About the Book
Secularism: The Basics is a concise and engaging introduction to confusing and contradictory public discussions of secularism across the globe.
In this lively and lucid book, Jacques Berlinerblau addresses why secularism is defined in so many ways and why it so ignites people’s passions. In so doing, he explores the following important questions: What does secularism mean? Why should we care about this idea? What are the different types of secularism and what are their histories? What are the basic principles of political secularisms? Why are secularism and Atheism often confused? What is the relationship between secularism and LGBTQ rights? What opposition are secularisms up against? What does the future hold for a concept millennia in the making, but only really operationalized in the last century and a half?
This thoroughly updated new edition includes two new chapters on African Secularisms and the importance of Mexico in the history of political secularism. With a glossary of key terms, new and updated case studies throughout, informative tables, and suggestions for further reading, the book considers key philosophical, religious, anti-religious, and post-colonial arguments around secularism. This book continues to be an ideal starting point for anyone seeking a readable introduction to the often-conflicting interpretations of one of our era’s most complex and controversial ideas.
Table of Contents:
1. The S-Word: Define your terms! Part I: The ten principles of political secularism 2. Who’s on top?: The two powers 3. “Thought is free”: Martin Luther and early Modernity 4. “Burning Zeal”: John Locke and the Enlightenment Part II: Frameworks of political secularism in global perspective 5. American secularism: The (wobbly) Separationist framework 6. French secularism: The laïcité framework 7. Mexican Secularism: Independence of State and Church 8. Indian secularism: The accommodationist framework 9. Swerves: Secularism and Atheism 10. Atheist secularism: The Soviet framework 11. Embrace complexity!: Turkey, China Part III: Anti-secularisms, lifestyle secularisms, and a case study 12. Secular Africa 13. Anti-secularisms of the right: Conservative religious anti-secularism 14. Anti-secularisms of the left 15. Lifestyle secularisms 16. LGBTQ rights in Uruguay and Secularstan with Alexander Lin and Ria Pradhan 17. Love the referee? Glossary of key terms Index
About the Author :
Jacques Berlinerblau is a Professor of Jewish Civilization at Georgetown University, USA. He is the author of numerous scholarly works on secularism, including How to Be Secular: A Call to Arms for Religious Freedom (2012) and the article “Secular Africa: Making Sense of Non-Compliance to Secular Constitutions in Sub-Saharan Africa,” co-authored by Bethania Michael and Alexander Lin (2023).
Review :
Praise for the first edition:
"Clear and comprehensive, Jacques Berlinerblau's Secularism: The Basics is a key contribution to a perennially important topic."
Caroline Mala Corbin, University of Miami School of Law, USA
"Smart, original and provocative, Belinerblau’s book is essential reading for anyone who dares to use the word ‘secular’."
Lori G. Beaman, University of Ottawa, Canada
"This book is superb. Berlinerblau is careful, fair, and honest in his treatment of secularism and its many manifestations. He has compiled his decades of research on this topic into a short, clear, and very insightful volume. The chapter on leftist critiques of secularism should be mandatory reading for all scholars interested in secularism. Anyone who cares about this topic will need to be familiar with this book. This will be my go-to reference on secularism from now on."
Ryan Cragun, University of Tampa, USA
"What a rare combination of great scholarly expertise and the courage to simplify! This engagingly written book breaks down complex meanings of secularism, discusses its historical manifestations and current controversies and provides a fierce defence of its political relevance in today’s world."
Johannes Quack, University of Zurich, Switzerland
"Sharp, informative, insightful, engaging, accessible, authoritative – and beautifully cogent."
Phil Zuckerman, Pitzer College, USA
"Berlinerblau could have called this pithy and eminently engagingly written text, 'a handbook on the varieties of secularism,' because his main point is this: There is no single definition or political manifestation of secularism."
Jonathon Kahn, book review in Journal of Church and State, 65(1), Winter 2023, pp. 133–135
"Secularism delivers on its promise to cover the basics, which are presented as digestible components with chapter-specific further reading lists around which topical essay assignments could be designed. Berlinerblau has succeeded in writing an engaging and pedagogically useful introduction to secularism."
Eva Braunstein, book review in Reading Religion, JAAR, July 28, 2023
"Defending separation of church and state for genuinely democratic nations, this concise yet comprehensive book charts the political secularism safeguarding democratic ideals such as pluralism, full citizenship, and civil rights. Required reading for those in politics, constitutional theory, and international studies as well as for scholars of philosophy."
J. R. Shook, University of Buffalo, USA, book review in CHOICE, 60(5), January 2023
Jacques Berlinerblau’s Secularism: The Basics is a kind of Everything That You Ever Wanted To Know About Secularism, But Never Dared Ask. To Berlinerblau’s great credit, at less than 200 pages in total, it is an eminently accessible, light and at times even downright fun academic monograph to read. Each chapter comes with eminently useful suggestions for further reading for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the topics covered, and the book ends with a very useful glossary of terms.
All in all, Berlinerblau has written an engaged and eminently readable account of secularism which is of great value to students and scholars in the field alike. Berlinerblau deserves credit not only for the book, but also for the demonstrated will to communicate with a broad audience on display in its pages.
Sindre Bangstad, Journal of Secular Studies
Concluding, this book is a great read; indeed, I could hardly put it aside. It is intellectually rich, gives quite convincing arguments, great examples, and is highly engaging and accessible. Whatever one’s position on religion, state and secularism, this book is a must, for both believers, non-believers, and doubters, and all those in-between. Helped by author’s three proposals for ‘innovation’ of political secularism theory (p. 185f.), the book will foster more dialogue and mutual understanding – if people from all camps are willing to learn something new.
The book is one of the best guides to the thorny issue of ‘secularism’ as a political formula, and indeed sets out the issues of debate in an exemplary way. In three parts and 15 chapters, the author discusses concepts, and ideologies, and provides excellent historical examples and more recent trajectories and forms of secularism.
Jon Abbink, Journal of Secular Studies
