Consider this argument: "political secularism is the modern state's sovereign power to reorganize substantive features of religious life, stipulating what reli

Consider this argument: "political secularism is the modern state's sovereign power to reorganize substantive features of religious life, stipulating what religion is or ought to be, assigning its proper content, and disseminating concomitant subjectivities, ethical frameworks, and quotidian practices." -Saba Mahmood So, that's a lot of jargon, but let's simplify it. As Americans, we all understand secularism as "the separation of church and state." However, Mahmood is saying that doesn't quite cover it. We can look at different countries that all call themselves secular and that there are interesting interrelations with religion. Instead, she argued, that secularism is the government saying where religion can (and cannot) interact with the public sphere. (This is super simplified, mind you.) Well, that's a testable hypothesis, but how? Well, Mahmood had an original question: when she was doing fieldwork with Coptic Christians in Egypt, she was wondering why it was not cast in terms of minority rights. In Egypt; Nasser, Sadat, and Mubarak all were proponents of secularism yet questions of Copts and Muslims were considered attacks to nationalist unity. Well, is that a violation of the purity of secularism, or is it that secularism isn't quite what it seemed? We can look at Turkey and secularism as well - They are secular under the French consideration of Laïcité (Laiklik in Turkish) and yet they had a ministry in the government that certified Imams and provided for the upkeep of the mosques. So they're not Secularist. But then, what of France, which may be considered one of the most strict adherents. but even then, schools follow the Christian liturgical year, including breaks for Christmas and Easter. Yet the government owns most old church buildings in France and pays for its maintenance, and there are clear governmental preferences of Christianity over Islam. And how about the United states, where it opens with a prayer, most often by a Christian? So, then, we have a lot of data, but it is data that is talking about the definition of a word. Who cares about a definition? Well, that definition tells us a lot about the cultures of the US, France, Turkey, and Egypt (among others - see India) but it's not exactly a testable hypothesis. It's closer to what a philosopher does than a Sociologist. ____ But even then, what if it was "just story telling?" Anthropologists have helped to elucidate cultures not our own and referencing what makes them common and different. I argue that that is inherently valuable.