a growing number of people in many regions having no religious affiliation or lacking interest in religion. Simultaneously, there is a resurgence of religious participation in the politics of many countries. How might these diverse phenomena be better understood? Long-reigning theories about the pace of secularization and ideal church-state relations are under invigorated scrutiny by scholars studying secularism with new questions, better data, and fresh perspectives. The Oxford Handbook of Secularism offers a wide-ranging and in-depth examination of this global conversation, bringing together the views of an international collection of prominent experts in their respective fields. This is the essential volume for comprehending the core issues and methodological approaches to the demographics and sociology of secularity; the history and variety of political secularisms; the comparison of constitutional secularisms across many countries from America to Asia; the key problems now convulsing church-state relations; the intersections of liberalism, multiculturalism, and religion; the latest psychological research into secular lives and lifestyles; and the naturalistic and humanistic worldviews available to nonreligious people.

Uniquely informed by a sociological perspective, this major new textbook introduces the underlying origins and consequences of international migration, placing individuals within a broader social, cultural and historical context. This comprehensive introduction analyses international migration and its effects on those who migrate, their families, and their places of origin and destination. Drawing on illustrative examples from around the world, the book covers the major theories concerning the origins of international migration and the manner, degree and consequences of migrants’ incorporation into the societies to which they move. It also includes in-depth discussion of how international migration is relevant to key issues – gender, the family, and religion; the so-called refugee ‘crisis’ in much of the developed world; and offers insights throughout into cutting-edge research from emotions and lifestyle migration to the proliferation of digital communication technologies. This text expertly offers students the necessary skills to unpack common myths that are used to inform policy and media discourse, including abstract distinctions between ‘refugee’ and ‘economic migrant’, the complex and ambiguous nature of migrant national identity, and that while many richer countries of the world are characterized by a perceived refugee ‘crisis’, it is in fact poorer and developing countries that see the vast majority of the world’s refugees and displaced persons.