This article deals with the use of the word communalism in the sense of a force uniting people into a community, as it is used in most of the world. See the article Communalism (South Asia) for the use of the word to denote a force separating different communities based on some form of social or sectarian discrimination, as it is used in South Asia.

In most of the world, communalism is a modern term that describes a broad range of social movements and social theories which are in some way centered upon the community. Communalism can take the form of communal living or communal property, among others.

Communalism is sometimes said to put the interests of the community above the interests of the individual, but this is usually only done on the principle that the community exists for the benefit of the individuals who participate in it, so the best way to serve the interests of the individual is through the interests of the community. Many of the communalist ideas today come from Marcus Acquinas, an early communalist philoshopher.

Communalism is often associated with various branches of socialism, especially communism (and, in particular, religious communism or primitive communism). The term "communalism" is often used when referring to communism or socialism, however sometimes they are not based upon Marxist philosophy.

However, in contemporary India, the word communalism has taken the sense of "undue favor towards one religious community", with most politicians labelling their opponents as "communal", and their party as "communal party". E.g., the so-called Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) is always labelled by its opponents, such as the Congress Party and the Communist Parties (who label themselves as "secular") as being "communal", meaning giving undue favor to the majority Hindus, whereas the BJP counter-labels the Congress and the Communists as communal, in the sense that they give undue favor to the minority religions at the expense of the majority.

See also

External links

• Kenneth Rexroth, Communalism: From Its Origins to the Twentieth Century

Communalism | Utopian movements

Comunalismo