Sacralizing the Secular. The Ethno-fundamentalist movements

Authors

  • Enzo Pace Universidade de Pádua

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-7984.2017v16n36p403

Abstract

Religious fundamentalist movements regard the secular state as an enemy because it claims to codify its power as if God did not exist. Those movements consider their religion the repository of absolute truth, the ultimate source legitimizing human laws. Therefore, although they are postsecular, at the same time they endeavor to transform religious principles into political agendas. Indeed, militants often act in accordance with political objectives in the attempt to assert the primacy of their own faith over that of others. They move within contemporary societies in the name of a radical political theology. The main arguments based on two case studies: Bodu Bala Sena in Sri Lanka and the movements for the Hindutva in India.

Author Biography

Enzo Pace, Universidade de Pádua

Professor de Sociologia e Sociologia da Religião na Universidade de Pádua (Itália), onde dirige o departamento
de sociologia (DELETE). Professor visitante na École des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (Paris) e antigo
presidente da Sociedade Internacional para a Sociologia das Religiões (ISSR/SISR).

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Published

2017-10-17

Issue

Section

Thematic Dossier