There is a lot of discussion right now online and in the media about religion’s relationship with the state. Some of what’s happening in the world is worrying and the commentary is often lacking. Below, let’s examine a few key examples and then consider what a better path forward might look like.

India – Hindutva

Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi consistently insists India is a Hindu nation, rejecting the country’s founding as a secular state that would welcome all religions but favour none. Modi has heartily embraced Hindu nationalism, passed a law banning interfaith marriages due to spurious accusations that Muslims are plotting to make India Muslim through intermarriage (so-called “love jihad”), and he took an almost priest-like role while presiding over the opening of a controversial new Hindu temple triumphantly built on the site where a Hindu mob had destroyed a mosque. Modi has called India’s Muslim minority “infiltrators” and key opponents have been arrested and held for years without trial.

The new Hindu temple in Ayodhya was built after a mosque there was destroyed in a few hours by a Hindu mob. Photo credit: Prime Minister’s Office (GODL-India), GODL-India, via Wikimedia Commons

American Christian Nationalism

The surge of Hindu nationalism in India has been matched by a surge in Christian nationalism in the United States. Trump has brought many Pentecostal leaders and like-minded Christian supporters of the Seven Mountains Mandate a prominence they previously did not have (see for example Charlie Kirk, Paula White, and Lance Wallnau). The Seven Mountains mandate suggests Christians need not convert everyone to create a godly society but rather, just get people in positions of power over seven areas of society (e.g. education, entertainment, business, government, family, media, and religion) and you can shape society to follow God. It is quasi-theocratic and focuses on seizing and using power.

Charlie Kirk has risen to prominence supporting Trump and is an enormously influential voice in conservative politics in the USA. Photo credit: By Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America – Charlie Kirk, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Texas

A small example of how Christian Nationalism can play out occurred in Texas where the state board of education approved a Bible-infused curriculum by a narrow 8-7 vote. Schools do not have to use the curriculum but will receive $60/student if they do which provides a hefty incentive. The defenders of the move speak of providing “cultural literacy” through Bible stories but promoting Bible stories as ethical lessons to children from diverse families is not really literacy. Literacy teaches you that this compendium of books (the Bible) has been influential including how and why. Once you are promoting the Bible as an ethical resource, you have left literacy behind and are softly proselytizing and using the state to do so.

Quebec

Meanwhile, in Quebec, Premier Francois Legault is calling to ban public prayer. The push stemmed from a news story of a single school where teachers are accused of integrating prayer into the classroom in inappropriate ways. As populist leaders sometimes do, the actions of a few are met not by merely enforcing existing laws but instead become opportunities to target whole communities. Rabbis and Catholic bishops oppose the move, saying it infringes on people’s freedom. The government could use the notwithstanding clause, a very unique-to-Canada clause in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms that allows a government to override human rights protections.

Legault used this clause years ago to ban anyone who wears religious symbols from working for the provincial government meaning hijab-wearing women or turban-wearing men cannot be school teachers, nurses, police officers or hold other government jobs. This law is about to be challenged in front of the Supreme Court.

Francois Legault has played on fears of religious minorities to booster his popularity. Photo credit: Lea-Kim, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Way Forward

In considering values should guide us in considering religion’s place in society, two stand out.

First, freedom. True freedom means neither privileging nor denouncing any particular religion. It does not mean a religion cannot be critiqued by individuals of course (this is part of freedom) but that people’s rights should be upheld and vigorously protected no matter the person’s religion (or lack thereof). They should be able to work as nurses or have an interfaith marriage. Neither of these should concern the state.

Second, we at Encounter believe strongly in religious literacy. Ideas like “love jihad” (described above) are dangerous, hate-inducing stories that prosper when we are ill-informed about others. Islamophobia, antisemitism, and so many other forms of hate and discrimination stem from our susceptibility to stereotypes when we don’t know much about particular traditions and their communities. Encountering other communities and engaging with one another helps inoculate against this kind of stereotyping (see our post on Contact Theory on the theory behind this as well as some tips if you want to organize your own initiative or event).

The Buddha taught that everything is impermanent. The world is always changing and sometimes cultural swings can ebb and be reversed. The future is uncertain and the actions we take individually and in our families, workplaces, schools, and communities can make a difference in fostering societies where everyone has a place.

Photo credit: Canva.com