Why the Study of Religion Needs to Talk About Racism—Observations and Suggestions from Switzerland
Abstract
1. Introduction: Racism as a Prevalent Problem at Universities
2. The Current State at Swiss Universities
Universities produce and negotiate socially recognized knowledge. The exclusion of socially discriminated groups from knowledge production raises epistemological, scientific theory related and ultimately also democratic legitimacy problems as a result of the mutual dependence of knowledge and power. Therefore, it appears not only sensible but also necessary to debate the university as a white parallel society.(n.p.)
3. Conceptual Derivation and Definition: From Racial Thinking to Neo-Racism
Racism is a system of practices and discourses that refer to diffuse and fictitious differences in the context of semantic constructs such as “race,” “nationality,” “ethnicity,” “culture,” “religion,” etc., and are produced through the argumentative mechanisms of naturalization, homogenization, polarization and hierarchization. Through the constant recourse to these ideological-biologistic argumentation patterns in racist actions and narratives, historically grown and currently existing power and inequality relationships are legitimized and reproduced. The practices and discourses of racism exist—alone and in their dynamic interaction with other difference orders (such as sexism, classism or ableism)—at the personal, epistemic and institutional level and can appear explicitly or implicitly, intended or unintended, as well as consciously or unconsciously.
Structural racism is a social system of discourses, maxims of action and normative ideas that emerge from historically grown forms of domination and tend to reproduce existing inequality relationships of racialized groups. Racist discrimination does not presuppose an explicitly racist ideology or intention of a person or institution and therefore focuses less on supposed perpetration than on the consequences for directly affected persons.
4. What Racism Has to Do with Religion and the Study of Religion
Nevertheless, a factual-critical reappraisal of stereotypical interpretations and an established Eurocentric and essentializing-reductionist perception of Buddhist teachings and practices as well as Buddhist societies appears desirable, as is currently happening in different scientific disciplines such as Tibetology and the Study of Religion.
[…] I try to design it [the teaching] so, so this sounds quite stupid now, but that it [the religions] are actually all the same, that we are/um I explain what systems people have invented to explain the before and after of life and well, either one is born into such a system or one acquires it […](Catharina)
[…] but it’s not like we talk about it a lot now, because she realizes as well, she’s already said: “Yes, then that and blah blah blah” and I’m a bit like: “mhh”, and she already realizes that my interest is less than hers and that’s why, yes. She’s also said to me: “Hey, it would be so good if you meditated a bit too, or, you know, if you were a bit more involved with that” and that’s true; other people say this to me too, or, “You could be more involved with your own religion” and so on and then I think: “Yes, true”.(Nima)
I come from a Christian background; for me it’s quite clear that at some point, hey, the wise person gives in, and the donkey stays put; let it go, it’s okay, his attitude like, and then I realise a lot: I have about 50% Muslims and with them it’s: “hey, revenge” or, “I have to give it back, you have to avenge it and that’s unfair, and and, if I leave it like that now, then afterwards I’ll be seen as weak and then I’m no-one”, and I always thought: “It’s so difficult for me”, and at some point, I realised: “Aha, the difference is simply that Christians have recognised Jesus as saviour, and they don’t have to fight”.(Selina)
I mean Thailand, the Thai king, who is no longer alive, who is now the head—yes, for the others it is the Dalai Lama, it is so very, hmm, difficult; difficult to understand; it’s almost like a god-king, or, we’re actually in the Middle Ages; we’re actually with Louis XIV or, I don’t know, we’re somewhere else, hmm.(Catharina)
5. A Possible Framework: Suggestions for Anti-Racist University Teaching in the Study of Religion
- 5a. Module Content, Teaching Material and Competencies for Students
- 5b. Reflections on One’s Own Behaviour and “White” Privileges
- 5c. Challenges of Anti-Racism Work, Derailing Strategies and Possible Reactions
When the prevailing opinion is that racism is the cruel crime of an individual, it is clear that only terrible people who reject Black people/PoC can commit this crime. And although this assumption is simply wrong, it works wonderfully as a shield to cover up racism itself. More than that: It prevents the dialogue that would be necessary to expose racism and bring about change.
- 5d. A Final Step: Investigating and Confronting One’s Own Racism or One’s Experience of It
- What instances of racism come to mind that you have already experienced?
- Were there situations where you were not sure whether it was racism or not?
- What feelings do racism experiences trigger in you?
- What helped you in such situations?
- What help do you want from fellow human beings in such situations?
- (a)
- to listen when PoC want to report on their experiences and that it is crucial to ask them what support they wish for in this moment;
- (b)
- not to immediately respond with one’s own discrimination experiences;
- (c)
- to recognize racism as a prevalent problem that affects the whole society, and to the abolition of which we all must commit ourselves in accordance with the law;
- (d)
- that they do not look away when everyday racism occurs;
- (e)
- that they acknowledge that racism, is in many cases, is certainly also emanating from them, not due to maliciousness but to a deeply internalized way of thinking. Research also speaks of “racism against one’s will” (e.g., Bönkost 2018; M. Weis 2017);
- (f)
- that they recognize that racism does not begin with extremist atrocities or the “clear cases” (such as statements like “go back where you came from”) that they would not commit themselves;
- (g)
- that they are ready to continue educating themselves independently, together with other “white” people, about this topic;
- (h)
- that they become aware of their possible reaction with shame, guilt or defensive attitudes when called out for racism and are honest with themselves when this happens;
- (i)
- that they acknowledge their own privileges, especially the privilege of not having to engage with the topic of racism when one does not want to (Saad 2020);
- (j)
- to speak with rather than for people affected by racism.
- What does it trigger in you when people affected by racism tell you about racism?
- What are your reactions? What reaction would you wish from yourself?
- Where do you notice resistances to the topic? How do you deal with them?
- To what extent have you dealt with the topic so far?
- What are you willing to contribute in the future to become more well versed in this topic?
- Have you ever been accused of racism? If so, what did that trigger in you?
- What situations come to mind where you yourself, probably unintentionally, acted/expressed yourself in a racist way? What did it feel like?
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
1 | For current figures relating to Switzerland, see for example the report on racial discrimination in Switzerland based on the DoSyRa racism documentation system by the Counselling Network for Victims of Racism (Beratungsnetz für Rassismusopfer 2023). |
2 | The term “white” should, according to Florian Ohnmacht (2023), be written in italics in order to draw attention to its social construction, but also to make the normalized, invisible and powerful position of “whiteness” visible. In this text I have used inverted commas, rather than italics, because this presentation more clearly communicates the intended emphasis. “White” here therefore does not refer to skin colour, but describes all people who are read as “white” by society. |
3 | People of Colour (PoC) or Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPoC) are self-designations of people who have experienced racism. These include all members of racialized and oppressed communities (Ohnmacht 2023). As Kien N. Ha (2013, n.p.) adds, this term connects those “who are marginalised by white dominant culture and collectively devalued by the violence of colonial traditions and presences”. However, these self-designations are not used by all people affected by racism, which is why “people with experience of racism” is also used here interchangeably. |
4 | Migratory (migrantisch in German) is used here to indicate a self-positioning. This description is open to various phenomena that are related to migration and are considered “different” from a social perspective (Breton and Burren 2021, p. 173). |
5 | Paragraph 2 states: “No one shall be discriminated against, in particular on grounds of origin, race, sex, age, language, social status, way of life, religious, philosophical or political conviction or physical, mental or psychological disability”. |
6 | It states that “acts that explicitly or implicitly deny people equal rights or even deny them the right to exist because of their skin colour, ethnic or cultural background, religion or sexual orientation are punishable. However, these acts are only prohibited if they are committed in public, i.e., if there is no personal relationship or relationship of trust between the persons present”. In the case of an official offence, any person can file a complaint, even if they are not affected themselves. |
7 | For an explanation of the term Western as used in this article see page 6. |
8 | The term “race” is used here in inverted commas to emphasize the constructed nature of this relationship of domination and at the same time to draw attention to the colonial racist legacy and to denote racialization. However, it should be noted that this term is inherently violent and should not be reproduced, which is why it is used sparingly (Klingovsky et al. 2021, p. 27). Lentin (2008) also speaks of using this term in order to capture it as a historically evolved construction that continues to be politically powerful. |
9 | The term anti-Muslim racism (Anti-muslimischer Rassismus) is preferred by the author to the term Islamophobia, which is more common in English. Anti-Muslim racism can be understood as generalized negative attitudes towards Muslim people (or those read as being Muslims) and all beliefs, symbols and religious practices of Islam. This includes a generalized attribution of negative stereotypes, emotions, thoughts and beliefs to Islam or Muslims, and often questions the possibility of integration of Muslim people into “Western” societies, denying them their right to live in Western countries in extreme cases. |
10 | Racism can thereby also occur worldwide without reference to Eurocentrism. “Eurocentrism is understood here as the supposedly self-evident and sometimes barely reflected view of Europe, which assumes its epistemic, cultural, economic and political global hegemony”. This applies equally to North America (Eberth and Röll 2021, p. 27). |
11 | Commercialization is understood here as the deliberate marketing of religious symbols in non-religious contexts, such as the sale of Buddha statues for decoration in garden centres. Referring to Lars Distelhorst (2021, p. 21), cultural appropriation is understood here as “people from a dominant culture appropriating cultural elements from a discriminated or oppressed culture, without taking into account the attitude of those affected, thereby shifting or flattening their meaning”. Along with this, there is no recognition or monetary participation by those affected in the profits generated by commercialization. |
12 | The term discrimination is understood here as unequal treatment of people on the basis of socially significant characteristics, following Tarek Naguib (2014, pp. 27–28). This can also affect people who have not experienced racism, for example due to their attributed gender, social status, etc. For people who have experienced racism, discrimination can occur in addition to racism or as part of it. |
13 | For further explanation on how the interview data was obtained and processed, refer to the author’s Ph.D. research (Maegli 2024, 2025). This research was based on a discourse-analytical approach (e.g., Keller 2004) conducting semi-structures interviews (Witzel 2000) with teachers among other data collection. The interview data was transcribed using the method of “extended-content semantic transcription” (Dresing and Pehl 2018, pp. 21–25) and analysed with an evolving scheme of coding as well as open and axial coding (Strauss and Corbin 1996, pp. 75–93). |
14 | |
15 | See RKE.S430 Religions in Plural: Diversity, Globalization, Conflicts, course catalogue of the University of Zurich for Spring Semester 2025. |
16 | The author has to admit that this proves difficult at times due to reasons laid out in this article, when searching for literature that is available in Western languages and through the library network of her university. However, the bibliography of this article as well as the teaching resources try to implement diverse voices. |
17 | For the example of Buddhism refer for instance to Lopez 1995: Curators of the Buddha—The Study of Buddhism Under Colonialism. |
18 | In many countries with a direct colonial past, such as South Africa or England, decolonization processes have been initiated at university level, which have become known as Decolonising the Curriculum (see, for example, Bhambra et al. 2018; Dennis 2018). This means that a campus must engage with its own history of racism at all levels and take a critical look at it. In particular, the curriculum should include this reflection by not only reading Eurocentric literature, and by incorporating concepts such as criticism of racism into the lectures (see, for example, the Decolonising SOAS learning and teaching toolkit of the Decolonising SOAS Working Group (2018)). In Switzerland, such efforts have not yet been institutionalized. |
19 |
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Maegli, L.S. Why the Study of Religion Needs to Talk About Racism—Observations and Suggestions from Switzerland. Religions 2025, 16, 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16081018
Maegli LS. Why the Study of Religion Needs to Talk About Racism—Observations and Suggestions from Switzerland. Religions. 2025; 16(8):1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16081018
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaegli, Lea Sara. 2025. "Why the Study of Religion Needs to Talk About Racism—Observations and Suggestions from Switzerland" Religions 16, no. 8: 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16081018
APA StyleMaegli, L. S. (2025). Why the Study of Religion Needs to Talk About Racism—Observations and Suggestions from Switzerland. Religions, 16(8), 1018. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16081018