Revisting The Secular City

On this site, back in August 2003, I wrote,

“I’m sure Harvey Cox mentions Delhi in The Secular City, but I can’t recall what he says and with all belongings in storage I can’t look it up. Still, I find myself thinking hard about my own project to write about theology and the global city.”

Well my copy of Harvey Cox’s book The Secular City: Secularization and Urbanization in Theological Perspective has been on or near my desk for the last few days. It makes a few comments on Delhi from the perspective of India trying to escape poverty and carve a stable secular political landscape. It is interesting that recently India faced and rejected the political option of a predominantly Hindu national identity in favour of a more secular government. However, this time the choice was driven even more acutely by issues related to globalisation. That said, Delhi is not free from religiously motivated violence. However, Delhi remains an interesting city to consider in terms of issues related to urbanisation (and urban theology), especially with its massive urban expansion and role in global communcations and networking.