{"id":2471,"date":"2022-11-13T15:38:43","date_gmt":"2022-11-13T15:38:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\/?post_type=seminar&p=2471"},"modified":"2022-11-13T15:38:45","modified_gmt":"2022-11-13T15:38:45","slug":"2006-the-secular-state-and-society","status":"publish","type":"seminar","link":"https:\/\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\/sv\/seminarier\/2006-the-secular-state-and-society\/","title":{"rendered":"2006: The Secular State and Society"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Only a few decades ago, the future of religion in the West seemed predictable and there was good reason to suppose that the rest of the world would follow suit, with society growing increasingly secularised. The question of the future of the secular state could be deleted from the agenda, for the simple reason that there would be ever fewer believers to challenge it. Evidence to the contrary \u2013 in America for example \u2013 was simply dismissed. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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The theory seemed to have the backing of historical logic. Secularisation and the secular state marked the culmination of a long process in the West whereby Christianity had steadily lost ground. The ideas of the Enlightenment were surely in ascendance. Modernity indeed implied secularism. Science and social progress appeared victorious in the contest for souls and society. But western secularism was never without its com- plications: extreme utopian political creeds, such as communism and fascism, were arguably quasi-religions in their own right.<\/p>\n

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At the start of the 21st century, however, it seems as if we have entered a post-secular era. Religion has proved itself important in ways that have widely different meanings. The experience may be primarily an individual, inward concern, or it may represent the core of certain movements which respect, or profess to respect, the secular state but claim the right to determine its member\u2019s lifestyles. But movements have also appeared which aspire to leave their imprint on society as a whole and thus to abolish the secular state. Are these fundamentalist movements akin to the religions whose divisions had such a destructive impact on Europe?<\/p>\n

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How is the secular state to act in relation to these manifestations of religions? Should it endeavour to remain neutral, as in the US, or support religion but show equal favour to all convictions, as in India? Does a weak state religion act as a safeguard against rivalry between religious groups as arguably it does in the UK, or should a strict distinction between church and state prevail as in France or Turkey? What are the prospects for constructing secular constitutions in the Middle East, after the coalition forces dismantled a singular secularist, Saddam Hussein? Does it matter if those prospects are slight? And how should Europe respond to and fight the movements which challenge the secular state and perhaps wish to gain control of it? Under what conditions will those movements challenge such a state and in what ways? And above all, can the secular state endure in the long term without a secularisation of society? That is to say, if a majority of the population is religious, will they accept a secular state?<\/p>\n

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In this conference these issues are discussed in a threefold manner: first the historical forces behind the emergence of the secular state and society are outlined, and then the threats to secular society considering Europe and Islam are discussed taking examples from different European countries, and finally the future of multicultural society is addressed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Medverkande<\/h3>\n\n
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\n Olivier Roy: France and Islam <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Professor, EHESS, University of Paris, France <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Theodore Dalrymple: Muslims in Britain \u2013 The Effects of Secularisation <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Journalist, UK <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Lars Hedegaard: The Growth of Islam in Denmark and the Future of Secularism <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Journalist, Denmark <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Carl Rudbeck: Sweden and Islam <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Journalist, Sweden <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Tariq Ramadan: The Muslim Mission in Europe <\/p>\n

\n Writer and President of the think tank European Muslim Network, Belgium <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Ayaan Hirsi Ali: The Price of Freedom \u2013 Muslim Women in Holland <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Politician, The Netherlands <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Bassam Tibi: What Islam for a Post\u00adSecular Europe? \u2013 The Case of Germany <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Professor, University of G\u00f6ttingen, Germany <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Dogu Ergil: Turkey, Europe and Islam <\/p>\n

\n Professor, Ankara University, Turkey <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Etyen Mahcupyan: Challenges of Change and Authoritarian Secularism <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, Turkey <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Pierre Lellouche: The Islamic Threat <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Politician, Deput\u00e9 of the Assembl\u00e9e Nationale, France <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Rolf Ek\u00e9us: Contradictions in Secularism and Islam; Iraq <\/p>\n

\n Ambassador, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Sweden <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Paul Scheffer: The Multicultural Drama \u2013 European Experiences <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Journalist, The Netherlands <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Ibn Warraq: Identity, Culture, Reason and the West <\/p>\n

\n Writer, Founder of ISIS (Institute for the Secularisation of Islamic Society), USA <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Kenan Malik: The Failure of Multiculturalism <\/p>\n

\n Writer and Journalist, UK <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Nathan Shachar: Multiculturalism \u2013 Some Views on a Conceptual Muddle <\/p>\n

\n Author and Journalist, Sweden <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

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\n Hugh Roberts: Against Identity Politics <\/p>\n

\n Dr, Director, International Crisis Group, Cairo, Egypt <\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n\n

\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n <\/section>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-2471","seminar","type-seminar","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2006: The Secular State and Society - Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for public benefit<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\/sv\/seminarier\/2006-the-secular-state-and-society\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"sv_SE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2006: The Secular State and Society - Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for public benefit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\/sv\/seminarier\/2006-the-secular-state-and-society\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Axel and Margaret Ax:son Johnson Foundation for public benefit\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-13T15:38:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/big-placeholder-people-1.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1088\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"612\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\\\/sv\\\/seminarier\\\/2006-the-secular-state-and-society\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/axsonjohnsonfoundation.org\\\/sv\\\/seminarier\\\/2006-the-secular-state-and-society\\\/\",\"name\":\"2006: The Secular State and Society - 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