Religion in a Global Context

Characteristics:

• An authoritative sacred text; An 'us and them' mentality; Aggressive reaction to the threat of their beliefs; Use of modern technology; Patriarchy.

Fundamentalism and Modernity:

• Davie - fundamentalists are products of modernity; the threat may come from outside or within.
• Giddens - fundamentalism is a reaction to modernity; contrasts to cosmopolitanism as life is dictated by an external erligious authority not personal choice.
• Criticims of Giddens - ignores othat globalisation & modernity affect religion; ignores differences between types of fundamentalism.

Monotheism and Fundamentalism:

• Bruce - perception by religious traditionalists that globalisation threatens their beliefs & lifestyle causes fundamentalism; leads to the development of rigid rules.
• Fundamentalism is confined to monethistic religions (e.g. Judaism, Islam, Christianity).

Two Fundamentalisms:

• Bruce - different fundamentalist movements have different origins.
• West - a reaction to change within society, so New Christian Right in USA has developed in opposition to family diversity, sexual permissiveness, gender equality & secular education.
• Third World - reaction to changes being forced on a society from outside, e.g. Western values imposed by foreign capitalism; involves resistance to state's attempts to reduce the social influence of religion.

Secular Fundamentalism:

• Davie - secular fundamentalism due to changes in nature of modern society.
• First phase - Enlightenment to 1960s - held optimistic belief in certainty of progress based on science & human reason which secularised social life, undermine religious certainties.
• Second phase - since 1970s has been growing pessimism, uncertainity & insecurity caused by globalisation; postmodernism emerged suggesting Enlightenment ideologies were meta-narratives.
• Ansell - trends towards anti-religious fundamentalism a form of cultural racism; uses equality & integration to justify exclusion of religious/ cultural minorities.

• Huntington - global conflicts hav intensified since the collapse of communism in 1989  & are symptoms of a wider 'clash of civilisations'.
• 7 civilisations: Western, Latin America, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox.
• Each civilisation has a common cultural background & is closely identified with one of the world's great religions.
• Since the fall of communism, religious differences have become a major source of identity; globalisation makes contact easier so conflicts can re-emerge.
• Creates a new set of hostile 'us and them' relationships, with increased competition between civilisations.
• World Values Survey data - suggests that the issue dividing the West & the Muslim world is not democracy but sexuality (great differences in attitudes to divorce, abortion, gender equality & gay rights) - Western have become more liberal whilst Muslim remain traditional.

• Bruce - religion unites a community against an external threat, this often gives it a prominent role in politics.
• Religion has a special significance for its followers as it symbolises the group or society's collective identity.
• Religion can be used to defend national identity against domination by an external cause:
•  Poland - under communist rule imposed by Soviet Union from 1945 to 1989. Catholic Church served as a popular rallying point for opposition e.g. activiely supporting the solidarity free trade union movement that contributed to the fall in communism.
• Iran - Western capitalist powers & oil companies had a long-term influence in Iran, installing a pro-Western regime headed by the Shah. Islam became the focus for resistance to change; the 1979 revolution brought the creation of the Islamic Republic, in which clergy helpd state power and were ableto impose Islamic Shari'a law.

• Development undermines religion as modern science & technology destroy belief in the supernatural; but religion may also contribute to development.

God and Globalisation in India:

• Globalisation brought rapid economic growth & wealth to new middle-class.
• Nanda - role of Hinduism (85% of population) in legitimating rise of new Hindu 'ultra-nationalism' & wealth of Indian middle class.

Hinduism and Consumerism:

• Indians more religious despite an increase in middle-class citizens.
• This is the result of ambivalence about their newfound wealth, stemming from tension between their new prosperity & the traditional Hindu belief in renouncing materialism.
• Resolved by the modern holy men & tele-gurus who preach that desire is not bad, but a manifestation of divinity that motivates people to do things.
• Business-friendly versions of Hinduism legitimate the postition of middle class & allow them to adjust to globalised consumer capitalism.
• Legitimates triumphalist version of Indian nationalism & introduced to public life/ secular state e.g. Hindu sciences - astrology taught as academic subjects in universities.

• Berger - acts as a functional equivalent to Weber's Protestant ethis, encouraging development of capitalism in the same way as Calvanism did in 16th century Europe.
• Pentecostalism demands ascetic lifestyle, emphasising personal discipline & hard work - encourages members to prosper & become upwardly mobile.
• Protestanism is necessary to promote economic development & decrease poverty; can be led by an active minority with an ethic of this-worldy ascetism - Pentecostalists.

Pentecostalism: Global and Local:

• Lehmann - first phase of Christianity globalising itself into South America & Africa was through colonisation, with Christianity being imposed on indigenous populations by conquest.
• Second phase (last century) suggests it has spread as it gained a popular following from below(through Pentecostalists & similar charismatic movements).
• Creates new local religious forms, incorporating existing local beliefs, rather than replacing them with ones imposed from outside.
• In Africa, this has led to the 'Africanisation' of Christianity, not the total disappearance of indigenous religions.