Fundamentalism

fundamentalism

literal interpretation of their faith and seek to go back to tradition

what two reasons do ppl become fundamentalist

in west - provoked by social change for example due to globalisation, liberal attitudes

in third world - due to western influences trying to enforce change through external forces(govt, politics, capitalism)

7 features of fundamentalism

sacred texts

patriarchy

prophecy

us vs them mentality - post modernism = cultural chaos

use of modern technology

conspiracy theory

agressive reaction

example of funadmentalist group in west

new christian right - hate social change regarding family diversity and gender

hate same sex marriage

example of fundamentalism in third world

saudia arabia - under sharia law it was frowned upon for women to drive but got over turned by western influences

Davie

fundamentalism occurs because traditions are under threat !! by modernity and they feel need to defend themselves

great uncertainity in life now that there is modern society - resets truth about what is right/wrong

Giddens on why there is fundamentalism in third world

reaction to globalisation which undermines traditional values

hate cosmopolitanism (being open and liberal towards new ideas and rational thinking)

who talks about resistance personality

baumen and castell

what country has benefitted from globalisation and is still religious

india

Nanda

majority of india still religious - 70%

globalisation increased religious tourism - visiting shrines and temples

fashionable to be religious

how has globalisation helped india

economic growth

helped them become important player in world politics

helped educate population

huntington overview

religious differences create hostile environment of us vs them relationship

that is harder to resolve because it is deep rooted in culture and history

what example does huntington talk about - religious conflicts

islamic religion been at centre of global conflicts such as 9/11

western political forces and media influences create divide within islamic culture and east feel threatened by this

globalisation made religious idenity have less influence and national identity on rise

what is reducing religious identity in favour of national identity

globalisation

Davie evaluating Huntington

fundamentalism doesnt have to be religious - Yugoslavia in early 90s communism fell apart and became non religious fundamentalist group who justified ethnic cleansing

Horrie and Chippindale on huntington

grossly misleading

- portrays islam as an enemy

- only tiny population of muslims believe in holy war

how does Aldridge see fundamentalists when they say they are not interpreting the bible

they are still interpreting the bible but as complete historical fact and prophecies

explain aggressive reaction as a feature of fundamentalism

their movement aims to draw attention to the threat to their beliefs through aggression and shock

- to intimidate or cause harm

who talks about cosmopolitanism and what is this

giddens

- a way of thinking that embraces modernity and tolerant of others

- lifestyle that is personal choice - not prescribed by external religious or other authority

what two ways does Castells identify as responses to post modernity

resistance personality - defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalist communities

project identity - response from those who are forward looking and engage with social movements such as feminism

how does beckford criticise post modernists such as Giddens, Castells and Bauman

distinguish too sharply between cosmopolitanism and fundamentalism - ignore hybrid movements

lumps all fundamentalists together and ignores important differences

explain Bruces views on fundamentalism and monotheism

fundamentalism is confined to monotheistic religions such as abrahamic ones as opposed to religions such as hinduism

- because monotheistic religions believe in a single authoritative text which contains word of god unlike polytheistic religions that have no single text so there is so much more scope for diff interpretations

- hinduism is often described as being a collection of religions rather than just one

what is Davies first phase of fundamentalism

first phase gave rise to religious fundamentalism

- enlightenment in late 18th century to 1960s

religious fund became reaction to this secularisation movement that encouraged scientific belief and reason

second phase grave rise to secular fundamentalism

- since 1970s due to growing pessimisms and uncertainty. changes of globalisation, concerns for environment

- now less faith in secular ideologies such as rationalism and liberalism (and marxism in Eastern Europe due to collapse of communism)

-

what is Davies second phase of fundamentalism

second phase grave rise to secular fundamentalism

- since 1970s due to growing pessimisms and uncertainty. changes of globalisation, concerns for environment

- now less faith in secular ideologies such as rationalism and liberalism (and marxism in Eastern Europe due to collapse of communism)

- example of France using secularism as an excuse to preserve cultural identity and be racist

Huntington sees the problem not as islamic fundamentalism, but as islam itself. explain this

'clash of civilisations' and creation of hostile us vs them culture.

religion is a harder problem to solve than political ones due to it being deeply rooted in culture and history

- due to nation states less significant as an identity - so religion fills this gap

- globalisation has increased this contact between diff civilisations

who says he sees history as a struggle of 'progress against barbarism'

huntington

Huntington thinks the west is under threat from islam and the West need to

reassert its identity as a liberal-democratic christian civilisation

what does Jackson see Huntingtons work an example of

orientalism - western ideology that stereotypes eastern nations and muslims as untrustworthy and fanatical 'others' to justify exploitation and human rights abuse by west

Casanova says Huntington ignores divisions between the civilisations he identifies such as

sunni and shia muslims

how can religion serve as a cultural defence and unite a community against an external threat

(Poland)

Poland - under communist rule for 40s to 1989

- Catholic Church surpassed but continued to embody polish national identity

- served as popular rallying point for opposition to soviets and helped bring an end

- still has significant part in politics today

how can religion serve as a cultural defence and unite a community against an external threat

(Iran)

islam became focus of resistance to Shahs regime (policy of modernisation and westernisation that banned veil and muslim calendar - and widened poverty gap)

Globalisation created prosperous MC in India who are in biotech and pharmacy sectors. predicted first to be secular but what did Nanda find

becoming more religious

- 30% said they are becoming more religious vs 5% less

- found urban educated Indians are more supernatural than illiterate poor

- becoming fashionable to be religious

why does nanda think MC are increasingly religious in India

optimistic about future of globalisation

- the result of their ambivalence (uncertainty) about their newfound wealth

- ambivalence due to tenison between trad hind belief in renunciation of material wealth, and new prosperity