Religious toleration and the limits of liberal secularism: The case of India

ABSTRACT

In recent years there has been a resurgence of public discourse about the role of tolerance as one of the key elements of the Western philosophical heritage. The fact that Western societies remain largely oblivious to the importance and benefits of diversity points to the pitfalls of the liberal model of religious toleration. Jakob De Roover’s monograph ‘Europe, India, and the Limits of Secularism’ offers a new analysis of the deficiencies of secularism and demonstrates why its application to other societies, such as India, is a problematic enterprise. This article argues that Comparative Political Theory has the potential to help forge new conceptual categories and analytical tools that can be utilized to explore diverse modes of tackling religious diversity and fostering tolerance.

KEYWORDS:

• religious tolerance/toleration
• secularism
• India
• Mughal Empire
• Comparative Political Theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 This section on Mughal political thought builds upon the content of Vasileios Syros (2013, 2012a, 2012b).

2 I am indebted to Henry Shapiro and Miguel Vatter for earlier discussions on this point.