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Secularism and State Policies toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey |
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reviewed by Audrey Stevens |
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Author: Ahmet T. Kuru |
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Paperback |
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Review: |
"Secularism and State Policies Toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey" by Ahmet T. Kuru is based off of the author’s doctoral thesis. The work is structured around the three cases studies: the United States, France, and Turkey, but includes some discussion of a variety of histories of state interaction with religion. This 2009 work describes contemporary relationships between the state and religion but Kuru equally builds a historical causal narrative to explain the differences and similarities among his case studies.
Kuru’s work is organized into three main sections, one for each of his case studies. This format in fact highlights one of the strengths of Kuru’s book. Each state –the United States, France, and Turkey –is dealt with in its own right. While Kuru does make comparisons to the other states in his study, the distinct blocking of his work ensures that each case is given the nuanced investigation it deserves. Within each section Kuru starts with a contemporary analysis of the state’s current engagement with secularism. For the United States this focuses on the period between 1981 and 2008. For France and Turkey these periods are from 1989 to 2008 and from 1997 to 2008, respectively. Each section is followed by a historical investigation of how certain types of secularism or motifs in secularism debates emerged. This detailed historicization and focus on the unique contexts, contests, and challenges of each case study’s engagement with secularism makes Kuru’s book a valuable reference for those investigating current and historical manifestations of secularism.
The organization of his work reflects the constructivist methodology embraced by Kuru, who favors process tracing and causal narrative construction in Secularism and State Policies Towards Religion. In this comparative study, Kuru uses “difference and agreement” methods as part of the process of identifying casual factors. Indeed, explicitly engaging with modernization, civilization, and rational choice theories, Kuru’s analysis borrows from all three frameworks. Perhaps his largest departure from more standard comparative political science approaches is his insistence on ideological factors –above economic or political factors –in determining the nature and qualities of contemporary secularism. Kuru indeed hopes that his work is part of the growing trend challenging both the Realist dismissal of ideational forces in politics as well as the modernization theory’s assumption that religion is normative anti-modern, traditional, or anti-positivist. While highlighting the role of ideologies in the political developments of secularism in the U.S., France, and Turkey, Kuru’s emphasis on contextualization urges the reader to understand the infinite nuances within categories such as “Muslim,” “Christian,” and “Secular.” By enforcing historical narratives and the unique experiences of his case studies, Kuru handily deals with the difficult burden of a comparative study of this nature.
While accepting and engaging with the varied interpretations of terms like “secularism,” Kuru’s use of coding and difference/agreement methods ensure Kuru’s terminologies are consistent and explicit. In appendices Kuru provides a helpful reference for state-religion regimes, human development index scores next to establishment of an official religion, and an accessible chart of Muslim countries’ state-religion regimes. Like the graphs and diagrams throughout the work, Kuru’s clear methodology, terms, and conclusions make Secularism and State Policies toward Religion both accessible and straightforward. Similar to the detailed but clear historical narratives, the diagrams and appendices show Kuru’s ability to simplify the complex subject matter, recommending this book for more than academic audiences. Indeed, the clear narratives and graphic aids make Secularism and State Policies a valuable reference for anyone interested in the topic.
Kuru’s source material includes an impressive number of popular and scholarly sources from American, French, and Turkish outlets. The use of substantial legal documentation shows in the structure of his work, as court cases play a major role in his chronology. Particularly in the American study, this sometimes gives the sense that Kuru’s work is a legal –not political or ideological –history. Nevertheless, the sources capture the depth and breadth of the subject and his bibliography is a welcome resource for any others interested in the topic.
In such a straightforward book, Kuru’s central comparative argument relies on the importance ideologies and the question of ancien régimes. In his introduction Kuru breaks his argument down into: “The presence or absence of an ancien régime (monarchy + hegemonic religion) → Dominance of assertive or passive secularism (despite ongoing ideological struggles) → Exclusionary or inclusionary policy tendencies toward religion” (14). While clearly laying out his independent and dependent variables, this sequence does not adequately capture the vast majority of the work related to more nuanced historical process in the United States, France, and Turkey. Indeed, this argument is nearly lost in portions of the book. While Secularism and State Policies toward Religion is a valuable resource for individuals looking at historical debates on secularism, it is less exemplary in its value as a comparative study with compelling causal arguments. Kuru’s main argument focuses on very specific details and would benefit from further development in the text, above and beyond the outstanding historical narrative. The separate sections on the United States, France, and Turkey are perhaps even too separate, making the direct comparisons tangential or ad hoc additions in concluding comments. Kuru’s explicit claim again modernization theory’s assumption that religion is anti-modern, for example, could be further developed in a comparative analysis of his case studies. While the work is informative, more synthesis among the case studies could bolster his analysis and strengthen his argument.
Kuru’s book is a clear, articulate investigation of three experiences between secularism and the state. This work, an accessible and straightforward reference for anyone interested in the topic, provides both the contemporary conditions and historical contexts of secularism in the United States France and Turkey. While the relationships among the case studies are not the strongest element of the work, the causal arguments and Kuru’s ideology-based methods are compelling. With exemplary source material, a clear chronology, and a methodologically nuanced approach, Secularism and State Policies Toward Religion: The United States, France, and Turkey is a thorough and balanced addition to the literature on secularism. |
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