Tracing Secularism: Religion, Power & Violence in Western and Islamic Worlds
This paper examines the complex relationship between religion, power and violence across Western and Islamic contexts. Drawing on perspectives from Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Hobbes and Karen Armstrong, it argues that what is often labelled “religious violence” actually stems from political, economic and existential forces.
The study compares the development of secularism in the West—where it emerged as a revolutionary response to church corruption—with the Islamic world, where instruments like the Medina Charter were used to manage religious diversity. Employing José Casanova’s concept of secularism, it contends that despite secularisation, the West is witnessing a resurgence of religion, illustrating the limits of secularism as both ideology and statecraft.
Understanding these dynamics is essential for rethinking the role of religion in contemporary politics. For full details, consult the article “Tracing Secularism: Religion, Power, and Violence in Western and Eastern (Islamic) World” (2025).via DOI: https://doi.org/10.30983/fuaduna.v9i1.9401.