THE CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM WITH AND WITHOUT RELIGION

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THE CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM WITH AND WITHOUT RELIGION INTRODUCTION The key words of a political nation, or rather simply for the existence of any nation the nationality,religion and nationalism has

1 THE CONCEPT OF NATIONALISM WITH AND WITHOUT RELIGION INTRODUCTION The key words of a political nation, or rather simply for the existence of any nation the nationality,religion and nationalism has been the hot topic of debates and discussions not only in the political and religious fields but also has been a much of concern to the social analysts and thinkers. Religion is the human response to the apprehension of something or supernatural power. It is the expression of the manner and the type of adjustment effected by people with their conception of super natural. Robertson said, that religion refers to the existence of supernatural beings which have a governing effect of life. That there is little or no difference between religion and nationalism is a much agreed opinion among the dominant sociologists like Durkheim, 1994(1912), the founding father of sociology and also Robert Bella who especially has put the same wine into a different bottle in the name of civil religion that is national identity is basically inseparable from the influence of religion. Nationalism and religion has often been bannered under the same likely ideology since nationalism fulfilled the same sense of belonging as religious creeds. Carlton Hayes, developed this approach by proposing that nationalism is a substitute for, or supplement to historic supernatural religion (Hayes 1960: 176), and Boyd Shaffer, opined that nation and nationalism supplied new gods, new hopes, a means to achieve a good life, at a time of instability, a time when me felt oppressed and ill-adapted to their environment (Shaffer 1964: 163). Thus, this model of analysis traces to the functionalist reading of nationalism 1

2 which explains the fact that nationalism rises from a kind of some commanding need without any convincing analysis and evidence. This topic mainly focuses on the relationship between religion and nationalism. That they are of a different kind and are unrelated to each other, it can be observed critically their relationship has changed overtime though the old previous form never disappeared in the configurations of the new image. This nationalism basically developed as an emancipatory force including religion and moreover this very universalistic concept of nationalism learnt to cohabit with an ethnic one where religion played a major role in the formation of the national identity. NATIONALISM AS AN OPPONENT OF RELIGIOUS FORCE Nationalism and Individualism. The very concept of nationalism crawled into the western society holding the hands of mainly western philosophers like Montesque, Rousseau, Voltaire and others in the sixteenth century in the garb of an individualistic civic set of ideas. The reign of aristrocracy sitting at the top step of the social ladder was dragged down by the rising bourgeoisie in the aim of giving rise to an alternative, more egalitarian socio-political order named the Rights Of Man. God, the supreme power was given an alternative image of democracy and nationalism. Society became no more a reign of god or supernatural power but it became a self-governing community or collection of citizens. In Germany, nationalism is oriented from ethnic culture. Elie Kedourie opined firmly that it was Kant who developed self-determinant nationalism in Germany. Basically the roots of democratic nationalism in Eastern countries also found its platform under the guidance western impact. MONTESQUIEU 2

ROUSSEAU VOLTAIRE Aufklarung (Enlightenment) gave birth to a new nationalism based on individualistic

The phase of enlightenment pulled up the curtain of a more practical scientific and logical period that had

The dark age was at its end through the enlightenment of the candle of the Positivism and modernity.

3 ROUSSEAU VOLTAIRE Aufklarung (Enlightenment) gave birth to a new nationalism based on individualistic principles. The phase of enlightenment pulled up the curtain of a more practical scientific and logical period that had started blossoming under the impact of the growth of individualism. The dark age was at its end through the enlightenment of the candle of the Positivism and modernity. Enlightenment in Germany. Thus it was a much evident fact that as this school of thought which developed along with Enlightenment, that Nationalis m is a by-product of individualism. Ernest Renan opined convincingly that nation is an everyday plebiscite. 3

4 MARCEL MAUSS. Marcel Mauss opined: We regard as forming a nation a society materially and morally integrated, with a stable and permanent centralized political power, well established borders, a relative moral, mental and cultural unity of its inhabitants who consciously adhere to the state and its laws (Mauss [1920]:588). Thus religion lost its platform in the formation and in the existence of a nation or rather in a nationalist world. It was because mainly God oriented doctrines or principles deprive man of his liberty, self determination, self opined rational thoughts ; religious groups are mainly headed by leaders who create a virtually morally opponent feeling of political nationalism or they generate an identity feeling or belongingness competing to that of the nation. Louis Dumont underlines the fact that nation is a collection of individuals while religious field generate only communalism- not nationalism. Nationalism and Nation state. Western Europe which gave rise to the nation states one nation one state, ornamented the ideology of secularization of the public sphere. France, particularly, marked the level height of it by nationalizing the church properties and establishing secular education policy in order to draw the youth away from the Christianity. Thus the political nationalism reigned the public sphere and more or less confined religion into the private sphere. The rise of nation states mainly legally separated the religious sect from the entire process of the formation of the nation which simply eradicated the religious doctrine from the official ideology. But it is obviously mentionworthy that France unlikely among all the other countries was too much determined to magnify its enlightenment based philosophy configuring the nation keeping itself completely separate from the shed of Christianity. But surely the scenario was different in case of the rest of the world. Britain, spotted the light on the importance of religion as they focused the idea of Anglicanism, not only to be the religion but also a distinct political identity. 4

5 The symbol of Anglicanism Again it draws attention that American president pledges on the Bible though their nationalism was rooted in the anti-colonialism and emerged as an emancipatory force. India too is of no exception in focusing the importance of religion in the formation of national identity. India, as it is the home of multiple religious ideologies and sects, has made secularization as one of the official mottos and a most important chapter of Indian Constitution. But secularism has not in any way prevented the state to support financially the educational institutions established by the religious groups as per the constitution. Art 30(1) of Indian Constitution says, that all minorities either based on religion or language must have the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice. Thus is evident that nationalism was created firstly as one nation- one state policy where the rule of God was demeaned and its power was replaced by the rational men imbibed in the modern thoughts in the light of knowledge and scientific outlooks. Then gradually in course of time, nationalism was reformed in the sense that it undertook the ideologies of religions in a more modern and secular version of the new generation of polity. Government is nothing but a state machinery which started functioning more effectively holding the hands of secularism : the various religious communities started participating in the elections, set up educational institutions to impart knowledge and literacy with the needed financial help from the government; thus helping to form the nationalism in the light of modern secularism an integrated modern culture of nation, nationalism and religion. Thus finally to sum up in a nutshell, nationalism took birth under the most modern ideology dedicated to the emancipation of man against every adverse force, including religion. This agenda has been implemented by the state bureaucracies to rule out the religion dominated era and start the man dominated culture. This universalistic brand of nationalism was basically incomplete as because it only included the self countrymen being full fledged territorial. Religion has to be get a place as the migrants increased due to the modern economical growth and religion thus also travelled nations crossing the borders. 5

6 Faith and interfaith on religion and nationalism. This very concept gives rise to another topic of faith and interfaith on religion and secularism in the whole. Faith in religion is common among men around the world irrespective of ages and races. Respect to all religions of each other and right to practice their path of faith paves the path of secularism. This interfaith on several doctrines leads to the one unified bond of universal wholistic nationalism national identity. Faith in religious beliefs and traditions in general, paves the way for belief in one another s religion and traditional culture, leading to the development of interfaith ism of the religious beliefs and traditions. Thus, the nationalism based on the faith on religion and interfaith between religions gives birth to secularism, or religion based nationalism with its positivity and negativity. RELIGION BASED NATIONALSIM The very concept of universalist and ethnic nationalism has often been exaggerated. The former concept crops up from individualistic view point while the latter one roots to the cultural collective features including religion. Ethnic nationalism does not really have any connection with the premordialism. National identities are not produced by such primordial ties in fact. Otherwise multicultural societies would never have been able to form their nations. Mainly the non-western countries have formed their nationalism based on religion. Religion has been one of the major motivating force of forming national identity. Development of ethno-religious nationalism Mostly the non-western countries have marked the development of the ethno-religious nationalism. Non-western countries mainly bases themselves on the platform of a philosophy of religion unlikely to that of the western culture which is driven mainly by the materialism and individualism. This has also happened due to the historical encounter between the western and the non-western societies. But most importantly it is to be noted that though the nationalisms of these new nation-states are a by-product of modernization, it has crystallized against this dominant Other the West. Respect to all religions and right to practice their own religion leads to the path of secularism. This interfaith on several doctrines leads to the one unified bond of universal nationalism which gives shape to the national identity. The nationalism based on the faith 6

7 on religion and interfaith between religions gives birth to secularism, or religion based nationalism with its positivity and negativity. Now, to speak about the religion based nationalism, first I want to focus on the difference between universalistic nationalism, and ethnic nationalism. Universalist nationalism originates from individualistic point of view. Ethnic nationalism originates from cultural and collective features like religion. In many cases, apart from religion, language has also played a major role in forming Ethnic nationalism. The global expansion of the western individualistic culture, power and philosophy is spreads over the centuries starting mainly since the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth onwards- either through formal colonialism ( like the British in India after 1757) or via forms of imperialism from Perry s policy in Japan to the Concessions in China. Now most these societies taken into the western grip mainly through religion. Their entire life was ruled over by the religious rituals, festivals, beliefs. The entry of the westerners in these societies were a challenge to their elites including both the clerical groups and aristocratic rulers who either had to confine themselves in shells or had to fight back with rudimentary means as evident from the Cepoy Mutiny( which initially started on the religious ground it reminds us of the revolt by Indian soldiers against the introduction of the cartridges greased with pig and cow-made greased). Ernest Gellner describes intelligentsia as being a phenomenon essentially connected with the transition[from the traditional to the industrial era or societies].a class which is alienated from its own society by the very fact of its education (Gellner 1964: ; 1983). But this was the case for only the initial phase. The intelligentsia got alienated themselves from their tradition and society because they got trained in a modern scientific mode of western educational system. This training inculcated in them their tradition in which they used to be immersed as backward and powerless in comparison to the modern western technology and culture. This cult of intelligentsia viewed tradition to be in the garb of prejudices, superstitions and fully committed into religious faith and beliefs. Thus they were fully convinced by the western philosophy under the light of the scientific logical rational views and industrial era. But again, except a minority sect of intelligentsia, the rests were not at par to full commitment into science and materialism cutting away the religious tradition. They insisted on keeping connected to their religious beliefs. Non western countries as bases on a religious philosophical ground, they don t completely believe in the alienation from their tradition and religion. 7

8 Reformist solution to the dilemma of the intelligentsia. The dilemma into which the intelligentsia was immersed, tried to find solution in the Reformist strategy. Reformists tries to find the original religion and reform its structure with the essence of modernity and individualism achieved status. If for instance Brahmins were considered to top the social ladder in the old days, its not because of their ascribed status of birth, but because of the all good qualities and perfect personalities that the Brahmins achieve during their lifetime. Thus the reformists just pick up the main necessary part of the traditions selectively. Basically Hobsawn and Ranger (1985) means it as inventions of traditions as the traditions are not blindly followed but they are reformed, altered purposely according to the need of the modernization. Anthony Smith in his Theories of Nationalism(1971), has shown through a history of religion transforms the reformist into a revivalist. The reformists mainly created the golden age where the core religion was flawless and he so he tried to link it up with the western modernity. But the crux of the creation of golden age was that the reformists discover the core of the ancestral religion which encompasses the very features from which the westerners draw their pride and selfesteem. Thus, the reformists wanted to alter their traditions according to the western criteria and the revivalists wanted to restore the core religion keeping intact the values of it proudly and they believed that this restoration, this respect to the traditions contributed to the genuine formation of the national identity My country, right or wrong! has been the core essence of the nationalism. Reformists believe that traditions are to amended and reformed to maintain its pristine purity but the nationalists opined that traditions are eternal and even based on sacred text. The religious tradition which is universal and eternal, it is their very own culture where they altogether shelter themselves under the same banner of one religious culture and tradition(as in one religion state) or many religious culture and traditions (as in secular state), it stands out as their national identity. The particulars of Religion Based Nationalism. This ideology of religion based nationalism is basically a form of ethnic nationalism. This nationalism is creating the national identity based on the traditions, cultural beliefs, religious values and faith of the bulk of people living in the domain of the ruling power. This ethnic religion emerged in many places like Spain, and in Belgium from language, and also emerged from religion like the cases of British India getting partitioned and giving rise to Islamic State of Pakistan and also India to be the dominant Hindu country though it has been the secular one. Lebanon is facing political national identity crisis because of the stress between the Christians and Muslims. This get more complicated as linguistic and religious issues like together as in Sri Lanka where Hindu Tamils are opposed to Buddhist Sinhalese. 8

9 Language based multiculturalism is easier to maintain than religion based multiculturalism. So is the proof that we get from the integration of Quebec into Canada and Dravidian States into India. This is mainly because Federalism removes or rather reduce tension from the linguistic group and helps to confirm a strong national identity based on the language than from the religious groups which are more effectively spirited and gets ready to mobilize in the defense of their religious beliefs because they are sacred and pure. Religion based nationalism has many times proved to be week and brittle. Mainly Islam based religion has shown its weakness in forming the strong nationalism in many cases. They were not permanent or unchanging and often developed in relation to the Dominant Other. This is evident from the partition of Bangladesh from Pakistan in the year of 1971; the growing tension between the Shias and Sunnis in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq challenges the very notion of Islam based nationalism. In most of these countries these developments are basically described as sectarianism which traces back to some of the features of the ethnic nationalism of the past. Sectarian basically includes the groups which mobilize because they fear the Other either because they are the majority like Shias in Iraq, Sunnis in Pakistan or because it gets the support from the foreign countries like Iran gets it. Since Islam has been a transnational or rather transcontinental religion it had to be reformed and reshaped accordingly. In many places, the frontiers of a nation got coincided with those of religious communities : just like Shintoism in Japan; but in others the religious communities are larger. Thus, ethno religion based nationalism with its all positivity and negativity has shaped national identity with alterations and additions. The trajectories which are guided by the religion. Firstly, we have discussed that universal nationalism based on materialism and non-religious issues are key to the western modernity and creation of national identity. Then comes in the topic of the ethnic nationalism whose contents are the features of religion. One country can encompass both forms of nationalism like, France, where universalistic type of nationalism has had to cohabit with an ethnic one which turned dominant after the 1870 defeat by the Germans. In India, we have seen that secular nationalism developed from the Hindutva movement. Since India is a hindu dominant country, hindu movement gained pace and dominion. Dumont criticized it in his way claiming that this militant hindu movement is not a complete nationalism, but called Communalism. But this communalism satisfies the criteria of ethnic nationalism. In a country, both the nationalisms can cohabit together. But the dominant nationalism can change itself from universalistic to religious form of ethnic nationalism. 9

Zionism is an apt example of this account. It was a political organization originally formed for the re-establishment of the Jewish by Theodore Herzl. He wanted to form a state for the Jews.

But now when Israel was created, Zionism gave rise to the Jewish state which looked after the development and protection of the Jews mainly. It became an institution for the protection of the Jews.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Polish elites basically followed the non-religious, anti-clerical ideas and ideologies.

10 Zionism is an apt example of this account. It was a political organization originally formed for the re-establishment of the Jewish by Theodore Herzl. He wanted to form a state for the Jews. He wanted the priests to be confined inside the temples and their complete separation from the administration. But now when Israel was created, Zionism gave rise to the Jewish state which looked after the development and protection of the Jews mainly. It became an institution for the protection of the Jews. The Jews held equal rights of citizenship. Poland also showed the transformation. Firstly, the Polish elites denounced the religious ideas with the administration. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Polish elites basically followed the non-religious, anti-clerical ideas and ideologies. But later on, the reestablishment of Poland merged its nationalism with Catholicism. Secularism a dilemma between ethnic nationalism and communalism: Many countries like India have adopted Secularism which respects all religion and traditions. India became the largest democracy by assuming the multiculturalism and secularism. Secularism in India means not a complete separation of church and state but it refers to the maintenance of the equidistance from all religions. Speaking of Indian politics, its nationalism and religion, it is definitely worthy of mentioning the name and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi in this context. In short, he believed in the great fundamental Truth of all great religions of the world. He believed in one God, the fundamental god of Humanity. He 10

11 embraced the great contributions of all the religions like Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity that had tried their best to hold the unity and solidarity of the human so ciety. But above all, he raised his voice in the favour of only that religion which transcends all these separate religions CONCLUSIONS : Nationalism and religion are both ambivalent and complicated concepts in relation to each other. Nationalism on one hand, is universal and emancipatory force exempting all the other traditional religious forces. On the other hand, the ethnic nationalism encloses the religious and cultural features. In most of the countries, both forms of nationalisms coexist by mitigating their opposition through the strong force of secularization working in almost all the nations as per strong supervision by the United Nations of Organization. Religion too having its own ambivalence, on one hand, its rules, communitarian dimension and doctrines shapes the ethnic picture of it, while on the other hand, its spiritual quality makes it open minded and universalistic. Mahatma Gandhi had his Indian identity with spirituality with contrast he had his western materialistic outlook. Thus there is the existence of universalist nationalism sustained by the spiritual philosophy. 11

CHAPTER - VII CONCLUSION

CHAPTER - VII CONCLUSION 177 Secularism as a political principle emerged during the time of renaissance and has been very widely accepted in the twentieth century. After the political surgery of India