General Description:

Inside the Readings folder, there are 2 scholarly articles which continue to discuss aspects of South Asian secularism. There are also 3 media articles which focus on some of the challenges to secularism presented by South Asian religious traditions, especially in India, which is a secular and democratic state.  The scholarly articles (in weeks 4 & 5) should help illustrate the diversity of secularisms, while the media articles highlight specific issues pertaining to different aspects of these debates in relation to Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs around the world.

Learning Objectives & Instructions:

1) Read all of the articles in the Readings folder and listen to the radio show.

2) Think about how secular states, like India and France in particular, regulate religion differently in the name of secularism.

3) Try to identify some of the unique challenges to secularism presented by South Asian religious traditions (including Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism) and think about how different interpretations of secularism around the world end up treating these religious traditions differently.

4) Relate this to the information you have been gathering from the scholarly articles (in weeks 4 & 5).

5) Proceed to the writing assignment in the Writing folder, and complete it by the Due Date.