The author presents an analysis of the political decision making process regarding the teaching o... more The author presents an analysis of the political decision making process regarding the teaching of religion in Denmark from 1900 until 2007. The author uses Norbert Elias's concept of the survival unit as the analytical framework of the study. Instead of a classic secularization narrative in which the secular and religious spheres of society are differentiated into separate realms as the process of modernization unfolds, a different narrative emerges in which the State has used the teaching of religion as an instrument to further its vital interests, especially with regard to its international relations. Keywords religious change, secularization, State and religion, teaching of religion Résumé L'auteur analyse le processus d'élaboration de la décision politique concernant l'enseignement de la religion au Danemark de 1900 à 2007 en utilisant le concept de l'unité de survie de Norbert Elias comme cadre analytique de l'étude. Contrairement à la version classique de la sécularisation qui postule que le processus de modernisation se traduit par une séparation des sphères séculière et religieuse, une autre version émerge de cette étude : celle dans laquelle l'État utilise l'enseignement de la religion comme un instrument servant ses intérêts vitaux, particulièrement pour ce qui concerne ses relations internationales.
This paper departs from Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen's eminent structuralist analysis of Danish Ch... more This paper departs from Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen's eminent structuralist analysis of Danish Christmas parties in the article "Jul, julefrokost og nytår -en ritualanalyse". From this point of departure and with the assistance of an overlooked element of Émile Durkheim's analysis of religion, this article expands the analysis to include the typical Danish family celebrations and suggests that these are in fact a Danish family cult that should be given more attention in the study of religion in Denmark.
The article firstly presents a modified version of a relational theoretical approach to the study... more The article firstly presents a modified version of a relational theoretical approach to the study of religions that can also be useful in the analysis of dynamic relations between religions and nonreligions. Nonreligious groups can be studied as relational collective groups that define themselves vis-à-vis other religious groups. Following this, the article suggests that scholars should take this relation between religions and nonreligions much further into consideration. Religious and nonreligious groups define themselves in a relation to what they perceive to be their most immediate competitors. Thus, the article posits that there is a social field of groups that relate and react to the other, and since we by convention know some of these groups as religions and nonreligions, we can study the set of interrelated groups as a social reality without the need of a definition. Instead of defining “religion” and “nonreligion,” the analysis can depart from the relation between the groups or the fact that both religions and nonreligions relate to and constitute themselves vis-à-vis other religions. In the last part, the article analyzes a piece of rare empirical evidence, namely, the founding event of a nonreligious group (i.e., the Danish Humanist Society). Here, the article shows how the Danish Humanist Society combined meaning and strategy in its relational struggle against its significant religious other, the Danish National Church.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter attempts to show some important implications of the relational theory of religion se... more This chapter attempts to show some important implications of the relational theory of religion set forth in Chap. 3. The first implication is that the theory offers a new perspective on the historical differentiation of religion and state. The second implication is that central historical religious changes and developments can be analysed in a different light when religions are regarded as embedded in a relational field consisting of but not limited to other significant religions. The third implication of the theoretical outline is the suggestion that state religious policies have played a crucial role in countries other than Denmark, suggesting this is a general phenomenon. As an example, the historical study by Jonathan Israel is used to show that tolerant religious policies of William of Orange during and after the Glorious Revolution was also informed to a significant extent by state reason and defence considerations. On the basis of these examples as well as the following case study, the book suggests that the relational approach to the study of religion set forth in Chap. 3 can solve some of the inherent problems in secularization theory in particular and sociology in general.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter discusses how the legislative process was transferred to Parliament (confer Reeh 200... more This chapter discusses how the legislative process was transferred to Parliament (confer Reeh 2006 and Reeh 2009b). In the debates concerning the teaching of religion, this chapter shows that the new state-form had crucial implications for the state’s religious policies. Immediately after the introduction of constitutional monarchy and hence democracy, a wave of democratization was observed on many levels of the Danish state. Most important was the introduction of religious freedom. However, the legislative process was caught up in a struggle over the constitution after the loss of Slesvig and Holstein. The chapter shows that in this period, the differentiation of religion was entangled in power struggles within the state.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter offers a conceptual analysis of the secularization paradigm as it was constructed by... more This chapter offers a conceptual analysis of the secularization paradigm as it was constructed by the dominant sociological fathers and the reception hereof. The reason for this is that an examination of the failure of secularization theories should lead to significant discussions in the field of sociology. Broadly speaking, the conceptual analysis points to the establishment of sociology, especially in Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim’s case, through a complete empiricist break with the natural law tradition. Through empiricism, earlier writers such as Thomas Hobbes that paid great attention to the state were dismissed completely. Sociology as well as international relations emerged as independent disciplines and were little concerned with each other. In the case of sociology, empiricism contributed to the establishment of sociology as an independent and self-sufficient discipline. The conceptual analysis suggests that the study of secularization might benefit if much more attention were paid to the fundamental conceptual framework, especially the agency of the state and interreligious agency.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter outlines the political process from the introduction of parliamentary democracy to W... more This chapter outlines the political process from the introduction of parliamentary democracy to World War II (confer Reeh N, Debatten om afviklingen af det gejstlige tilsyn i folkeskolen uden for Kobenhavn fra 1901–1949—en skitse. In Andersen PB, Dahlgren C, Otterbeck J, Johannesen S (ed) Religion, skole og kulturel integration i Danmark og Sverige, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006b and Reeh N, Soc Comp 60(2):236–250, 2013). In this period, one can observe a second push for democratization of the Danish state, including the differentiation of religion from the educational system. The Social Democratic Party was one of the crucial drivers behind the reforms in this period and was in favour of a state in which religion was a private matter. Initially, the Social Democrats were quite critical of religion, but after 1934, they became a political party that appealed to all Danes, including the members of the Danish National Church. The Social Democrats thus adopted a less critical approach towards religion. During World War II, it can be observed that religion became more important as it was used in attempts to counter the Nazification of Danish youth. Religion thus served as a cultural defence.
The article attempts to show that the modern notion of ‘religion’ is a construction that emerged ... more The article attempts to show that the modern notion of ‘religion’ is a construction that emerged in the context of inter-religious encounters following the fall of Constantinople and especially in the years around the Reformation. Hereby, the article argues that the modern notion of ‘religion’ emerged earlier than found by most previous studies, and that it was used in the legislation of the new Protestant states as well as in the modern (Westphalian) state-system, both of which it has been a part of ever since. The notion of ‘religion’ is, thus, not a scholarly invention (J.Z. Smith) or tied to colonialism (Timothy Fitzgerald) but rather a product of complex historical processes in which religious conflicts and the attempt to overcome these played a key role.
Method & Theory in The Study of Religion, Jan 24, 2020
This article argues that the problems that comparative religion encountered in the 1980s and onwa... more This article argues that the problems that comparative religion encountered in the 1980s and onward did not arise from the comparative project as such, but rather from the fact that comparative religion was founded on an analytical strategy that relied on defining religion. In order to overcome these problems and critique of Jonathan Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others, it is proposed that the comparative study of religion could be re-established on the basis of a different analytical strategy and more specifically on the basis of a relational perspective, in which the crucial point of departure is the finding that religions in many periods and cultural settings seem to constitute themselves in relation
to at least one significant other religion. In periods and cultural settings, where religions relate to each other, we do in fact have a commonality between all religions, namely the inter-religious relation. This relation can ensure that we are not comparing things that have nothing in common. If the inter- religious relation is the point of departure, the comparative study of religion can be transformed in such a way that it is not overturned by the social constructionism or post-modernism of J.Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others.
The author presents an analysis of the political decision making process regarding the teaching o... more The author presents an analysis of the political decision making process regarding the teaching of religion in Denmark from 1900 until 2007. The author uses Norbert Elias's concept of the survival unit as the analytical framework of the study. Instead of a classic secularization narrative in which the secular and religious spheres of society are differentiated into separate realms as the process of modernization unfolds, a different narrative emerges in which the State has used the teaching of religion as an instrument to further its vital interests, especially with regard to its international relations. Keywords religious change, secularization, State and religion, teaching of religion Résumé L'auteur analyse le processus d'élaboration de la décision politique concernant l'enseignement de la religion au Danemark de 1900 à 2007 en utilisant le concept de l'unité de survie de Norbert Elias comme cadre analytique de l'étude. Contrairement à la version classique de la sécularisation qui postule que le processus de modernisation se traduit par une séparation des sphères séculière et religieuse, une autre version émerge de cette étude : celle dans laquelle l'État utilise l'enseignement de la religion comme un instrument servant ses intérêts vitaux, particulièrement pour ce qui concerne ses relations internationales.
This paper departs from Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen's eminent structuralist analysis of Danish Ch... more This paper departs from Hans Jørgen Lundager Jensen's eminent structuralist analysis of Danish Christmas parties in the article "Jul, julefrokost og nytår -en ritualanalyse". From this point of departure and with the assistance of an overlooked element of Émile Durkheim's analysis of religion, this article expands the analysis to include the typical Danish family celebrations and suggests that these are in fact a Danish family cult that should be given more attention in the study of religion in Denmark.
The article firstly presents a modified version of a relational theoretical approach to the study... more The article firstly presents a modified version of a relational theoretical approach to the study of religions that can also be useful in the analysis of dynamic relations between religions and nonreligions. Nonreligious groups can be studied as relational collective groups that define themselves vis-à-vis other religious groups. Following this, the article suggests that scholars should take this relation between religions and nonreligions much further into consideration. Religious and nonreligious groups define themselves in a relation to what they perceive to be their most immediate competitors. Thus, the article posits that there is a social field of groups that relate and react to the other, and since we by convention know some of these groups as religions and nonreligions, we can study the set of interrelated groups as a social reality without the need of a definition. Instead of defining “religion” and “nonreligion,” the analysis can depart from the relation between the groups or the fact that both religions and nonreligions relate to and constitute themselves vis-à-vis other religions. In the last part, the article analyzes a piece of rare empirical evidence, namely, the founding event of a nonreligious group (i.e., the Danish Humanist Society). Here, the article shows how the Danish Humanist Society combined meaning and strategy in its relational struggle against its significant religious other, the Danish National Church.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter attempts to show some important implications of the relational theory of religion se... more This chapter attempts to show some important implications of the relational theory of religion set forth in Chap. 3. The first implication is that the theory offers a new perspective on the historical differentiation of religion and state. The second implication is that central historical religious changes and developments can be analysed in a different light when religions are regarded as embedded in a relational field consisting of but not limited to other significant religions. The third implication of the theoretical outline is the suggestion that state religious policies have played a crucial role in countries other than Denmark, suggesting this is a general phenomenon. As an example, the historical study by Jonathan Israel is used to show that tolerant religious policies of William of Orange during and after the Glorious Revolution was also informed to a significant extent by state reason and defence considerations. On the basis of these examples as well as the following case study, the book suggests that the relational approach to the study of religion set forth in Chap. 3 can solve some of the inherent problems in secularization theory in particular and sociology in general.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter discusses how the legislative process was transferred to Parliament (confer Reeh 200... more This chapter discusses how the legislative process was transferred to Parliament (confer Reeh 2006 and Reeh 2009b). In the debates concerning the teaching of religion, this chapter shows that the new state-form had crucial implications for the state’s religious policies. Immediately after the introduction of constitutional monarchy and hence democracy, a wave of democratization was observed on many levels of the Danish state. Most important was the introduction of religious freedom. However, the legislative process was caught up in a struggle over the constitution after the loss of Slesvig and Holstein. The chapter shows that in this period, the differentiation of religion was entangled in power struggles within the state.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter offers a conceptual analysis of the secularization paradigm as it was constructed by... more This chapter offers a conceptual analysis of the secularization paradigm as it was constructed by the dominant sociological fathers and the reception hereof. The reason for this is that an examination of the failure of secularization theories should lead to significant discussions in the field of sociology. Broadly speaking, the conceptual analysis points to the establishment of sociology, especially in Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim’s case, through a complete empiricist break with the natural law tradition. Through empiricism, earlier writers such as Thomas Hobbes that paid great attention to the state were dismissed completely. Sociology as well as international relations emerged as independent disciplines and were little concerned with each other. In the case of sociology, empiricism contributed to the establishment of sociology as an independent and self-sufficient discipline. The conceptual analysis suggests that the study of secularization might benefit if much more attention were paid to the fundamental conceptual framework, especially the agency of the state and interreligious agency.
Boundaries of religious freedom: regulating religion in diverse societies, 2016
This chapter outlines the political process from the introduction of parliamentary democracy to W... more This chapter outlines the political process from the introduction of parliamentary democracy to World War II (confer Reeh N, Debatten om afviklingen af det gejstlige tilsyn i folkeskolen uden for Kobenhavn fra 1901–1949—en skitse. In Andersen PB, Dahlgren C, Otterbeck J, Johannesen S (ed) Religion, skole og kulturel integration i Danmark og Sverige, Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2006b and Reeh N, Soc Comp 60(2):236–250, 2013). In this period, one can observe a second push for democratization of the Danish state, including the differentiation of religion from the educational system. The Social Democratic Party was one of the crucial drivers behind the reforms in this period and was in favour of a state in which religion was a private matter. Initially, the Social Democrats were quite critical of religion, but after 1934, they became a political party that appealed to all Danes, including the members of the Danish National Church. The Social Democrats thus adopted a less critical approach towards religion. During World War II, it can be observed that religion became more important as it was used in attempts to counter the Nazification of Danish youth. Religion thus served as a cultural defence.
The article attempts to show that the modern notion of ‘religion’ is a construction that emerged ... more The article attempts to show that the modern notion of ‘religion’ is a construction that emerged in the context of inter-religious encounters following the fall of Constantinople and especially in the years around the Reformation. Hereby, the article argues that the modern notion of ‘religion’ emerged earlier than found by most previous studies, and that it was used in the legislation of the new Protestant states as well as in the modern (Westphalian) state-system, both of which it has been a part of ever since. The notion of ‘religion’ is, thus, not a scholarly invention (J.Z. Smith) or tied to colonialism (Timothy Fitzgerald) but rather a product of complex historical processes in which religious conflicts and the attempt to overcome these played a key role.
Method & Theory in The Study of Religion, Jan 24, 2020
This article argues that the problems that comparative religion encountered in the 1980s and onwa... more This article argues that the problems that comparative religion encountered in the 1980s and onward did not arise from the comparative project as such, but rather from the fact that comparative religion was founded on an analytical strategy that relied on defining religion. In order to overcome these problems and critique of Jonathan Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others, it is proposed that the comparative study of religion could be re-established on the basis of a different analytical strategy and more specifically on the basis of a relational perspective, in which the crucial point of departure is the finding that religions in many periods and cultural settings seem to constitute themselves in relation
to at least one significant other religion. In periods and cultural settings, where religions relate to each other, we do in fact have a commonality between all religions, namely the inter-religious relation. This relation can ensure that we are not comparing things that have nothing in common. If the inter- religious relation is the point of departure, the comparative study of religion can be transformed in such a way that it is not overturned by the social constructionism or post-modernism of J.Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others.
Uploads
Papers by Niels Reeh
to at least one significant other religion. In periods and cultural settings, where religions relate to each other, we do in fact have a commonality between all religions, namely the inter-religious relation. This relation can ensure that we are not comparing things that have nothing in common. If the inter- religious relation is the point of departure, the comparative study of religion can be transformed in such a way that it is not overturned by the social constructionism or post-modernism of J.Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others.
to at least one significant other religion. In periods and cultural settings, where religions relate to each other, we do in fact have a commonality between all religions, namely the inter-religious relation. This relation can ensure that we are not comparing things that have nothing in common. If the inter- religious relation is the point of departure, the comparative study of religion can be transformed in such a way that it is not overturned by the social constructionism or post-modernism of J.Z. Smith, Talal Asad and others.