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Questions of secularity and modernity have become globalized, but most studies still focus on the West. This book explores the developments in five areas of the world, some of which were hitherto situated at the margins of international scholarly discussions: Africa, the Arab World, East Asia, South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

This volume breaks new ground by comparatively exploring developments in five areas of the world, some of which were hitherto situated at the margins of international scholarly discussions: Africa, the Arab World, East Asia, South Asia, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Global Secularisms addresses the state of and prospects for secularism globally. It brings together theoretical discussion and empirical case studies that illustrate the "on-the-ground," actually existing secularisms as they interact with various religious, political, social, and economic contexts.

There has been a dramatic increase in the percentage of the US population that is not religious. However, there is, to date, very little research on the social movement that is organizing to serve the needs of and advocate for the nonreligious in the US. This is a book about the rise and structure of organized secularism in the United States. By organized secularism we mean the efforts of nonreligious individuals to build institutions, networks, and ultimately a movement that serves their interests in a predominantly religious society. Researchers from various fields address questions such as: What secularist organizations exist? Who are the members of these organizations? What kinds of organizations do they create? What functions do these organizations provide for their members? How do the secularist organizations of today compare to those of the past? And what is their likely impact on the future of secularism? For anyone trying to understand the rise of the nonreligious in the US, this book will provide valuable insights into organized efforts to normalize their worldview and advocate for their equal treatment in society.

How to study the contemporary dynamics between the religious, the nonreligious and the secular in a globalizing world? Obviously, their relationship is not an empirical datum, liable to the procedures of verification or of logical deduction. We are in need of alternative conceptual and methodological tools. This volume argues that the concept of 'social imaginary' as it is used by Charles Taylor, is of utmost importance as a methodological tool to understand these dynamics. The first section is dedicated to the conceptual clarification of Taylor's notion of social imaginaries both through a historical study of their genealogy and through conceptual analysis. In the second section, we clarify the relation of 'social imaginaries' to the concept of (religious) worldviewing, understood as a process of truth seeking. Furthermore, we discuss the practical usefulness of the concept of social imaginaries for cultural scientists, by focusing on the concept of human rights as a secular social imaginary. In the third and final section, we relate Taylor's view on the role of social imaginaries and the new paths it opens up for religious studies to other analyses of the secular-religious divide, as they nowadays mainly come to the fore in the debates on what is coined as the 'post-secular.'

Charles Taylor's monumental book A Secular Age has been extensively discussed, criticized, and worked on. This volume, by contrast, explores ways of working with Taylor's book, especially its potentials and limits for individual research projects.

Die Entwicklung freigeistiger Organisationen in Deutschland nach 1945 ist bislang unter dem Radarschirm der Sozial- und Kulturwissenschaften geblieben. Dabei lassen sich gerade seit der humanistischen Wende in den 1980er Jahren dynamische Wandlungsprozesse innerhalb der Szene wahrnehmen, deren Untersuchung einen wichtigen Beitrag zu interdisziplinaren Debatten und offentlichen Diskursen um das Verhaltnis von Religion und Sakularitat in der Gegenwart leisten kann. Diese Grounded Theory geleitete Studie entwickelt in diesem Zusammenhang eine Organisationstypologie, mit deren Hilfe nicht nur weltanschauliche Entwicklungen und strategische Spannungen innerhalb der gegenwartigen freigeistigen Szene offengelegt, sondern auch gangige sakularisierungstheoretische Wahrnehmungsmuster des Gegenstandsfeldes hinterfragt und reinterpretiert werden. Der Fokus liegt dabei auf einer Ethnografie des Humanistischen Verbandes Deutschlands und der Giordano Bruno Stiftung. Die Studie kommt zu dem Ergebnis, das von der einen freigeistigen oder humanistischen Bewegung"e; nicht die Rede sein kann.

The major significance of this volume consists in the interdisciplinary study of religious and secular imaginaries from the divergent viewpoints of philosophy, religious studies and social sciences. It aims to explore 'social imaginaries' as an appropriate conceptual tool to understand the challenges raised by contemporary worldview diversity. It offers a new perspective to study these challenges in ways helpful for coping with them.

Addresses the state of and prospects for secularism globally. This book brings together theoretical discussion and empirical case studies that illustrate the "on-the-ground," actually existing secularisms as they interact with various religious, political, social, and economic contexts.

Die vorliegende Studie rekonstruiert die historische Entwicklung freigeistiger Organisationen in Deutschland nach 1945 und speziell seit der humanistischen Wende in den 1980er Jahren. Dabei wird eine Organisationstypologie entwickelt, die weltanschauliche Entwicklungen und strategische Spannungen innerhalb der freigeistigen Szene offenlegt und gängige säkularisierungstheoretische Wahrnehmungsmuster hinterfragt.

This volume looks at the secular state in the context of contemporary Asia and investigates whether there existed before modernity antecedents to the condition of secularity, understood as the differentiation of the sphere of the religious from other spheres of social life. The chapters presented in this book examine this issue in national contexts by looking at the historical formation of lexicons that defined the "secular", the "secular state," and "secularism". This approach requires paying attention to modern vernacular languages and their precedents in written traditions with often a very long tradition. This book presents three interpretive frameworks: multiple modernities, variety of secularisms, and typologies of post-colonial secular states.

Diese Studie dringt in den Kern des organisierten Säkularismus der Schweiz vor. Dazu rückt sie die Freidenkerbewegung in den Fokus einer soziologischen Analyse und bearbeitet zwei aufeinander bezogene Themenkomplexe: Einerseits zeichnet sie ein umfassendes Porträt, mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die Mobilisierung von Mitgliedern sowie Ressourcen, auf die Mitgliedschaftsstruktur in soziodemografischer und biografischer Hinsicht, auf kollektiv geteilte Identitätsvorstellungen und auf Erwartungen sowie Haltungen der Mitglieder. Andererseits bettet sie ihren Untersuchungsgegenstand in eine Umwelt ein, die geprägt ist von Säkularisierung und einer Politisierung des Religiösen. Bearbeitet werden diese beiden Themenkomplexe auf Basis eines mixed-methods Designs, das im Feld erhobene Umfragedaten systematisch kombiniert mit semistrukturierten Interviews. Die Studie kommt zum Schluss, dass das Freidenkertum vom Wandel in seiner Umwelt profitiert, während es gleichsam darunter leidet. Denn Religion und das Religiöse sind anhaltend gut dafür geeignet, um Ressourcen unterschiedlicher Art zu mobilisieren. Gleichzeitig verliert die Frage der religiösen Zugehörigkeit an gesellschaftlicher Bedeutung, was auch den säkularistischen Gegenpart dieser Zugehörigkeitskategorie erodieren lässt.