An Interview with Diana L. Eck 

From what I know, secularism in public life to counter harmful effect of transnational religious institutions, sentiment, in favor of political nation. Term National interest is said to be have arisen when france pursued its political interest with protestant nations against Catholic nations despite being Catholic during counter reformation. Nations still had homogenity, problem was transnational homogenity. Muslims still have that problem with caliphatic aspirations bubbling time and again. Problem today is not political diversity bw religious homogenity but religious diversity within national homogenity. Here minorities can be a threat if they prefer religion over nation.

What I m saying is nation itself changes, becomes heterogeneous. And transnational religion re-enters. National culture becomes problematic.

If it comes with immigrants, you can still defend majority culture in terms of britishness, americanness. This is still safer than indengenous people converting as imperial religions try to do, in east, which can break nations.

+kayt j do you think that she is gonna bother? as far as she is concerned,she has done her job. more innocent kids in schools will quote her enough number of times to make her claims into truth as accepted by the academia.and then there are journals and interviews and television documentaries. by the end of that pony show, her views would have become the "eternal truth". and we hindus would be so proud before we are yet again broken.

+Mustang 1981 That is the unfortunate state of hindus right now. Everyone else has the perverse need to peep and write ridiculous things about them. These writers are rich, heavily funded and have all the power to push their opinion. It appears like hindus can only watch as these people completely misrepresent without ever including a natives' commentary in their research. The biggest problem hindus have right now is the so called Indian intellectuals buy more into what the outsiders say about hindus than what the very people who are living and breathing hinduism have to say about it. These are dark ages for hinduism in western academia. This has forced me to plan an early retirement and study humanities and do something about it.

kayt j saving hinduism from indian intellectuals is actually a life well spent. might join in someday:) good luck.