A Leap of Faith: Thoughts on Secularistic Practices and Progressive Politics

In: International social science journal: ISSJ, Band 56, Heft 4, S. 565-576

Abstract

The political sentiment represented by the WSF celebrates diversity, & cultivates a substrate where movements can be incubated, & prosper. This paper questions a particular secular(ist) vocabulary, grammar, & culture of politics exhibited at the WSF in Mumbai. It asks whether the political space of the Forum, which is defined as open, democratic, & tolerant, must necessarily be a secular one, or whether a secularistic political affect closes potentialities by narrowing the possibilities for anti-imperial critiques, thus excluding valid forms of dissent? The paper will argue that a secularistic culture of politics can be an impediment for an emerging & growing revolutionary phenomenon because of its exclusionary & limiting tendencies. Building on a critique of affective politics, it will be shown that the imperative of a politics of resistance free from religious sentiments will both fail to address the needs of vast majorities of the planet's inhabitants & continue to provide opportunities for more fundamental & violent alternatives to flourish. Drawing from the work of Connolly, Deleuze, & Guattari, as well as Ramadan, this paper critiques the privileged space allotted to secularism, & invites discussion about how to provide scope for the possibility of a political ethic that does not alienate believers, instead creating the potential for new models of political pluralism. 20 References. Adapted from the source document.