topic 5- religion in a global context

fundamentalism

seek a return to the fundamentals of a faith when tradition has been challenged by modern society and globalisation

E: Davies- it occurs when people who hold traditional orthodox values feel they are under threat- leads to an ‘us and them’ mentality and often aggressive reactions

R: Giddens- is a reaction to globalisation which undermines traditional social norms eg. family, gender, sexuality = more risk and choice → retreat to faith based answers

contrasts with cosmopolitan which embraces modernity and personal choice

C: Beckford- distinguishes too much between fundamentalism and cosmopolitanism, ignoring hybrid movements

fundamentalism as a reaction to postmodernity

E: Bauman- post modern society brings freedom of choice and increased risk → fundamentalism attracts people with its claims of truth and certainty

R: Castells- two reactions to postmodernity → resistance identity (feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalism) and project identity (forward looking and engaging with social movements)

C: Hynes- in the Middle East the failure of local elites to deliver on their promises to improve the standard of living are often what drives fundamentalism

secular fundamentalism

E: Davies- the enlightenment movements from the 18th cen-1960s created a belief in the certainty of progress which undermined religious certainties which leads to secular fundamentalism

R: in 2004 France banned religious symbols in France and banned wearing the veil in 2010

C: France recently spent approx 800 million to repair the notre dame- a cathedral and huge religious symbol

monotheism and fundamentalism

E: Bruce- main cause is belief of religious traditionalists that globalisation is threatening them & believes its confined to monotheistic religions as they’re based on a single authoritative text so have more claim to an absolute truth

R: New Christian Right- in America the secularisation of society is seen as an attack on their identity → abortion, gender equality, family diversity etc → desire to assert true religion and change morals of society eg. West Borough Baptist

C: Armstrong- argues Bruce overstates the role of monotheism in the rise of fundamentalism and believes not exclusive to any one type of religion, but rather a response to rapid social change  

clash of civilisations

P: globalisation has made nationality a less significant source of identity and religion has filled that gap → religious conflicts have become a more major source of conflict and more difficult to resolve than political issues because they are rooted in culture and history

E: 9/11 was based on fundamentalist Islamic extremism

R: Huntington- argues Islam is threatening the west and these religious differences are creating a ‘us and them’ relationship with increased competition for economic and military power → says the West needs to reassert itself

C: Horrie and Chippendale- Huntington’s ‘clash of civilisations’ is a misleading neo–conservative ideology that portrays the whole of Islam as an enemy- only a minority of the 1.5 billion Muslims are remotely interested in a ‘holy war’ against the West

cultural defence

E: Bruce- one function of religion is cultural defence where religion unites a community against a external threat and symbolises the groups collective identity

R: Iran- during the 1960s and 70s Iran underwent a policy of modernisation and westernisation which widened the wealth gap and banned the veil → revolution of 1789 led to the creation of the Islamic Republic where clerics held power and could impose Islamic Sharia law

C: Haynes- iranian revolution wasn’t typical of the middle east as it was led by religious leaders → in Saudia Arabia religious leaders are tied to the elite and Western Imperialism and are opposed by fundamentalists

religion and development

P: globalisation in India has led to rapid economic growth → instead of secular fund. there’s been the rise of Hindu ultra-nationalism and prosperity of Indian m/c

E: Centre for the Study of Developing Societies (2007) found 30% of Indians said they were becoming more religious and only 5% said religiosity had declined

R: Nanda- m/c use religion to ease guilt about growing wealth amidst Hindu belief of the renunciation of wealth → tele gurus preach desire is a manifestation of divinity and that consumerism can be ‘spiritually balanced’ through rituals → modern Hinduism legitimates the position of m/c and allows them to adjust to globalised consumerism

C: Berger- India is an exception as access to tech is likely to create secularisation

pentecostalism

E: Berger- pentecostalism in Latin America is the functional equivalent of Calvinism in 16th cen. Europe → demands an ascetic lifestyle of discipline and hard work → the religion leads to economic prosperity

R: Lhemann- pentecostalism is successful due to incorporating local traditional beliefs instead of replacing them and appeals to the poor

C: Berger- religious ideas alone are not enough to produce economic development → pentecostalism in northern brazil has grown but the region lacks resources and remains in poverty