Panel discussion of Slavica Jakelić, 'Pluralizing Humanism: Religions and Secularisms Beyond Power'

Employing theoretical, historical, and sociological arguments, Pluralizing Humanism moves beyond the discourse of critique. It engages theories of religion and secularism, as well as postmodern, postcolonial, and decolonial critiques of Western humanist projects, to uncover the ideas and practices of religious and secular humanisms when they challenge dehumanization in the pursuit of conditions of flourishing for all. Through studies of the Solidarity movement in Poland and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Jakelić demonstrates the centrality of humanist traditions to the emergence of religious-secular solidarities that transformed the political landscapes of the world. By highlighting the instances in which humanisms functioned as checks on each other’s absolutist claims, the book contends that humanisms supply a constructive path for addressing the challenges of our time—a time of radically divided societies and intolerant, even violent, forms of nationalism.