Book Review of Thomas Banchoff, ed. ‘Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics.’ Banchoff, Thomas, ed. Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics. Oxford University Press, 2008, 348 pp., £54.00 hard body (ISBN 978-0-19-532340-5), £13.99 paper body (ISBN 978-0-19-532341-2). To be submitted to the ‘Journal of Interreligious Studies.’
Introduction
The book; ‘Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics’ was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press. It was the second in a series drawn from the proceedings at the 2006 International Conference on “The New Religious Pluralism in World Politics’ organised by the Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, Washington DC. …show more content…
Besides, the insight that Mehta shared in his chapter using the Indian context as a case study suggests that the issues are not all that straightforward. Even in advances democracies with good governance and best practices, they still are unable to speak to the religious convictions and experiences that often provoke religious violence. Moreover, in her chapter on ‘The Possibility of Religious Pluralism’, Mehta added richness and nuance to the argument when he creates the impression that the ambivalent world of tension existing between religious pluralism and modern democracies will continue to persist. On the one hand he argues that, the main challenges to religious pluralism in modern democracies arise from the ‘normative restrictions’ on what constitutes ‘an acceptable argument when accommodating diversity.’ Yet, on the other hand, reconciling religious pluralism (including transnational religious movements and diversity of culture) in a globalised society with a common political identity, seems to pose a major challenge for modern democracies across the world (p.66). Even if we agree with the argument that the opportunities that modern democracy and good governance present for conflict resolution and peacebuilding far outweigh that of failed states, the observations that Mehta made on the …show more content…
The various scholars also provided the framework on how to relate to these challenges. The chapters are very friendly, with scholars interacting with ideas from each other – a real pointer to good teamwork. The tone of the book is largely gracious, which not only encourages the readability but is also complementary to the main themes in the
Introduction
The book; ‘Religious Pluralism, Globalization, and World Politics’ was published in 2008 by Oxford University Press. It was the second in a series drawn from the proceedings at the 2006 International Conference on “The New Religious Pluralism in World Politics’ organised by the Berkley Centre for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University, Washington DC. …show more content…
Besides, the insight that Mehta shared in his chapter using the Indian context as a case study suggests that the issues are not all that straightforward. Even in advances democracies with good governance and best practices, they still are unable to speak to the religious convictions and experiences that often provoke religious violence. Moreover, in her chapter on ‘The Possibility of Religious Pluralism’, Mehta added richness and nuance to the argument when he creates the impression that the ambivalent world of tension existing between religious pluralism and modern democracies will continue to persist. On the one hand he argues that, the main challenges to religious pluralism in modern democracies arise from the ‘normative restrictions’ on what constitutes ‘an acceptable argument when accommodating diversity.’ Yet, on the other hand, reconciling religious pluralism (including transnational religious movements and diversity of culture) in a globalised society with a common political identity, seems to pose a major challenge for modern democracies across the world (p.66). Even if we agree with the argument that the opportunities that modern democracy and good governance present for conflict resolution and peacebuilding far outweigh that of failed states, the observations that Mehta made on the …show more content…
The various scholars also provided the framework on how to relate to these challenges. The chapters are very friendly, with scholars interacting with ideas from each other – a real pointer to good teamwork. The tone of the book is largely gracious, which not only encourages the readability but is also complementary to the main themes in the