Religion has dominated colonialism since the 16th century. Religion and the Secular critically examines how religion has been used to subject indigenous concepts to the needs of colonial powers. Essays present the colonial relationship from the perspective of colonized cultures - including Mexico, Guatemala, Vietnam, India, Japan, South Africa and Canada - and colonizing powers, namely England, Germany and the United States. The volume offers a historical and ethnographical analysis of the relationship between the sacred and the secular, examining religion in relation to politics, economics and civil power.

"A highly original and critically important work that provides much food for thought for those working in the field of religious studies. It builds upon a growing strand of scholarship that seeks to explore the implications of the socially constructed and culturally specific nature of the category of religion.'"

Richard King