Transnational Religious Organisation and Flexible Citizenship in Britain and India

Abstract

John Zavos extends the idea of the political-cultural entanglement of Asian-European citizenships. He argues that religious organizations have the potential to be significant actors as dynamic new ideas of citizenship are fashioned in the challenging contexts of global transnationalism. The chapter focuses on one particular religious organization, the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (or BAPS), examining its location in two different but related arenas of citizenship development, Britain and India. The chapter explores ways in which religion can operate as an ordering discourse in this context. Religious organizations, Zavos suggests, can navigate the public discourses opened up by these trends in order to enhance their sense of belonging, their status, and their access to rights in relation to national, social, and political arenas.