Synopses & Reviews
What is secularism, and why does it matter? In an era marked by global religious revival, how do countries navigate the presence of faith in the public square? In this dynamic collection of essays, leading scholars from around the world, including Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua and French female rabbi Delphine Horvilleur, examine the condition of church-state relations in three pivotal countries: the United States, France, and Israel. Their analyses are rooted in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ethnography and demography to political science, gender studies, theology, and law.
Prominent among the points addressed are the crippling nomenclatural confusions that have so hampered not only secularism as a political ideology, but secularism as an academic construct. This reader-friendly volume also offers a critical and nuanced look at how women are impacted by secular governance. Though secularism is often equated with modernity and progress, including with regard to gender equality, our contributors find that the truth is infinitely more complicated.
Synopsis
In this dynamic and wide-ranging collection of essays, prominent scholars examine the condition of church-state relations in the United States, France, and Israel. Their analyses are rooted in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ethnography and demography to political science, gender studies, theology, and the law.
About the Author
Jacques Berlinerblau is Professor of Jewish Civilization at the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, USA. His most recent book is How to be Secular: A Call to for Religious Freedom (2012).
Sarah Fainberg is Visiting Professor of Government at the Harold Hartog School of Government and Policy, Tel Aviv University, Israel and a Research Fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Israel.
Aurora Nou is a graduate student in International Politics at American University in Washington, DC., USA. Her current research focuses on issues of human rights and human security.
Table of Contents
I.