{"id":6292,"date":"2023-10-30T18:20:57","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccrl-clrc.ca\/?post_type=project&p=6292"},"modified":"2023-10-30T18:21:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T18:21:37","slug":"what-is-religion-whats-in-a-definition","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/ccrl-clrc.ca\/fr\/project\/what-is-religion-whats-in-a-definition\/","title":{"rendered":"What is \u201creligion\u201d? What\u2019s in a definition?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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In 2018, reporters asked the newly minted national NDP leader Jagmeet Singh about his views of violence after videos surfaced of him at previous rallies supporting an independent Sikh homeland. In one video Singh was on a panel where a fellow panelist indicated that violence may be necessary for Sikhs to obtain their independence. When\u00a0reporters pressed Singh about his views, Singh initially stated that the issue was too complex to answer with a simple response<\/a>. But\u00a0columnists continued to criticize his lack of \u201cclarification,\u201d although a CBC columnist hastened to add that the issue was not one of religion, but of politics<\/a>. And therein was the problem.<\/p>\n

The problem was the columnist\u2019s definition of religion and the assumption that religion can so easily be separated from politics. Granted, defining religion is incredibly complex. Academics debate whether religion is an irreducible and unique phenomenon or a social construction. They further observe that:<\/p>\n