ABSTRACT

There are numerous examples of how religion and nationalism intertwine. In some cases, a common religion is the fundamental marker of a nation’s identity, whereas in others secular nationalism tries to hold together people of different religious beliefs.

This book examines the link between religion and nationalism in contemporary polities. By exploring case studies on India, Russia, Israel, Canada, Chechnya, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Belgium, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Sri Lanka, Catalonia and the Basque Country, it seeks to understand the relationship between these two key societal forms of diversity and assess the interaction between religious and nationalist perspectives. Expert contributors examine a variety of phenomena, including secular nationalism, secessionism, and polities in which religious pluralism is evolving.

This book will be of interest to students and scholars of political science, religion and politics, nationalism, federalism, secession, political philosophy, racial and ethnic politics and comparative politics.

chapter |11 pages

Nationalism and religion

Friends or foes?

chapter |24 pages

Governments and god(s)

A provisional taxonomy

chapter |12 pages

Chechnya

The Islamization of a secession

chapter |14 pages

The Quebec Charter of Values

Using the French concept of laïcité to create a clash with the Canadian multiculturalism

chapter |16 pages

He will inspire us with courage and bring our enemies to nought 1

Religion and nationalism in Scotland

chapter |14 pages

Accommodating Flemings and Francophones in a federal arrangement

The cultural and religious dimension of the Belgian experience

chapter |13 pages

Religion and nationalism

The Basque country as a case study