Table Of ContentLiving with
RELIGIOUS
DIVERSITY
Looking beyond exclusively state-oriented solutions to the management
of religious diversity, this book explores ways of fostering respectful, non-
violent and welcoming social relations among religious communities. It
examines the question of how to balance religious diversity, individual
rights and freedoms with a common national identity and moral
consensus. The chapters discuss the interface between state and civil
society in ‘secular’ countries and look at case studies from the West and
India. They study themes such as religious education, religious diversity,
pluralism, inter-religious relations and exchanges, Dalits and religion
and issues arising from the lived experience of religious diversity in
various countries. The volume asserts that if religious violence crosses
borders, so do ideas about how to live together peacefully, theological
refl ection on pluralism, and lived practices of friendship across the
boundaries of religious identity groupings.
Bringing together interdisciplinary scholarship from across
the world, the book will interest scholars and students of philosophy,
religious studies, political science, sociology and history.
Sonia Sikka is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Ottawa,
Canada.
Bindu Puri is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Delhi,
India.
Lori G. Beaman is the Canada Research Chair in the Contextualization
of Religion in a Diverse Canada and Professor in the Department of
Classics and Religious Studies at the University of Ottawa, Canada.
This page intentionally left blank
Living with
RELIGIOUS
DIVERSITY
EDITED BY
SONIA SIKKA,
BINDU PURI AND
LORI G. BEAMAN
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 India International Centre, New Delhi
The right of India International Centre, New Delhi to be identifi ed as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented,
including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
ISBN: 978-1-138-94458-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67172-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Berkeley
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
CONTENTS
vii: List of figures
viii: Foreword
KARAN SINGH
xii: Acknowledgements
xiii: List of contributors
xiv: Introduction
PART I NEGOTIATING DIFFERENCE IN PRACTICE
3: 1 Religious other or religious inferior?
LINDA WOODHEAD
17: 2 Faith, ethnicity and nationalism:
St. Thomas Christians in India
SEBASTIAN VELASSERY
37: 3 Reframing understandings of religion: lessons from India
LORI G. BEAMAN
49: 4 Islam and religious pluralism in India
ARSHAD ALAM
PART II RELIGION AND CASTE
69: 5 Intimate desires: Dalit women and
religious conversions in colonial India
CHARU GUPTA
105: 6 Buddhism in Indian philosophy
A. RAGHURAMARAJU
126: 7 Religious diversity and the politics of an overlapping
consensus
GOPAL GURU
PART III RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
137: 8 Education in secular democratic societies:
the challenge of religious diversity
RATNA GHOSH
153: 9 A cultural and dialogic approach to religious education
SOLANGE LEFEBVRE
168: 10 Religious education in a secular state
RAJEEV BHARGAVA
182: 11 Teaching ‘religion’ and ‘philosophy’ in India
SONIA SIKKA
PART IV INTERROGATING LIBERAL SOLUTIONS
203: 12 Diversity, secularism and religious toleration
ASHWANI KUMAR PEETUSH
219: 13 Religious diversity and the devout
BINDU PURI
238: 14 The international politics of religious freedom
ELIZABETH SHAKMAN HURD
vi
FIGURES
5.1 Lion and lamb on the same river bank 75
5.2 Thirst for water 75
5.3 Left is the state of being Hindu (untouchable). Right
is the complete change on becoming a Christian 81
5.4 See the difference between two women of the same
species: one is an English madam and the other a
servant-untouchable. The former walks ahead with an
umbrella, while the latter walks behind with her child 82
5.5 The Christian woman is the master of the dog, while
the outcaste woman is her servant. But they both were
of the same caste, Hindus please see carefully 83
5.6 One has become a madam-lady, and the other a
fi sh seller. Blessed be the religion of Christ, which
is all powerful 84
5.7 Cover of a book: Only for Married Women and Men 87
5.8 Tending the feet 90
vii
FOREWORD
R
eligion deals with something very deep and fundamental in the
human psyche. Despite centuries of liberal dismissal, despite
Bertrand Russell’s statement that human beings are only a
‘fortuitous conglomeration of atoms’ and Arthur Koestler’s theory
that the human race is ‘programmed for self-destruction’, religion
is still with us, along with its sense that there is a higher purpose
for our existence. The point is that you cannot dismiss religion, and
it is dangerous to think otherwise. For half a century, the Indian
intelligentsia has adopted a supercilious and dismissive attitude
towards religion. That has been a major dereliction of duty, because,
then, the interpretation of religion is left to the most vicious, the
most backward, the most fundamentalist elements in societies.
This is why enlightened people in all societies must speak up about
religion, in view of its potential for both good and bad. It is true that
religion poses social problems, but we have to face these; we cannot
solve them merely by avoiding the topic.
Recently, there has been a revival of religion, as I have just
noted, and it has some very good aspects. Unfortunately, at the
same time, there has also been a resurgence of fundamentalism and
fanaticism in every religion. While these negative currents within
Islam have become well-known because of the jehadis, which is a
recent development, there has also been a growth of fundamentalism
in Christianity, as well as in Hinduism which in the past had
never been a proselytizing religion. For whatever reason, certain
groups have created unfortunate and unhappy situations, such as
in Ayodhya, or Gujarat, or the attacks upon Christian missionaries
who were doing excellent work in the service of the people. This
is something which cannot be accepted; it has to be opposed not
merely by the law, but by the common people.
viii
FOREWORD
I know we have been through diffi cult times. In our own
lifetime, India was partitioned on the basis of religion. The Muslim
majority provinces opted out, rightly or wrongly. But not only did
the Constitution makers not react by setting up a Hindu state,
they went out of their way to set up a strongly secular state and
incorporate in it special provisions for religious minorities. I do
not think that there is such an example anywhere else in the world,
and that India has received suffi cient credit for the fact that while
a nation was divided on the basis of religion, the remainder of the
nation struggled to create a Constitution where everybody is equal
in the eyes of the law. It is a very great thing – a very remarkable
thing – and we must now continue to strengthen the foundation of
our constitution, not only legally, but also among the general public.
The academic study of religion can play an important role in
this respect, and especially refl ections on religious diversity, such
as those contained in this volume. What is especially important
about the theme these essays address is that it is about living
with religious diversity, directing attention not only to laws and
governmental policies, but also to the place of religious diversity
in people’s lived experience. This is a subject with which I have
been personally occupied for a long time, through my now
30-year-long participation in the Interfaith Movement. As a child,
moreover, I was involved with three great religions. I was born a
Hindu, and have studied and lectured on Hinduism around the
world. But I belong to a Muslim majority state and, therefore, from
childhood I would pay my homage to the great Muslim dargahs
which are located in Kashmir, whether it is Charar-e-Sharif, the
great monument to Alamdar-é Kashmir Shaik Nooruddin Noorania
or whether it is Maqdum Sahab in Srinagar, Baba Rishi in Gulmarg,
Hazarat Bal itself or the Dargah Sharif in Ajmer. From childhood
we have been taught to respect these dargahs with the same
shraddha, the same devotion, as we do our own temples. As far as
Christianity is concerned, I have been very ecumenical. The fi rst
school I went to was the Presentation Convent in Srinagar and the
second was the Cathedral High School in Bombay. Thus, I covered
both the Catholic and the Protestant traditions, and I was raised
by European and Christian guardians. I have lived the Interfaith
Movement personally, and it has been very much a part of my
ix
