Jeremy Menchik on Islam, Tolerance, Democracy, & Indonesia

tonygill — Sun, 23 Apr 2017 08:00:54 +0000

Indonesia currently represents the largest Muslim-majority democratic country in the world, successfully balancing a plethora of ethnic, religious, and geographic divisions. Jeremy Menchik, an assistant professor in the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, explains how the Indonesian state is able to promote “Godly nationalism” while promoting tolerance towards religious minorities including Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and even various sects of Islam (e.g., the Ahmadiyah). Prof. Menchik begins by discussing how he came to study Indonesia, tracing his interests back to his academic family as well as a novel method of choosing dissertation topics — the “PI index.” We then review the basic geography, demographics, and history of Indonesia, a country comprised of more than 17,000 islands. Jeremy defines what it means to be a “consolidated democracy” and how this multi-ethnic, geographically-dispersed country fits into that definitional category. This conversation includes a comparison with European notions of democracy based upon Lockean concepts, and how Muslim versions of democracy differ. One of the primary differences is that in Indonesia, the state is seen as a force for promoting spirituality as compared to a neutral secularism. While favoring a religious worldview, though, the state is careful to show tolerance towards non-Muslim minorities. Communists, we learn, have a bigger uphill battle to have their ideological disposition recognized. Jeremy further details the three major groupings of Islam — Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), Muhammadiyah, and Persatuan Islam (Persis) — and how these different organizations vary in terms of their tolerance to other religions and secular political groups. One of the key factors explaining the variation is the exposure of different geographical groupings of Muslims to Christian missionaries in the past century. The discussion includes how Hindus — known for polytheism — are blended into a regime of tolerance. We finish the discussion with Jeremy’s thoughts on what the rest of the world can learn from Indonesia, along with his appreciation for the role of intellectual humility in the academic profession. Recorded: April 21, 2017.

Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence & Democratization

tonygill — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 08:00:21 +0000

Over the past four decades, there have been two global trends that have caught the attention of social scientists — the public resurgence of global religiosity and the increasing movement towards democratic governance. Daniel Philpott — associate professor of political science at Notre Dame and fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies — discusses both of these trends and his latest book, God’s Century (co-authored with Monica Duffy Toft and Timothy Samuel Shah). We begin the interview with a historical survey of how church-state relations have changed over the past two or three millenia, a broad sweep of history indeed, but one that is crucial to understanding why religion has made such a strong comeback in recent decades. Prof. Philpott shows how early in human history religious and secular authority split apart and how both types of leadership existed in a situation of mutual dependence — secular leaders required the legitimating endorsement of religious leaders, whereas religious leaders relied upon the material support of secular rulers. During the early modern period (c. 1450-1750) this mutual balance began to tip in favor of secular rulers who exercised greater control over religious groups in a paternalistic manner. Interestingly, this was a global trend. Beginning in the late 1700s, particularly with the French Revolution, we witness a global trend where religion is subjugated (and sometimes decimated) by secular rulers, particular in communist and socialist nations. Ironically, this subjugation gave religious organizations a greater degree of independence from secular government in some parts of the world that allowed new political theologies to develop and the institutional ability to organize against secular rulers. We discuss the formation, nature and influence of these political theologies, from the ideas promoted at Vatican Council II to Hindu and Buddhist nationalism to Islamic fundamentalism. In some areas such as Latin America, Indonesia, and parts of Asia these new political theologies and resurgent religious organizations helped to promote democracy, whereas in other parts of the world (e.g., the Middle East) it has led to less sanguine outcomes. Our discussion also touches upon the role of ideas in motivating human events, and we finish the discussion with some thoughts on the 2011 “Arab Spring” and whether or not that this will result in more democratic nations. This is the first part of a discussion of the book God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics. We will be focusing on the issue of religious violence with one of the other authors of the book in an upcoming episode. Stay tuned. Recorded: July 7, 2011.

Research On Religion » Indonesia

Jeremy Menchik on Islam, Tolerance, Democracy, & Indonesia

Daniel Philpott on Religious Resurgence & Democratization