Citizenship Studies

Special Issue: Religionization and Citizenship

Guest Editors: Guy Ben-Porat and Yoav Peled

Call for Papers

 

The resurgence of religion in the public sphere (dubbed de- or post-secularization,resacralization, or religionization) is a well-known and widely commented upon phenomenon in much of the world. According to José Casanova, in the 1980s "religion, leaving its assigned place in the private sphere, had thrust itself into the public arena of moral and political contestation" (Casanova 1994:3). Bryan Turner has averred that “The idea that secularization is an inevitable outcome of modernization has been widely challenged by contemporary research and historical analysis” (Turner 2010:5). Students of this phenomenon, such as Casanova, Turner, David Martin, Peter Berger, Jürgen Habermas, Judith Butler, Craig Calhoun and many others, have explained the resurgence of public religion largely in terms of the failure of secular ideologies (such as nationalism, liberalism and socialism) to provide normative and emotive foundations for collective identity and action, and the failure of scientific approaches (such as rationalism, positivism and methodological individualism) to provide a meaningful understanding of reality. Many have questioned the validity of the secularization thesis itself and the presumed close ties between secularization, modernity, and the Enlightenment.

In this special issue we wish to explore the effects of religionization on the institution of citizenship. The modern idea of democratic citizenship entails, inter alia, social solidarity, political equality, tolerance and civility as between the citizens. Since the French Revolution citizenship has developed hand-in-hand with modernization, secularization and democratization. The question we would like to raise, then, is how religionization may affect, and has affected, the various qualities encompassed by the concept of citizenship in different social spheres including, but not limited to: the rights of women and the LGBTQ community, inter-ethnic relations in multiethnic societies, freedom of thought and of expression, the rise of populism and decline of liberal politics.

We are interested in original articles dealing with these and related issues in all parts of the world and with respect to all religions.

Please send titles, abstracts of no more than 250 words, and five keywords of proposed articlesby January 15, 2019, to:

Prof. Guy Ben-Porat, gbp@bgu.ac.il or Prof. Yoav Peled, poli1@tauex.tau.ac.il