Sectarianism

Not to be confused with Secularism.
This article is about sectarianism and its different conceptual interpretations. For sectarianism as a characteristic of sects, see sect.
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Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or religious conflicts between groups.[1] Others conceive of sectarianism as a set of social practices where daily life is organized on the basis of communal norms and rules that individuals strategically use and transcend.[2][3] This definition highlights the co-constitutive aspect of sectarianism and people's agency, as opposed to understanding sectarianism as being fixed and incompatible communal boundaries.[1][2][3]

While sectarianism is often labelled as 'religious' and/or 'political', the reality of a sectarian situation is usually much more complex. In its most basic form, sectarianism has been defined as, 'the existence, within a locality, of two or more divided and actively competing communal identities, resulting in a strong sense of dualism which unremittingly transcends commonality, and is both culturally and physically manifest.'[4]

  1. ^ a b Sayed, Linda (2022). "Negotiating Citizenship". In Practising Sectarianism. Stanford:Stanford University Press. pp. 31–51.
  2. ^ a b Sbaiti, Nadya (2022). ""No Room for This Story"". In Practising Sectarianism. Stanford:Stanford University Press. pp. 14–30.
  3. ^ a b L. Deeb, T. Nalbantian, N. Sbaiti (2022). "Introduction". In Practicing sectarianism. Stanford: Stanford University Press. pp. 1–13.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Roberts, Keith Daniel (2017). Liverpool Sectarianism: The Rise and Demise. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-78694-010-0.