Beliefs in Society- Globalisation and Religion

Beyer- impacts of globalisation on religion

Particularism-

  • One feature of globalisation is cultural homogenisation (the creation of a single, global popular culture)- Religion is often seen as the opposite.

  • Religion is seen as a symbol of how people are culturally different from one another, which has contributed to a rise in fundamentalism and is a feature of political conflict in many areas of the world.

Universalism-

  • However, while small fundamentalist groups might emphasise their difference from other people, the major, established religions have increasingly focused on what unites them.

  • Religious leaders emphasise shared values and common concerns, rather than creating clashes of civilisation (Huntington), with the help of inter-faith dialogue through global communications, helping to diffuse conflict between religions.

Marginalisation-

  • Religion is increasingly marginalised in contemporary society, playing less part in public life.

  • This may well be a rather Eurocentric view and many be caused by other social changes rather than globalisation.

Use of communication technologies

  • Religious groups can take advantage of modern technology to recruit new members, spread the word and keep in contact with other members of religion.

  • With some of the more fundamentalistic, anti- modern, anti- global religious organisations, this can hold a certain irony, it is one of the ways in which religion is much less linked to nationality than it once was.

International Religions

  • Religious identity is much less attached to national identity than it once was with most main world religions being international in character.

  • While some countries still have clear state religions, it is less a feature of national identity in the West than it was to be.

  • However, people still at times call countries such as the UK “Christian countries”.

Evaluation

India

  • Nana argues that Hinduism is closely related to Indian nationalism.

  • In a survey, 93% of Indians considered their culture “superior to others” and Indian national identity and Hinduism as effectively the same thing.

  • In other words, Hinduism has become what Bellah called a civil religion- through the worship of Hindu gods, Indians are worshipping India itself.

Pentecostalism

  • There were “world religions” before the process of globalisation is thought to have begun.

  • Christianity, Islam and Judaism have been present across many nations and continents.

  • However- Martin points to the growth of Pentecostalism (a Christian denomination) and states globalisation has led to the rapid spread of this organisation.

  • Pentecostalism has been able to spread to poorer parts of areas throughout the world, making Catholic organisations loose support if they are seen to be a wealthy institution.

Religious fundamentalism

  • Seen as a reaction against globalisation.

  • Fundamentalist religion is where religious texts are taken entirely literally and provide strict sets of rules which people should live by,

  • because such a view clashes with the norm in contemporary society, fundamentalist religions are also often highly political.

Clash of Civilisation- Huntington

  • Believed religion could cause conflict, possibly can be a radical force for change.

  • Argues that people see themselves as belonging to civilisations that are usually linked to a religion and therefore religious identities are increasingly important in the modern world.

  • 8 Civilisations: Western, Confucian (Chinese), Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic- Orthodox, Latin American and African.

  • When these civilisations cone into contact, conflict tends to break out- Huntington uses the example of the Iraq War.

  • Happening more as religion is becoming increasingly important as a source of national identity and globalisation is allowing civilisations to be frequently more in contact- causing old conflict to re-emerged easier.

  • In the globalised world, religion creates an “US vs Them” mentality as competition for wealth and power grows on the global scale.

  • Religious differences are harder to resolve as they are “closed systems”.

  • Huntington believes that the West is under threat (especially from Islam) and a “West vs The Rest” campaign is emerging and as such the West need to reassert their Christian Identity.

EVALUATION

  • Jackson- criticises Huntington’s work for being based in “Orientalism”- stereotyping eastern Civilisations as untrustworthy, fanatical, Barbarian and inferior (particularly Muslims).

  • Casanova- generalised Islam and Muslim’s view far too much- only a small minority of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims are interested in a “Holy War”.

  • Armstrong- Fanaticism has only been caused due to the West pushing their values and politics on the Middle- East, meaning the West should be the ones to blame.

  • Inglehart and Norris- Religion and politics does not cause a “Clash of Civilisation”, but rather attitudes the sexuality and gender liberalism.

  • Western Society has an 86% approval of democratic ideals compared to 87% in Muslim societies, but western society has an 82% approval on Gender Equality compared to 55% in Muslim societies, arguably stating how it isn’t politics that causes a clash.

  • As the world “globalises” national identities mean less e.g. “Middle- East” than the specific name of a civilisation, creating a “crisis of identity” whereby cultures, languages, traditions and politics are becoming less significant.

  • Individual national identities are being replaced by a “Collective international identity”, causing many countries to use their religions to restore their individual identities as a response.

  • religion thus acts as a “Cultural Defence”- a way of holding onto national heritage, tradition, culture, and politics.

Examples of “Cultural Defence”

Poland-

  • Poland were under communist rule from 1945-89. forced to have Catholicism suppressed by the USSR.

  • However, it still acted as a symbol for Polish National Identity.

  • The Catholic Church supported the “Solidarity Free” Movement which helped bring down the communist rule.

  • Since then, the church has been very influential in Polish Politics.

Iran and Islam-

  • In the 1950s the democratic government in Iran was overthrown by a “Pro-Western regime” which was supported by Western Oil Companies and Western governments.

  • During the 1960s/70s the Shah’s successor attempt to force westernised values on Oran by banning the veil and replacing the Iranian calendar with a “western- friendly” calendar, all while the divide between the poor and the rich increased due to capitalism.

  • The Islamic Religion was used as a focal point to rally opposition against the Shah’s regime.

  • The Islamic revolution to create the Islamic republic where Clerics held state power and helped restore traditional Islamic values back to Iran.

Causes of Fundamentalism

  • Almond- fundamentalism is “a pattern of religious militancy” led by “self-styled true believers” and identified their causes as being directly opposed to secularisation.

  • Giddens argues that globalisation has caused significant levels of insecurity for people and that fundamentalist religion offers very simple answers.

  • In a world of confusion and uncertainty, faiths with very clear rules and absolute truths have proved very attractive.

  • Almond, Appleby and Sivan argue fundamentalism is caused by:

Secularisation and modernisation, low levels of education and high levels of inequality, the displacement of people by war, economic problems, chance events such as poor harvests, western imperialism, and effective leaderships necessary to mobilise those with a grievance.

Giddens- late modernist

  • Giddens highlights fundamentalism is a relatively new concept and argues that the reason society has seen a growth in fundamentalism is because they are reacting against the globalised “Post-Modern” direction the world is taking.

  • Fundamentalists see current trend towards liberalism and freedom of choice as undermining their religions and as such wish to re-establish their religions at the fundamental “traditional” level.

Fundamentalism vs Cosmopolitanism

  • Cosmopolitanism- a way of thinking about the world that embraces modernisation, is tolerant of ither views, is characterised by diversity, freedom, choice and uncertainty.

  • Is seen as a threat to many religions which prefer traditionalism, closed-views, regulation and order. (Fundamentalism).

Bauman

  • Bauman highlights that although diversity, choice and freedom in the post-modern world are potentially positive factors, they also heighten uncertainty and risk and as such fundamentalism attempts to restore certainty and eliminate risk.

Castells-

  • Project Identities- a forward- looking response which embraces progression and change.

  • Resistant Identities- a defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and thus turn to fundamentalism.

  • Furthered by Bruce-

  • Fundamentalism tends to be found in Monotheistic organisations as they are very rigid and have one overriding truth. e.g. Christianity and Islam.

  • Other religions which have a pantheon of gods tend to have far more scope and more accepting of change as they are open to many interpretations and views.

Bruce- different types of fundamentalism

  • Western fundamentalism- usually develops because of changes occurring within their own societies e.g. The New Christian Right in the USA.

  • Third World Fundamentalism- tends to develop as a response to “outsider” cultures forcing change onto these third world societies (usually Westerners imposing on Eastern Cultures) e.g. The Islamic Revolution in Iran.

Evaluation

Beckford-

  • Ignores “hybrid” communities where cosmopolitanism and fundamentalism are not opposites e.g. the use of media technologies.

  • They are fixated on how globalisation affects fundamentalism and ignores its effects on “general” religions.

  • Extremism is not just a reaction to globalisation but also to more “localised” problems.

Fundamentalism as a force for social change

  • Fundamentalism is highly conservative and yet proposes significant social change.

  • Want to change contemporary, liberal, pluralistic society into a conservative and traditional society.

  • Examples include the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the New Christian Right in the USA and ISIS.

Fundamentalism as a cause of conflict

  • It is significant cause of conflict both with other religions and with other followers of the same religion who do not support the fundamentalist interpretation.

Evaluating the view that globalisation has led to fundamentalism

  • Fundamentalist religion is nothing new, it is just more noticeable due to globalisation and in contrast to the largely secular liberal beliefs in Western Europe today.

  • Certain countries have witnessed “de-secularisation” where fundamentalist movements have replaced more secular norms (Afghan and Iran changes in the 20th Century) there are many other places which have seen large fundamentalist religion in place for many years.

  • Furthermore, what is now considered fundamentalist Christianity, for example, would have historically be seen as quite mainstream for Christian views.

  • Armstrong- rejects this idea- points out that fundamentalist movements are not throwbacks to medieval religion but thoroughly contemporary, using modern technology and methods to achieve their goals.

Fundamentalism as a reaction against secularisation

  • Reaction to globalisation= reaction to secularisation.

  • Inevitable, local, parochial and traditional reaction to globalisation as local and particular cultures are eroded and relaced with global and universal ones.

  • Alongside political developments, such as the growth of nationalism, this development in religious beliefs is quite a predictable response.

  • However, just as wanting to retreat into a traditional belief system is one response to globalisation, wanting to embrace secular western culture with its popular starts and high- tech gadgets is another and may ultimately prove the more powerful.

PP Questions relating to Globalisation

  • 2021- Outline and explain two ways that globalisation may have influenced the way in which religion acts as a force for change (10).

Increase in technology- Huntington argues the increase of globalisation has made it easier for civilisations to contact each other, causing conflict, being a radical force to change the source of conflict. This can make society change its structure due to the conflict, for example the CRM.

Particularism- Beyer- argues a feature of globalisation is cultural homogenisation, causing a culture or to be one secular form, this lead to people using religion as a force to change this particularism, or to stop it from happening, culturally defending it as Bruce argues. Examples of this are seen in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.

  • 2023- Outline and explain two ways that globalisation may affect the functions of religion (10)

Causes anomie and destroy solidarity- globalisation can cause people to be marginalised as religion is continuously being marginalised from contemporary society, causing people to feel side-lined and rebel against the liberal, contemporary society, wishing to go back to a more traditional society.

Destroys sacred canopy- Berger- due to being easier to contact people and see their lives, Weber’s theodicy of the disprivilege becomes more relevant, with people comparing themselves to others, and leaving religious organisations to try and become “better”, or rebelling against their organisation, destroying what they saw as a comfortable institution for them to do well in.

  • 2024- Applying material from Item J below and your knowledge, evaluate sociological views on the relationship between religion and globalisation (20)

  • Item J  

    Globalisation refers to the increased interconnectedness of the world involving technological and cultural changes. Postmodernists suggest that this has changed the ways in which we interact with religious organisations, as well as allowing new types of beliefs to emerge. However, other sociologists disagree and believe that globalisation has resulted in the rise of religious fundamentalism. It is also claimed that the process of globalisation has led to the decline of religious belief in some areas.