published_or_final_version / Philosophy / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

The role of secularism in government is an important question following the events of the Arab Spring. This report aims to look at how Turkey and India's political systems evolved in the 20th and 21st century against the backdrop of constitutional secularism. Moreover, this report explores some of the consequences of secular principles on economic and societal progress. Turkey, with a stance that separates religion and state, has had numerous problems between secular and religious groups. This strife has led to multiple coups and cycles of progress and political turmoil. The military sees its duty as guarding the secular principles of Turkey -- a problem for politicians perceived as overly religious. In India, which has a concept of secularism that requires government consideration and protection for all religions, what has evolved is a political system that pits a party devoted to secularism against a party that advocates a more Hindu national identity. In both Turkey and India, some social and economic interests are drowned out by more vocal religious political groups. While both these countries have different interpretations of secularism, the current atmosphere in both countries fosters civil unrest and, at times, violence. On a societal level the rhetoric only serves to divide people. So long as this rhetoric and atmosphere exists, there is a limit to economic progress, societal stability, and international influence. This last aspect is especially important for these two countries, which have broad historical reach. In Turkey, previous restrictions on religion have been repealed by the current government in order to follow more democratic principles, however, many also see this as the first step towards a politically Islamic Turkey. In India, the religious rhetoric concerns the religious minority groups. India is a country with relatively high governmental restriction and very high societal hostility towards religion. Much of this hostility manifests as public violence. The emergence and predicted victory of a more Hindu political party only fuels the public debate over secularism. The challenge is to balance secularism with freedom of religion, and perhaps accept an evolving stance that reflects each policy's limit. / text

Orientador: Ivan Esperança Rocha / Banca: Andrea Lúcia Dorini de Oliveira Carvalho Rossi / Banca: Euclides Marchi / Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta os resultados da pesquisa que busca compreender a emergência do discurso da liberdade religiosa no oitocentos brasileiro e o processo que desembocou na total separação entre religião e Estado no alvorecer republicano. Pretende-se conhecer e compreender razões que levaram à quebra do monopólio religioso católico, as condições em que ocorreu tal transformação no campo religioso e na sociedade como um todo, e as contribuições de agentes e grupos de força. Tomamos como representação do habitus religioso liberal o pensamento de Aureliano Cândido Tavares Bastos, por meio do qual nos aproximamos dos debates à época sobre o tema da liberdade religiosa e outros que a ela articulavam-se, como a cidadania e os direitos políticos e civis / Abstract: This work shows the results of the research that aims to understand the emerging of the religious freedom speech in the Brazilian eighteenth century and the process that led to the total separation between religion and State in the republican commencement. There is the interest in knowing and comprehending the reasons that led to the catholic religious monopoly collapse, the conditions where such transformation in the religious field and in the society as a whole occurred, and the contributions of agents and groups of power. We have taken as representation of the liberal religious habitus, Aureliano Cândido Tavares Bastos' thought, and through this, we have approached to the debates of the researched time about the religious freedom theme and others that were related to it, as the citizenship and the political and civil rights / Mestre

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Dallas Theological Seminary, 2006. / Page [57] blank/missing. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [58]-63).

Thesis (Th. M.)--Regent College, 2000. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 199-213).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oklahoma, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references.

Originally published as the author's dissertation (doctoral)--Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. i-vii [second set of roman numerals]) and index.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Jennifer Herdt for the Department of Theology. "June 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 384-402).

Also published as author's dissertation--Universität Marburg, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 313-333).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of St Andrews, March 2007.