Disenchanting India: organized rationalism and criticism of religion in india

India is frequently represented as the quintessential land of religion. Johannes Quack challenges this representation through an examination of the contemporary Indian rationalist organizations: groups who affirm the values and attitudes of atheism, humanism, or free-thinking. India is frequently represented as the quintessential land of religion. Johannes Quack challenges this representation through an examination of the contemporary Indian rationalist organizations: groups who affirm 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 is anethnographic 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 Organization's specific <"mode of unbelief.>"He describes the group's efforts to encourage a scientific temper and to combat beliefs and practices that it regards as superstitious. Quack also shows the role played by rationalism in the day-to-day lives of the Organization's members, as well as the Organization's controversial position within Indian society.Disenchanting India contributes crucial insight into the nature of rationalism in the intellectual life and cultural politics of India. AcknowledgmentsPrologueIntroductionPart I: Object of Inquiry: Indian Rationalists, Modes of Unbelief & Disenchantment1. Indian Rationalists2. Modes of Unbelief3. Rationalization and Disenchantment4. Methodological Remarks and Research SettingPart II: History: Roots of Organized Rationalism in India5. ''Narrative'' of the Indian Roots of Rationalism6. Evolution of Rationalism in Colonial India7. Influence of the English Rationalist Movement8. Organized Rationalism in 20th Century India9. Recent History of Organized Rationalism in MaharashtraPart III: Ethnography: Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (ANiS)10. ANiS in Action: The Science-Van11. Organizational Structure and Set-Up of ANiS12. Profile and Agenda of ANiS13. Individual Interpretations and Applications of Rationalism14. Rationalism as a Way of Life15. ANiS in Context16. Impact of ANiSPart IV Theory: The Mode of Unbelief of ANiSBibliographyAppendix

• ISBN: 978-0-19-981260-8
• Editorial: Oxford University
• Encuadernacion: Cartoné
• Páginas: 432
• Fecha Publicación: 15/12/2011
• Nº Volúmenes: 1
• Idioma: Inglés