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Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity

by Talal Asad
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Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity
Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity

Rethinking secularism beyond religion-versus-reason binaries

This is a sharp, challenging read for anyone curious about how secularism actually gets made, rather than simply assumed. Asad peels back the idea that the secular is neutral or purely rational, showing how deeply it is tied to modern power, history, and politics. If you like books that quietly but completely rearrange how you see familiar concepts, this one has that kind of lasting intellectual force.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Formations of the Secular: Christianity, Islam, Modernity

by Talal Asad
Compare to estimated retail price: S$50.00  

The item you've got your eye on is secondhand. You probably already know that, but just in case!

The estimated retail price shown next to any listed item represents the first-hand prices we've seen elsewhere, or the estimated original retail price of a comparable item of the same quality, construction and material offered elsewhere in new condition.

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ISBN: 9780804747684
Authors: Talal Asad
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Date of Publication: 2003-02-03
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Religion, History, Politics, Sociology, Philosophy
Related Topics: History, Social Justice, Christianity, Sociology, European History, World History, Politics, Anthropology, Theory
Goodreads rating: 4.06
(rated by 473 readers)

Description

Opening with the provocative query "What might an anthropology of the secular look like?" this book explores the concepts, practices, and political formations of secularism, with emphasis on the major historical shifts that have shaped secular sensibilities and attitudes in the modern West and the Middle East. Talal Asad proceeds to dismantle commonly held assumptions about the secular and the terrain it allegedly covers. He argues that while anthropologists have oriented themselves to the study of the "strangeness of the non-European world" and to what are seen as non-rational dimensions of social life (things like myth, taboo, and religion), the modern and the secular have not been adequately examined. The conclusion is that the secular cannot be viewed as a successor to religion, or be seen as on the side of the rational. It is a category with a multi-layered history, related to major premises of modernity, democracy, and the concept of human rights. This book will appeal to anthropologists, historians, religious studies scholars, as well as scholars working on modernity.
 

Rethinking secularism beyond religion-versus-reason binaries

This is a sharp, challenging read for anyone curious about how secularism actually gets made, rather than simply assumed. Asad peels back the idea that the secular is neutral or purely rational, showing how deeply it is tied to modern power, history, and politics. If you like books that quietly but completely rearrange how you see familiar concepts, this one has that kind of lasting intellectual force.

Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.