Secularization, Dispossession, Forced Deprivatization

Abstract

This article examines the effects of secularization and dispossession on the protection of First Nations sacred sites. The separation of religion from the state and the privatization of religion are intricately connected, but religion’s relegation to the private sphere is not its permanent location. These processes contribute to the construction of conditions by which religions must conform in order to enter the public arena and debate morally relevant issues. Deprivatization demands a particular type of religion that is susceptible to compromise and negotiation. This leads to two problems for the protection of First Nations sacred sites: (1) the state’s control over much of the traditional lands of First Nations and over socio-economic expansion forces First Nations into the public arena to seek the protection of their sacred sites, and (2) there is an intimate connection between First Nations’ religious beliefs and the topic of public debate.