One Nation, Many Faiths

Religious Pluralism and National Identity in an Interfaith Organisation

Liam T. Sutherland

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2024
• eBook ISBN: 9781350425880
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Sociology of Religion
• Index: Social Sciences

This book examines the understudied role of the interfaith movement in institutionalizing religious pluralism in the public life of contemporary societies through the case study of Interfaith Scotland. It analyzes the organization and their literature, demonstrating the ways in which they have cultivated a particular model of religious pluralism compatible with a secular civic-cultural nationalism. It places this case into a comparative discussion of the interfaith movement as an emerging global phenomenon. In this case study, the author considers how Interfaith Scotland presents 'religions' as equivalent, compatible bodies of ethical teachings through selective appeals to textual traditions or in some cases, their construction. It has also depended on conforming to the 'world religions paradigm', where it is only religions with global reach and cohesive characteristics which require representation. Liam Sutherland discusses how Interfaith Scotland encouraged a common, seemingly 'apolitical' attachment to Scotland's democratic institutions and cultural heritage, especially in relation to the question of independence. This case study sheds light on the wider relationship between the global interfaith movement and nationalism – both in protecting religions against prejudice and exclusion but also pursuing integrationist goals.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Dedication
• Title Page
• Bloomsbury Advances in Religious Studies
• Table of Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Introduction: One nation, many faiths and the need for critical study of interfaith
• 2 The interfaith movement, religious diversity and nationalism in Scotland and the world
• 3 Heritage and partnership: Interfaith Scotland’s representation of Scottish Christians
• 4 Unity in diversity: Interfaith Scotland’s representation of Scottish religious minorities
• 5 Rivals or collaborators? Interfaith Scotland’s representation of the non-religious
• Chapter 6 ‘The Country in which we live’: Interfaith Scotland’s representation of Scottishness, the independence referendum and its aftermath
• 7 From Scotland to the world: The study of the global interfaith movement, religious pluralism and nationalism
• 8 Conclusion
• Notes
• References
• Index
• Copyright Page