Pluralism

Indian Queer Activism and Secularism

Bibliographic Data

ID3974174
AuthorsEmma Thompson (0000-0001-5341-4264, Princeton University, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume64
Issue1
Pages36-55
Publication date2024-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueHistory of Religions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-2710 • E-ISSN: 1545-6935
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/730693
OpenAlexW4401207521
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

In this article I look at the social media activism of two queer activist groups based out of India, one Muslim and one religiously nonaffiliated. I ask how they navigate and deploy languages of secularism, paying particular attention to their use of art and their interactions with current events. I argue that both groups rely on shifting secular tropes within their activism to build community and respond to challenges, but that their relationship to secularism is complicated by tensions in what secularism means, both to their members and to the nation more broadly. In examining these shifting tropes, I identify two broad approaches to secularism, a pluralist approach and a universalist approach. By exploring how both groups navigate between these two approaches and examining how universalist conceptualizations of queerness and humanity underpin their activism, I consider the implications of their deployment of languages of secularism for their activism. Drawing connections between a universalist approach and Hindu nationalist strategies, I suggest that the universalist aspects of both groups’ approaches can unwittingly support Hindu nationalist projects, even as they position themselves against the Hindu right

Epistemology · Pluralism (philosophy) · Political science · Politics · Queer · Secularism · Sociology · African Sexualities and LGBTQ+ Issues · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies

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