globalisation (and fundamentalism)

what causes globalisation

• 📱 Spread of technology and media (e.g. internet, social media)

• ✈ Increased migration and travel

• 🌐 Global markets and businesses

• 📦 Cultural exchange and hybridisation

• 🧠 Flow of ideas, values, and beliefs across borders

what impact does globalisation have on religion

• Religion is being used as a reaction to uncertainty in a globalised world (leading to fundamentalism)

• It is used as cultural defence against external threats 

• It can lead to conflict 

• It aids economic development 

• In a Postmodern world, religion has become more diverse and de-institutionalised 

how globalisation fuels fundamentalism

• 1. Cultural Defence

  • Religion acts as a symbol of identity for a group under threat from external cultural forces (e.g., Westernisation).

  • Protects cultural values and traditions.

  • Example: Islam as a cultural defence in former colonies.

  • bruce - some minority grous use religion to protect thier cultural identity in the take of hostility of percieved threats from the dominant culture

  2. Increases Fundamentalism

  • Globalisation spreads secular, liberal ideas, provoking a reactionary rise in fundamentalism.

  • Fundamentalism offers certainty and tradition in uncertain times.

  • Example: Rise of the Taliban or Christian Right.

  3. Creates Conflict – Clash of Civilisations

  • Samuel Huntington argued globalisation increases cultural and religious clashes between ‘civilisations’ (e.g., West vs Islam).

  • Religious identity becomes a source of conflict.

  4. Economic Development

  • Economic growth linked with globalisation can lead to either:

    • Decline of religion (secularisation) due to rationalisation.

    • Or religious revival if religion supports social stability.

    • religion can help promote economic development by encouraging values like hard work, discipline.

    • Webera study - protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism - protestant beliefs encouraged economic success as a sign of being chosen by god

  5. Aids Religious Diversity (Disembedding)

  • Globalisation causes religion to be disembedded from local contexts (Giddens).

  • Religious beliefs and practices become global, mobile, and individualised.

  • Leads to pluralism and choice in religion.

  • global church networks connect people globally creating more diverse religious expressions.

  6. Secularisation

  • Spread of science, rationality, and global capitalism weakens religious authority.

  • Religion becomes more privatised and less influential in public life.

  • sunday trading laws being relax (open Sundays) - shows religion losing influence over public life.

Bruce

• Secularisation thesis:
  Bruce argues that globalisation promotes scientific thinking, rationality, and economic development, which leads to the decline of religion, especially in Western societies.

• As societies modernise, religion loses its social influence and becomes more privatised.

• Example: Decline of church attendance in Europe and North America despite global interconnectedness.

huntington

• Clash of Civilisations theory (1993):
  Huntington suggests that after the Cold War, conflicts will be based more on cultural and religious identities than ideology or economics.

• Globalisation intensifies awareness of civilisational differences (e.g., Western vs Islamic).

• These clashes arise because globalisation increases interactions between different cultures, but religious identities are often seen as non-negotiable, fueling tension and conflict.

• Example: Conflicts in the Middle East, tensions between the West and Muslim countries.

Nanda

• Religious revival and cultural defence:
  Nanda studies Hindu nationalism in India and shows how globalisation can provoke a revival of traditional religion as a form of cultural defence against Western secular and liberal values.

• As India modernises and opens up to global capitalism, Hindu groups promote a return to religious and cultural traditions to maintain identity and resist Western influence.

Redding

• Economic development and religion:
  Redding argues that globalisation’s economic dimension influences religion in complex ways:

  • In some cases, economic growth leads to secularisation because of increased rationality and scientific progress.

  • In others, religion experiences a revival, especially if it supports social cohesion and stability during rapid change.

• This dual effect means religion’s role varies depending on the cultural and economic context.

castells

• Resistant vs Project identities:
  Castells distinguishes two types of identity responses to globalisation:

  • Resistant identities: Defensive, reactionary identities that reject global modernity (e.g., religious fundamentalism, ethnic nationalism). These identities reject global norms and seek to protect tradition.

  • Project identities: Constructive, open identities that adapt and create new forms of spirituality or cultural expression (e.g., New Age spirituality).

• Castells highlights how religion can be both a site of resistance and innovation in the global age.

Giddens

• Disembedding and fundamentalism:
  Giddens explains that globalisation disembeds social relations from local contexts, making religion more detached, global, and individualised.

• This leads to a loss of traditional certainties and increased social risk, prompting some people to turn to fundamentalism for certainty and security.

• Fundamentalism emerges as a reaction to the uncertainties of late modernity and global interconnectedness.

• He also notes the rise of global religious movements that transcend local boundaries.

• Contrasts this with - cosmopolitanism - a way of thinking that embraces modernity , which is tolerant and open to cultural diveristy

evaluations

✔ Strengths

• Explains why some religions revive or grow (e.g., fundamentalism as reaction to modern uncertainties).

• Accounts for the rise of new religious movements and spiritual diversity in a globalised world.

• Helps understand how religion becomes disembedded from local traditions and spreads globally (Giddens).

• Shows how globalisation influences cultural identity and can provoke cultural defence (Nanda).

• Explains increased religious pluralism and the availability of choice in beliefs.

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❌ Limitations / Criticisms

• Overgeneralises: Not all religions are affected equally by globalisation; some remain local or traditional.

• Some argue globalisation accelerates secularisation rather than religious revival (Bruce).

• The Clash of Civilisations thesis (Huntington) is criticised for over-simplifying complex conflicts and exaggerating religious divisions.

• Globalisation may lead to superficial hybrid religions that lack deep meaning for believers.

• Power and inequality are often ignored: globalisation benefits Western and dominant religions more than minority faiths.

• Some sociologists argue religion is becoming more privatised and less socially significant, despite globalisation.

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