State-led nationalism and the varieties of religious majoritarianism

Abstract

This article engages critically with Modood and Sealy’s typology of the governance of religious diversity. While welcoming their redefinition of secularism(s) as a means of governing religious diversity, we argue that it is also important to differentiate types of majoritarian nationalism. Focusing on the way that non-core groups are treated, we develop a fourfold typology of religious majoritarianism: hierarchical, assimilationist, dominant, and eliminationist. Focusing on the examples of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, we argue that majoritarian nationalism is not monolithic but contextually differentiated, shaped by institutional legacies, political strategies, and socio-religious hierarchies. Our analysis contributes to broader debates on nationalism and ethnic politics by mapping the dynamic interplay between state-led nationalism, religious identity, and the governance of diversity. We call for greater attention to the lived costs of majoritarianism and the contextual limits of multicultural remedies in the absence of broader structural and geopolitical changes.