Religion, Science, and Empire

Peter Gottschalk offers a compelling study of how, through the British implementation of scientific taxonomy in the subcontinent, Britons and Indians identified an inherent divide between mutually antagonistic religious communities. England's ascent to power coincided with the rise of empirical science as an authoritative way of knowing not only the natural world, but the human one as well. The British scientific passion for classification,combined with the Christian impulse to differentiate people according to religion, led to a designation of Indians as either Hindu or Muslim according to rigidly defined criteria that paralleledclassification in botanical and zoological taxonomies. Through an historical and ethnographic study of the north Indian village of Chainpur, Gottschalk shows that the Britons' presumed categories did not necessarily reflect the Indians' concepts of their own identities, though many Indians came to embrace this scientism and gradually accepted the categories the British instituted through projects like the Census of India, the Archaeological Survey of India, and the IndiaMuseum. Today's propogators of Hindu-Muslim violence often cite scientistic formulations of difference that descend directly from the categories introduced by imperialBritain.Religion, Science, and Empire will be a valuable resource to anyone interested in the colonial and postcolonial history of religion in India.

“"This study of the many-faceted systems of classification of South Asian culture and society employed by the British from the 18th century to the present is necessary reading for historians, religionists, political scientists, anthropologists, and ethnographers" --CHOICE "Gottschalk therefore offers a rich book in terms of the data he explores and the nuanced description showing that 'religion and science derive often from ultimately entwined and interrelated currents of interest and tradition' (21). For this reason Religion, Science, and Empire is an important book concerning the emergence of various disciplines and the imperial production of knowledge." --Religion & Theology”

"This study of the many-faceted systems of classification of South Asian culture and society employed by the British from the 18th century to the present is necessary reading for historians, religionists, political scientists, anthropologists, and ethnographers" --CHOICE"Gottschalk therefore offers a rich book in terms of the data he explores and the nuanced description showing that 'religion and science derive often from ultimately entwined and interrelated currents of interest and tradition' (21). For this reason Religion, Science, and Empire is an important book concerning the emergence of various disciplines and the imperial production of knowledge." --Religion & Theology

Professor and Chair, Department of Religion, Wesleyan University

Peter Gottschalk offers a compelling study of how, through the British implementation of scientific taxonomy in the subcontinent, Britons and Indians identified an inherent divide between mutually antagonistic religious communities. England's ascent to power coincided with the rise of empirical science as an authoritative way of knowing not only the natural world, but the human one as well. The British scientific passion for classification, combined with the Christian impulse to differentiate people according to religion, led to a designation of Indians as either Hindu or Muslim according to rigidly defined criteria that paralleled classification in botanical and zoological taxonomies. Through an historical and ethnographic study of the north Indian village of Chainpur, Gottschalk shows that the Britons' presumed categories did not necessarily reflect the Indians' concepts of their own identities, though many Indians came to embrace this scientism and gradually accepted the categories the British instituted through projects like the Census of India, the Archaeological Survey of India, and the India Museum. Today's propogators of Hindu-Muslim violence often cite scientistic formulations of difference that descend directly from the categories introduced by imperial Britain.Religion, Science, and Empire will be a valuable resource to anyone interested in the colonial and postcolonial history of religion in India.

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