Secularism is not a neutral doctrine but a modern construct redefining religion and politics

Evidence

As Talal Asad (2003, 1–2) has demonstrated in his groundbreaking analysis in the Formations of the Secular, “what is distinctive about ‘secularism’ is that it presupposes new concepts of ‘religion,’ ‘ethics’ and ‘politics.’” Accordingly, fundamental dichotomies such as those between “science and religion” and “nationalism and religion” have been undermined, and the historical narratives on which they rested have been thoroughly dismantled. It is widely accepted today that the perception of secularism as a universal doctrine of freedom of belief, pluralism, and so on cannot be taken as such and should be examined within the concrete discourses of modernity, with relation to concepts like ethnicity, culture, and race. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 295

Categorization

• DEFINE: Asad’s redefinition of secularism — as presupposing new concepts of religion, ethics, politics — is the load-bearing theoretical move for questioning whether Israel is exceptional in fusing religion and nationalism.
• XREF: Undermines the dichotomy that the reader’s ‘manufactured enemy vs. primordial identity’ question might otherwise rest on — categories themselves are constructs, not fixed poles. — connects to: The secular concept precedes secularism as a political doctrine — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 74; Modernity’s core political concepts are secularized Christian concepts — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism: A Critique of…, 184; Secularism is an enacted political mediation that transcends particularized identities — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular:…, 30 (+8 more)

Broader Connections

• Modern political-constitutional concepts are secularized theology #corroborates (0.85) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 922
• Secularism as state doctrine emerged from linking personal morality to legislative social reconstruction #expands (0.85)
• The secular concept precedes secularism as a political doctrine #qualifies (0.82) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 74
• The secular was originally a theological, not an anti-religious, concept #qualifies (0.80)
• The secular as epistemic category and secularism as doctrine need separating analytically #expands (0.80) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 16
• Modernity’s core political concepts are secularized Christian concepts #corroborates (0.78) — Wael Hallaq, Restating Orientalism, 184
• Secularism is an enacted political mediation that transcends particularized identities #contradicts (0.78) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 30
• The religious and secular are co-constitutive, not opposed spheres #corroborates (0.78) — Peter Morey, Islamophobia and the Novel, 501
• Secularism is not a mask for religion. #qualifies (0.75) — Talal Asad, Formations of the Secular, 106
• Secularism is an enactment of transcendent identity, not an intellectual doctrine #contradicts (0.72)