Jose Casanova, Georgetown University: “This is a pathbreaking book that shifts the attention from contentious debates over secularism as a norm and over the model of the secular state to the more fruitful task of comparing varieties of secularism and understanding the complex struggles that led to the historical formation of each particular type of secular state. It provides that secularism is not just a doctrine of separation of church and state but is most importantly a mode of state regulation in society. Kuru has opened up a field of study that should include many other varieties of secularism: Indian, Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Indonesian, and so forth.”

Joel Fetzer, Pepperdine University: “Secularism and State Policies toward Religion should be a cautionary tale for opportunistic religious leaders tempted to give their public blessing to whichever authoritarian government happens to be in power at the moment. At the same time, Professor Kuru demonstrates that true democracy does not require the state to be hostile to religious expression. This book deserves to be read and debated by citizens of predominantly Christian and majority-Muslim nations alike.”

Alfred Stepan, Columbia University: “One of the most important and difficult tasks for a major book in comparative politics is to document distinctive, politically significant patterns among states, and then to demonstrate the causes and consequences of these distinctive patterns. Kuru brilliantly pulls off this triple feat in his analysis of the `separatist secularisms’ of Turkey, France, and the United States.”

Rating: 5 / 5