Discussing We God’s People with author and Birmingham academic Jocelyne Cesari

Introducing "We God's People: Christianity, Islam and Hinduism in the World of Nations" by Jocelyne Cesari, Professor of Religion and Politics at Birmingham

The Aston Webb building at the University of Birmingham campus

In this book, Jocelyne Cesari argues that both religious and national communities are defined by the three Bs: belief, behavior, and belonging. By focusing on the ways in which these three Bs intersect, overlap, or clash, Cesari identifies patterns in the politicization of religion based on five country case studies: China, India, Russia, Syria, and Turkey. The dual dissemination of the nation-state framework and the Western understanding of religion, argues Cesari, is foundational to the complex relationship between religion and politics in the modern era. 

This video was presented by the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs where Professor Cesari is a Senior Fellow.