Living with Religious Diversity [Hardcover]

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 essays discuss the interface between state and civil society in secular countries and look at case studies from the 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 reflection 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.

ForewordKaran Singh. Acknowledgements.Introduction Sonia Sikka, Lori G. Beaman and Bindu PuriPart I. Negotiating Difference in Practice 1.Religious Other or Religious Inferior? Linda Woodhead2.Faith, Ethnicity and Nationalism: St. Thomas Christians in India Sebastian Velassery3.Reframing Understandings of Religion: Lessons from India Lori G. Beaman4.Islam and Religious Pluralism in India Arshad AlamPart II. Religion and Caste 5.Conversions, Desire and Dalit Women in Colonial India Charu Gupta6.Buddhism in Indian Philosophy A. Raghuramraju7.Rell.