Interventionist Secularism

A Comparative Analysis of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (1923-1928) and the Indian Constituent Assembly (1946-1949) Debates

Bibliographic Data

ID2287765
AuthorsAysel Madra (Sabancı Üniversitesi, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume54
Issue2
Pages222-241
Publication date2015-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Scientific Study of Religion (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8294 • E-ISSN: 1468-5906
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jssr.12192
OpenAlexW2143853810
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited49

The debates in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (1923-1928) and the Indian Constituent Assembly (1946-1949) inscribed the secular infrastructures of these states into law. A close examination of these debates shows that while the separation of religion and state was an important aspect of Turkish and Indian secularisms, both allowed the state to intervene in the religious sphere. In both, state intervention in religion sought to transform the majority religion into a secularized and modernized form that would complement national identity. However, whereas Turkish secularism adopted 'restrictive intervention,' which sanctions state interference to construct a monolithic national identity, the Indian nationalist leaders adopted 'emancipative intervention,' which seeks to create an overarching national identity while preserving the cultural and religious diversity of society. While the former type of secularist intervention limits religion's public visibility and places it under state control, the latter seeks to eliminate and reform religious practices that hinder social justice and equality. Based on this analysis, I argue that secularism may be seen as a tool state authorities utilize in the service of the political project of creating a modern nation

National identity · Nationalism · Political science · Politics · Public sphere · Secular state · Secularism · Secularization · Sociology · State (computer science) · Turkish · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Religion and Society Interactions · Religion, Society, and Development