Research On Religion » apostasy

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.

Prof. Jeremy Menchik’s personal website and Twitter feed.

Islam and Democracy in Indonesia: Tolerance without Liberalism, by Jeremy Menchik.

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Darío Fernández-Morera on Andalusian Spain

tonygill — Sun, 13 Dec 2015 09:00:45 +0000

In 711 A.D., an Islamic army from North Africa successfully conquered the majority of what is contemporary Spain, issuing in several centuries of Muslim rule on the peninsula. Beginning with the Enlightenment and continuing to present day, a number of scholars have written that the era of Andalusian Spain was one of religious harmony. Prof. Darío Fernández-Morera, an associate professor of Spanish & Portuguese at Northwestern University, examines what he calls the “myth of the Andalusian paradise” and the nature of hierocratic rule in medieval Spain.

Our conversation begins with discussion of how Prof. Fernández-Morera came to write on this topic. The first myth he displaces is the one that language professors in humanities departments only write about grammar and punctuation. He explains how research professors in departments such as Spanish & Portuguese actually examine a wide variety of topics, from literature to politics and many historical themes. It was during his own research on Miguel de Cervantes that he came upon a number of scholarly conceptualizations of Islamic Spain that presented the era as one where religious harmony reigned. Using a variety of sources, including original historical documentation, Darío investigated the truth to these claims. We lay out the parameters of his study, noting that he is primarily interested in the period of 711 A.D. to the end of the thirteenth century, when Muslims controlled most of Spain except for Galacia and a few other pockets of Christian resistance in the northwest. He reviews the history of the Islamic conquest and explains why he prefers to use the term Spain instead of Iberia.

We then turn to how Muslims ruled Spain during this period. Prof. Fernández-Morera notes that non-Muslims had four basic options: 1) convert to Islam; 2) pay the jizya (religious tithe); 3) flee; or 4) be killed. The rule was so comprehensive that no remains of churches can be found in southern Spain dating back to this era, and Christianity in Granada essentially vanished. We then look at how other scholars have viewed this era, with Prof. Fernández-Morera, explaining how a general myth of religious harmony and benevolent rule took hold. He traces this back to the Enlightenment period when more secular scholars sought to denigrate the importance of Christianity in Europe’s history, the development of exoticism and romantic notions of foreign cultures during the 19th century, and more recent versions of Occidentalism that pervade academia today. He explains the notion of heriocratic government (rule by clerics), the Maliki school of jurisprudence, and how non-Muslims were used as bureaucratic servants. We review a number of prohibitions that were put into place during this time, including apostasy, blasphemy, and drinking in public. It was noted that Christians could drink in their own communities, but they were forbidden to sell wine or other liquor to Muslims. Violations of these rules met with harsh punishments, including execution.

We also examine inter-faith relations, with Darío dispelling the notion of convivencia (or “living in harmony”). Christians lived separately from Muslims and there were a number of regulations — such as drinking from the same well or dining together — that kept the populations separate. He also discusses various rules governing the behavior of women, including veiling and prohibitions on females working outside the home. As to treatment of Jews, Prof. Fernández-Morera points out that they were treated better under Muslim rule than previous Christian rule, and this was largely due to the fact that Muslim rulers wanted to use Jews as a counterpoise to Christian communities (much the way the U.S. has played Sunnis and Shiites off one another in Iraq in the past decade). We finish with some of Darío’s personal reflection on his study and his thoughts about how his research will be received in a broader academic community. Recorded: December 8, 2015.

RELATED LINKS

Prof. Darío Fernandez-Morera’s bio at Northwestern University’s Dept. of Spanish & Portuguese.

The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain, by Darío Fernández-Morera.

The Lyre and the Oaten Flute: Garcilaso and the Pastoral, by Darío Fernández-Morera.

Europe and its Encounter with the Amerindians, edited by Darío Fernández-Morera.

Academia and the Survival of Marxist Ideas, by Darío Fernández-Morera.

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Samuel Wilson & Tony Gill on Religion and Euvoluntary Exchange

tonygill — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 08:00:43 +0000

How really “free” are you to choose your own religion? While this topic has been fodder for theologians and moral philosophers for centuries, can contemporary economists bring anything to this debate? In a special “simul-podcast” with the Euvoluntary Exchange website, freelance thinker and prolific blogger Samuel Wilson discusses the potential coercive (or non-coercive) aspects of religious choice, both at the individual and societal level.

We begin our discussion by laying out what this odd concept of “euvoluntary exchange” (EE) is. Samuel presents a story originally told by Prof. Michael Munger on EconTalk regarding some young entrepreneurs who sold bags of ice to hurricane victims at an “inflated” price, leading many of the town residents to accuse them of price gouging (even though those same residents were willing to buy the ice at a higher price). This parable raises the issue of whether or not these disaster victims were being coerced by their circumstances to engage in a trade they normally would not have agreed to. Samuel then lays out what exactly EE is, which is an exchange that meets the following six criteria:

conventional ownership
conventional capacity to exchange
absence of ex post facto regret
no uncompensated externalities
no coercion by human agency
no coercion by circumstances (no BATNA disparity)

The condition excluding ex post facto regret becomes an interesting condition for religious choice to the extent that one of the “products” of religion is often salvation after death. Since it is difficult to verify the quality of the product “until it is too late,” the concern over regret looms large. We discuss this aspect of religious choice, but then move the conversation to look at how children are brought into the faith of their parent and whether church membership is truly euvoluntary or not.

The discussion is rather “free range” and we bounce from topic to topic, much the way two scholars would be talking over a few beers at a bar. (Note: We were not at a bar and no beer was consumed during our conversation.) We talk about the goals or religious organizations, virtuous behavior, church-state arrangements, religious liberty, divine-right kingship, apostasy, Jonestown, and a number of other interesting topics. Join us for this fascinating and fun discussion, which has “nudged” Tony into a new set of research questions. Recorded: March 21, 2014.

RELATED LINKS

The Euvoluntary Exchange Blog, starring Samuel Wilson, Michael Munger, and Jeffrey Horn.

Mike Munger on Price Gouging, from EconTalk podcast (containing the hurricane ice story).

Mike Munger on Exchange, Exploitation, and Euvoluntary Transactions, from EconTalk.

The Political Origins of Religious Liberty, by Anthony Gill.

Rendering unto Caesar: The Catholic Church and the State in Latin America, by Anthony Gill.

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Timothy Shah on the Case for Religious Liberty

tonygill — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:00:19 +0000

What case can be made for promoting religious liberty worldwide? Why is religious freedom often considered the “first freedom”? And should religious liberty really be a strategic objective for US foreign policymakers? Prof. Timothy Shah — associate director of the Religious Freedom Project at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs and an a visiting assistant professor at Georgetown University — joins us to discuss the recent monograph he authored under the auspices of the Witherspoon Institute’s Task Force on International Religious Freedom. Tim starts the program by explaining what the Witherspoon Task Force saught to accomplish and also details how his own interests in religious freedom grew from a tragic incident in Gujarat, India. We then dip into a variety of justifications for why religious liberty should be a major concern for both policymakers and civilians around the world, starting with the anthropological reasons behind religious freedom. Justin Barrett’s research, recently discussed on a separate podcast, serves as our anchor here as Tim argues that the innate tendency for humans to seek out the transcendent provides an important justification for promoting religious liberty and the human dignity it requires. Dr. Shah then covers the moral case for religious freedom and summarizes how three religious traditions — Judaism, Christianity, and Islam — view the subject. The topic of apostasy figures into this discussion, particularly as it pertains to the recent case of Youcef Nadarkhani in Iran. Following the moral case for religious freedom, Tony brings up the issue of political and strategic justifications, noting that political rulers often dislike religious freedom since they fear it may promote conflict within their borders, as it did in India. Tim answers these concerns arguing that religious freedom is certainly better than other political options and we engage in a thought experiment based on a scenario where everyone in a population had the same beliefs. That exercise proves enlightening. Along the way, we also ruminate about why so many secular elites — be they policymakers or academics — tend to downplay the vital importance of what is often called “the first freedom.” A few stories about Tony’s visit to the Witherspoon Institute and a 2011 colloquium on religious liberty at Princeton Theological Seminary are sprinkled throughout the interview. Recorded: March 13, 2012.

Religious Freedom: Why Now? Defending an Embattled Human Right, by Timothy Shah.

Berkley Center Conference on Religious Freedom & Health Care Reform (March 22, 2012) mentioned in podcast.

God’s Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics, by Monida Duffy Toft, Daniel Philpott, and Timothy Shah.

Freedom of Religion, Apostasy and Islam, by Abdullah Saeed and Hassan Saeed (mentioned in interview).

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Thomas Farr on Religion, Religious Liberty & US Diplomacy

tonygill — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 08:00:27 +0000

To what extent should religion and the promotion of religious liberty abroad be part of the United States’ foreign policy? Prof. Thomas Farr — visiting associate professor at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and senior fellow at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs — brings 21 years of experience in foreign policymaking circles to bear on these questions. (Thomas Farr is also the director of the Task Force on Religious Freedom at the Witherspoon Institute’s Center on Religion and the Constitution.) Prof. Farr details his personal experiences working within the foreign policy bureaucracy, including a four-year stint as the director of the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom. Our discussion notes how diplomacy is often made from a “realist” perspective of the world and why US diplomats have often neglected the important role of religion, often intentionally turning a blind eye to this important aspect of life despite evidence that religion is increasingly important throughout the world (including the US). We then talk about how the promotion of religious freedom can actually promote stable governance and why promoting religious liberty is in the national security interests of America (as well as other states). Egypt, Afghanistan and a few other nations are used to illustrate the importance of religious freedom abroad. Tony plays the skeptic and wonders whether or not our diplomatic corps is capable of bringing about significant changes in other nations, but Tom lays out a convincing argument that things can, and are, changing for the better but it will take more public dialogue to change the way our top political leaders and career diplomats think about these issues. We close by noting some recent changes being proposed to the International Religious Freedom Act by Congressmen Frank Wolf. Recorded: May 25, 2011.

Prof. Farr’s website at Georgetown University and at The Witherspoon Institute.

Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service.

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, & World Affairs.

Witherspoon Institute — Center on Religion & the Constitution.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress (May 24, 2011) referenced in the podcast. Part I and Part II.

US State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom (includes most recent IRF Reports).

Congressman Frank Wolf’s proposed amendments to the International Religious Freedom Act.

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