WUNRN
Heinrich Boll Stiftung
RESEARCH PROJECT ON RELIGION,
POLITICS & GENDER EQUALITY
Introduction
Religion has an important function in the public and political life of many
societies that also affects the relations between the sexes and women’s rights.
Still, how do religion and politics mingle precisely and what are the concrete
social and political consequences of this mixture from a gender perspective?
For that purpose we conduct an extensive research project in
collaboration with the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
(UNRISD) which includes case studies from 11 countries: Chile, India, Iran,
Israel, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia, Turkey, USA.
Description of the research project
Background
The prediction that secularism would sweep the world has been confounded in
recent years as religion has left the place assigned to it (by theories of
modernity) in the private sphere and thrust itself into the public arena. What
are the social and political implications of religion assuming such prominent
and contested public and political roles? Some observers, including many
feminists, see incompatibilities between democracy, human rights and gender
equality, on the one hand, and a world in which religious issues and
organizations have an active presence in public affairs, on the other. Others,
however, argue that religion (at its best) can act as a significant
counterweight to the otherwise hegemonic institutions of the state and the
market, revitalizing public debate on their moral underpinnings and their
social outcomes. The task of research, therefore, is to develop analytical and
normative criteria to differentiate between the various forms of public
religion and their social and political consequences, including the
implications for gender equality.
Key research questions of the UNRISD project
It has been argued that religion can “go public” at three different levels: the
state level (e.g. theocratic states; or state religions or state-established
churches); at the level of political society (e.g. European Christian
Democrats, Islamist political parties); and at the more amorphous level of
civil society. This tripartite model, however, presupposes what is broadly
recognized as a modern society. But in many contexts it is equally important to
conceptualize the interface between what can be labelled “the customary sphere”
and formal religion. As far as women’s rights are concerned, it is in that
nexus that many of the dangers and challenges lie, with religious precepts
being selectively applied or totally disregarded. Similarly, there is a need
for a broader conception of civil society, which can include the nature of
“society” itself. This is very important because it can explain resistance, or
absence of pressures, from below to pluralize and democratize religion.
This project raises two key questions: first, how can religion and politics
become intertwined? Are there distinct modes of insertion in different
settings? And second, what are the social and political effects, especially
from a gender perspective, of this blending of religion and politics? When is
it likely to pose a danger to modern normative structures associated with
gender equality and democracy?
Based on comparative historical analysis (of
mainly European and American experiences), it has been hypothesized that only
public religions at the level of civil society are consistent with modern
universalistic principles and modern differentiated structures. How well can
this hypothesis hold for other contexts? Can this hypothesis be substantiated
as far as gender equality is concerned?
Research is carried out in 11 countries—Chile, India, Iran, Israel, Nicaragua,
Nigeria, Pakistan, Poland, Serbia, Turkey and the United States—that present
maximum variation with respect to (i) religious denominations and (ii) the
level at which the blending of politics and religion takes place (e.g., state
or civil society). Furthermore, a regional balance has been sought, including
at least some developed countries, since a certain degree of economic
development is a prerequisite for the existence of civil societies (and a
pluralist party system). In terms of religion, the world’s three largest
denominations (Christianity, Islam and Hinduism) have been included, as has
Judaism.
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