Disenchanting India

Quack, Johannes:
Disenchanting India : Organized Rationalism and Criticism of Religion in India / Johannes Quack. - New York [u.a.] : Oxford Univ. Press, 2012. - XVII, 362 S. : Ill.
Hochschulschrift. Zugl.: Heidelberg, Univ., Diss., 2009
ISBN 978-0-19-981260-8
US$ 99,00 (Hardback)
ISBN 978-0-19-981262-2
US$ 39,95 (Paperback)
DDC: 211.40954

Beschreibung
India is frequently represented as the quintessential land of religion. Johannes Quack challenges this representation through an examination of the contemporary Indian rationalist movement, which affirms the values and attitudes of atheism, humanism, or free-thinking. Quack shows the rationalists' emphasis on maintaining links to atheism and materialism in ancient India and outlines their strong ties to the intellectual currents of modern European history. At the heart of Disenchanting India lies an ethnographic study of the organization "Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti" (Organization for the Eradication of Superstition), based in the Indian State of Maharashtra. Quack gives a nuanced account of the rationalists' specific "mode of unbelief," describing their efforts to encourage a scientific temper and combat beliefs and practices they regard as "superstitious". Quack also shows the role played by rationalism in their day-to-day lives, as well as the organization's controversial position within Indian society. Disenchanting Indiaprovides crucial insights into the nature of rationalism in the intellectual life and cultural politics of India. [Verlagsinformation]

Inhalt
Prologue. xi
Introduction. 3
PART I: OBJECT OF INQUIRY: INDIAN RATIONALISTS, MODES OF UNBELIEF & DISENCHANTMENT. 7
   1. Indian Rationalists. 9
   2. Modes of (Non-)Religiosity and Unbelief. 19
   3. Rationalization and Disenchantment. 29
   4. Methodological Remarks and Research Setting. 41
PART II: HISTORY: ROOTS OF ORGANIZED RATIONALISM IN INDIA. 47
   5. ''Narrative'' of the Indian Roots of Rationalism. 49
   6. Evolution of Rationalism in Colonial India. 57
   7. Influence of the English Rationalist Movement. 69
   8. Organized Rationalism in 20th Century India. 79
   9. Recent History of Organized Rationalism in Maharashtra. 101
PART III: ETHNOGRAPHY: MAHARASHTRA ANDHASHRADDHA NIRMULAN SAMITI (ANiS). 107
   10. ANiS in Action: The Science-Van. 109
   11. Organizational Structure and Set-Up of ANiS. 145
   12. Profile and Agenda of ANiS. 181
   13. Individual Interpretations and Applications of Rationalism. 207
   14. Rationalism as a Way of Life. 221
   15. ANiS in Context. 245
   16. Impact of ANiS. 267
PART IV THEORY: THE MODE OF UNBELIEF OF ANIS. 271
   Epilogue: Disenchanting India Contextualized. 285
   Empirical Question: A Transnational Rationalist Movement? 286
   Theory: Disenchantment as Problematic Master-Narrative. 294
   Metatheory: Prospective Reflections on "Researching Rationalism". 302
References. 313
Appendixes
   1. Transliteration of Hindi and Marathi Terms. 335
   2. Interviews and Documented Conversations. 336
   3. Anti-Superstition Bill. 341
   4. Original German Quotations. 350
Index. 355

Autor
JOHANNES QUACK studied Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Anthropology at the Universities of Bayreuth, Edinburgh, and Heidelberg. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cluster of Excellence "Asia & Europe," Heidelberg University and is currently research fellow at McGill University, Montreal. Profile page (Heidelberg).

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