Book contents
- When Politics Are Sacralized
- When Politics Are Sacralized
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 A Comparative Perspective on Religious Claims and Sacralized Politics
- Part I Israel
- 2 Religion and Nationalism in the Jewish and Zionist Context
- 3 Religious Claims and Nationalism in Zionism
- 4 On the Uses and Abuses of Tradition
- 5 The Relations between the Nationalization of Israel’s Politics and the Religionization of Its Military, 1948–2016
- 6 Sacralized Politics
- Part II India
- Part III Sri Lanka
- Part IV Serbia
- Part V Iran
- Part VI Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism
- Part VII Northern Ireland
- Part VIII Palestine
- Index
- References
2 - Religion and Nationalism in the Jewish and Zionist Context
from Part I - Israel
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 June 2021
- When Politics Are Sacralized
- When Politics Are Sacralized
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- 1 A Comparative Perspective on Religious Claims and Sacralized Politics
- Part I Israel
- 2 Religion and Nationalism in the Jewish and Zionist Context
- 3 Religious Claims and Nationalism in Zionism
- 4 On the Uses and Abuses of Tradition
- 5 The Relations between the Nationalization of Israel’s Politics and the Religionization of Its Military, 1948–2016
- 6 Sacralized Politics
- Part II India
- Part III Sri Lanka
- Part IV Serbia
- Part V Iran
- Part VI Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism
- Part VII Northern Ireland
- Part VIII Palestine
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter explores the relationship between secularism, nationalism, and religion in relation to Zionism. It maintains the centrality of the political-theological aspect in defining and forming the Israeli state, insisting that it is the theological with its apocalyptic dimension that stands at the heart of the definition of Israel as a Jewish state. It argues that to discuss Jews and Zionism in the context of religion and nationalism means to integrate two different perspectives: first, the historical analysis of the Jewish existence as a “problem” for modern secularism. The second perspective is the one provided by Zionism as a project of Westernization of the Jews. Accordingly, it argues that the Zionist theological perspective is unique in its direct relation to Jewish-Christian messianic images and biblical images of Palestine. Thus, the Israeli case stands out due to the relationship between messianism (and its political interpretations) and nationalism. Consequently, the analysis of Zionist discourse reveals the colonial dimension inherent to the process of secularization in the West in general, and nationalization of the Jews in particular. It also tries to point out to options of decolonization to be found in religious terminology.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- When Politics are SacralizedComparative Perspectives on Religious Claims and Nationalism, pp. 33 - 53Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
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