Religion and postnationalism

This chapter examines the enduring significance of religion in national and postnational contexts, focusing on its role in shaping collective identities, social norms, and political structures. Through case studies such as international courts, Islamic finance, ISIS, and postnational blocs, it highlights the complex interplay between national habitus and emerging religiously inspired transnational structures. The chapter underscores the persistence of national legal frameworks in controlling religion, alongside the development of postnational religious identities. The chapter argues that while globalization and cosmopolitanization expand individual identity claims beyond the nation-state, religion continues to offer shared identity and belonging that transcends national boundaries. It explores how religious and national identities intersect and evolve within broader geopolitical contexts, challenging the notion that globalization displaces national frameworks. Key findings include the ongoing relevance of national habitus in connecting religion, state, and individual identities, and the role of religion in advancing and resisting postnational and nationalist goals. The chapter defines key concepts such as globalization, transnationalism, postnationalism, and cosmopolitanism, distinguishing their implications for political and social structures. Postnationalism is presented as a critique of the nation-state, while cosmopolitanism is framed as an ethical orientation transcending national boundaries.