The framework which says:
- that all people have a religion
- that religion is a primary way to organize and access people;
- that “religion” has a palpable, singular meaning
- (even if we know that that meaning is wobbly, at best)
It is invented during what historians call “modernity”
- the period in which our world as we know it comes to take shape
- roughly 1500-today
An important note is that it cannot be separated from Christianity, cannot be separated from imperialism, and cannot be separated from scientific race theory, whiteness etc.
World Religions Paradigm is a system of power, and reflects a particular set of worldviews which, by now, y’all should find troubling. It shapes law, curricula, bookstores, drop down boxes, etc.
Fundamentally changes how Islam is seen by Europeans - which eventually affects how Muslims see themselves.