Living with Religious Diversity

Looking beyond exclusively state-oriented solutions to the management of religious diversity, this book explores ways of fostering respectful, non-violent and welcoming social relations among religious communities. It examines the question of how to balance religious diversity, individual rights and freedoms with a common national identity and moral consensus. The essays discuss the interface between state and civil society in ‘secular’ countries and look at case studies from the the West and India. They study themes such as religious education, religious diversity, pluralism, inter-religious relations and exchanges, dalits and religion, and issues arising from the lived experience of religious diversity in various countries. The volume asserts that if religious violence crosses borders, so do ideas about how to live together peacefully, theological reflection on pluralism, and lived practices of friendship across the boundaries of religious identity-groupings. Bringing together interdisciplinary scholarship from across the world, the book will interest scholars and students of philosophy, religious studies, political science, sociology and history.

Foreword Karan Singh. Acknowledgements. Introduction Sonia Sikka, Lori G. Beaman and Bindu Puri Part I. Negotiating Difference in Practice 1. Religious Other or Religious Inferior? Linda Woodhead 2. Faith, Ethnicity and Nationalism: St. Thomas Christians in India Sebastian Velassery 3. Reframing Understandings of Religion: Lessons from India Lori G. Beaman 4. Islam and Religious Pluralism in India Arshad Alam Part II. Religion and Caste 5. Conversions, Desire and Dalit Women in Colonial India Charu Gupta 6. Buddhism in Indian Philosophy A. Raghuramraju 7. Religion, Caste and the Politics of Overlapping Consensus in India Gopal Guru Part III. Religious Education 8. Education in Secular Democratic Societies: The Challenge of Religious Diversity Ratna Ghosh 9. A Cultural and Dialogic Approach to Religious Education Solange Lefebvre 10. Religious Education in a Secular State Rajeev Bhargava 11. Teaching ‘Religion’ and ‘Philosophy’ in India Sonia Sikka Part IV. Interrogating Liberal Solutions 12. Diversity, Secularism and Religious Toleration Ashwani Peetush 13. Religious Diversity and the Devout Bindu Puri 14. The International Politics of Religious Freedom Elizabeth Shakman-Hurd

Sonia Sikka is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa, Canada. Bindu Puri is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Delhi, India. Lori G. Beaman is the Canada Research Chair in the Contextualization of Religion in a Diverse Canada and Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada.