Confluence of politics and religion: An introduction

Abstract

It is never easy to write about the nature and processes of secularism. Many factors have come to impact consistently on its form, definition, and manifestation. The process has been multilayered, complicated, colored by internal and external forces and subtle and not so subtle nuances. In different time periods, many scholars have tried to explain and autopsy various facets of this phenomenon. This edited volume is one such attempt; it asks questions and offers various perspectives on a topic dubious yet over explored. Debates continue unresolved because the role of religion in society is misunderstood and misconstrued. It is religion and its gigantic power which continually cast doubt on the understanding and practice of secularism in human society even now in the twenty-first century.