Topic 5: Religion in a global context

Religious fundamentalism

In a global context the issue of religious fundamentalism has emerged as a major area of media and political concern in recent decades. However the term fundamentalist has also been applied to followers of other religions.

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The characteristics of fundamentalism

Fundamentalists appeal to traditional and often look back to a supposed golden age in the past. They seek a return to the basics of fundamentals of their faith. But religious fundamentalism is quite different from traditional religion.

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The characteristics of fundamentalism (2)

It arises only where traditional beliefs and values are threatened or challenged by modern society and especially by the impact of an increasingly globalised economy. The threat to traditional beliefs can come from outside for example through

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The characteristics of fundamentalism (3)

capitalist globalisation, the penetration of Western culture or military invasion. Or it can come from within for example when sections of society adopt new secular ideas such as liberal attitudes to sexuality or gender.

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The characteristics of fundamentalism (4)

Sociologists have identified a number of key features of fundamentalism: an authoritative scared text, an 'us and them' mentality, aggressive reaction, use of modern technology, patriarchy, prophecy and conspiracy theories.

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An authoritative scared text

For Christian fundamentalists every word of the Bible is literally true, its truths are valid for all eternity and it contains the answers to all life's important questions from politics to family life. The text is inerrant and not open to questions

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An authoritative scared text (2)

Thus for example Christian fundamentalism requires belief in the Virgin Birth of Christ, his divinity, his bodily resurrection from the dead and his imminent Second Coming, all of which are described in the Bible. Only those who accept these as

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An authoritative scared text (3)

historical facts are true Christians. Fundamentalists are intolerant of all other views and refuse to engage in rational argument with them. However as Aldridge (2013) notes no text speaks for itself; it has to be interpreted so in reality what

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An authoritative scared text (4)

fundamentalists hold to be true is not the text itself but their interpretation of its meanings. They interpret the Bible solely as a set of historical facts and prophecies about the future ignoring other interpretations of it as poetry, symbolism.

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An 'us and them' mentality

Fundamentalists separate themselves from the rest of the world and refuse to compromise with it. As Davie (2013) puts it they seek to establish islands of certainty against what they see as social and cultural chaos.

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Aggressive reaction

Fundamentalist movements aim to draw attention to the threat to their beliefs and values and their reactions are therefore aggressive and intended to shock, intimidate or cause harm.

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Use of modern technology

Although fundamentalists oppose modern culture, which they see as corrupted by secularism, liberalism, materialism, permissiveness and promiscuity they are keen to use modern technology to achieve their aims.

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Patriarchy

Hawley (1994) notes that fundamentalists favour a world in which control over women's sexuality, reproductive powers, and their social and economic roles is fixed for all time by divine decree.

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Prophecy

Christian fundamentalists proclaim the relevance of biblical prophecies to contemporary events. They believe that the last days will soon be upon us, when the faithful dead will be resurrected and transported to heaven with the faithful living before

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Prophecy (2)

the seven-year rule of the Antichrist and ultimately the final defeat of Satan in the war of Armageddon.

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Conspiracy theories

Fundamentalists are often attached to conspiracy theories: the idea that powerful, hidden and evil forces and organisations are in control of human destiny. Many Christian and Islamic fundamentalists hold anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that believe

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Conspiracy theories (2)

Jews are conspiring to secure world domination.

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Fundamentalism and modernity

As Davie (2013) argues fundamentalism occurs where those who hold traditional orthodox beliefs and values are threatened by modernity and feel the need to defend themselves against it. Similarly Giddens (1999) argues that fundamentalism is a product

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Fundamentalism and modernity (2)

of reaction to globalisation which undermines traditional social norms concerning the nuclear family, gender and sexuality. In today's late modern society individuals are constantly faced with choice, uncertainty and risk.

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Fundamentalism and modernity (3)

The attraction of fundamentalism and its rigid, dogmatic beliefs is the certainty that it promises in an uncertain world. It is a retreat into faith-based answers and away from the risks and uncertainties of a globalising world.

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Cosmopolitanism

Giddens contrasts fundamentalism with cosmopolitanism-a way of thinking that embraces modernity and is in keeping with today's globalising world. Cosmopolitanism is tolerant of the views of others and open to new ideas, constantly reflecting on and

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Cosmopolitanism (2)

modifying beliefs in the light of new information. It requires people to justify their views by the use of rational arguments and evidence rather than by appealing to sacred texts. One's lifestyle is seen as a personal choice rather than something

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Cosmopolitanism (3)

prescribed by an external religious or other authority. Cosmopolitan religion and spirituality emphasises the pursuit of personal meaning and self-improvement rather than submission to authority.

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Responses to postmodernity

In a similar argument to that of Giddens, Zygmunt Bauman (1992) sees fundamentalism as a response to living in postmodernity. Postmodern society brings freedom of choice, uncertainty and a heightened awareness of risk undermining the old

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Responses to postmodernity (2)

certainties about how to live that were grounded in tradition. In this situation while some embrace the new freedom, others are attracted to fundamentalism by its claim of absolute truth and certainty. Similarly Manuel Castells (2010) distinguishes

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Responses to postmodernity (3)

between two responses to postmodernity- resistance identity and project identity.

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Resistance identity

a defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalist communities.

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Project identity

The response of those who are forward-looking and engage with social movements such as feminism and environmentalism.

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Criticisms

Beckford (2011) criticises Giddens, Bauman and Catells on several grounds: they distinguish too sharply between cosmopolitan and fundamentalism, ignoring hybrid movements. They are fixated on fundamentalism ignoring other important developments.

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Criticisms (2)

Giddens lumps all types of fundamentalism together ignoring important differences between them. Giddens' description of fundamentalism as a defensive reaction to modernity ignores the fact that reinvesting tradition is a modern reflexive activity.

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Criticisms (3)

Jeff Haynes (19980 argues that we should not focus narrowly on the idea that Islamic fundamentalism is a reaction against globalisation.

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Monotheism and fundamentalism

Like Giddens Steve Bruce (2008) sees the main cause of fundamentalism as the perception of religious traditionalists that today's globalising world threatens their beliefs. However Bruce regards fundamentalism as being confined to monotheistic

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Monotheism and fundamentalism (2)

religions-that is believing in a single almighty God. Polytheistic religions the believe in the existence of many gods, are unlikely to produce fundamentalism. In Bruce's view this is because monotheistic religions are based on a notion of God's will

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Monotheism and fundamentalism (3)

as revealed through a single, authoritative scared text such as the Quran or the Bible. This is believed to contain the actual word of God and it lays down specific rules for believers to follow. By contrast polytheistic religions lack a single all-

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Monotheism and fundamentalism (4)

powerful deity and a single authoritative text so there is much more scope for different interpretations and none has an over-riding claim to legitimacy or absolute truth.

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Two fundamentalisms

In Bruce's view while all fundamentalists share the same characteristics such as belief in the literal truth of a sacred text and detestation of modernity, different fundamentalist movements may have different origins. In particular some are

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Two fundamentalisms (2)

triggered by changes within their society while others are a response to changes being thrust upon a society from outside. Bruce illustrates this distinction with the examples of Christian and Islamic fundamentalism.

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Two fundamentalisms (3)

In the West fundamentalism is most often a reaction to change taking place within a society especially the trends towards diversity and choice typical of secular late modern society.

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Two fundamentalisms (4)

In the Third world fundamentalism is usually a reaction to changes being thrust upon a society from outside as in the case of the Islamic revolution in Iran. It is triggered by modernisation and globalisation in which 'Western' values are imposed by

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Two fundamentalisms (5)

foreign capitalism or by local elites supported by the West.

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Secular fundamentalism

Davie (2013) argues that recent decades have seen the emergence of secular forms of fundamentalism. She links this to changes in the nature of modern society. She distinguishes between two phases of modernity. The first phase gave rise to religious

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Secular fundamentalism (2)

fundamentalism. This phase stretched from the time of the philosophical movement known as the Enlightenment in the late 18th century to about the 1960s. Enlightenment philosophy held an optimistic secular belief in the certainty of progress based

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Secular fundamentalism (3)

on the power of science and human reason to improve the world. This Enlightenment project dominated European thought and helped to secularise all areas of social life attacking and undermining religious certainties. Religious fundamentalism is one

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Secular fundamentalism (4)

reaction to this secularisation process. The second phase is giving rise to secular fundamentalism. Since the 1970s the optimism of the Enlightenment project itself has come under attack. This is the result of a growing mood of pessimism.

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Secular fundamentalism (5)

This mood id the product of the insecurity caused by changes such as globalisation, concerns about the environment and the collapse of communism in 1989. This has led to a loss of faith in the major secular Enlightenment ideologies such as liberalism

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Secular fundamentalism (6)

and rationalism and Marxism whose claims to truth and belief in progress have been undermined. As a result these secular ideologies are themselves struggling for survival just like traditional religion. With religion when it came under attack some

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Secular fundamentalism (7)

supporters of secular ideologies such as nationalism have also been attracted to fundamentalism. In Western Europe perceived religious challenges to liberal secular values have provoked a secular fundamentalist reaction. For example in 2004 France

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Secular fundamentalism (8)

banned pupils from wearing religious symbols in school and in 2010 made it illegal for women to wear the veil in public. In 2015 some French local councils controlled by right-wing political parties stopped serving alternatives to pork in their

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Secular fundamentalism (9)

school meals on the grounds that all pupils must be treated equally and that religion must be kept out of the secular public sphere. This discriminates against Muslim and Jews who do not eat pork. Ansell (2000) sees such trends as a form of cultural

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Secular fundamentalism (10)

racism that uses the apparently liberal language of universal equality and social integration while denying racist aims. In reality however it is about preserving cultural identity and our way of life and it legitimates the exclusion of religious

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Secular fundamentalism (11)

and cultural minorities. In conclusion Davie argues that both religious and secular movements can become fundamentalist as a result of the greater uncertainties of life in the late modern or postmodern world in which reasserting truth and certainty

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Secular fundamentalism (12)

is increasingly attractive. As a result competing fundamentalisms have become a normal feature of today's society. Similarly Hervieu-Leger (2000) sees fundamentalism as a form of recreated memories in late modern societies that have suffered

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Secular fundamentalism (13)

cultural amnesia and forgotten their historical religious traditions.

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The clash of civilisations

In recent years religion has been at the centre of a number of global conflicts. These include the 9/11 terrorist attacks by fundamentalist Islamists in the US, In the view of American neo-conservative Samuel Huntington (2002:2004) such conflicts

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The clash of civilisations (2)

have intensified since the collapse of communism in 1989 and are the symptoms of a clash of civilisations. However for Huntington the problem is not Islamic fundamentalists it is Islam itself.

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The clash of civilisations (3)

Huntington identifies seven civilisations: Western, Islamic, Latin America, Confucian (China), Japanese, Hindu and Slavic-Orthodox. Most civilisations are larger than a single nation. Each has a common cultural background and history and is closely

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The clash of civilisations (4)

identified with one of the world's great religions. In today's world religious differences between civilisations are a major source of conflict. This is because globalisation has made nation-states less significant as a source of identity creating a

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The clash of civilisations (5)

gap that religion has filled. At the same time globalisation increases the contacts between civilisations increasing the likelihood of conflict. In Huntington's view religious differences are creating a set of hostile us and them relationships with

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The clash of civilisations (6)

increased competition between civilisations for economic and military power. He sees religious differences as harder to resolve than political ones because they are deeply rooted in culture and history. Huntington sees history as a struggle of

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The clash of civilisations (7)

progress against barbarism. He believes the West is under threat especially from Islam and urges the West to reassert its identity as a liberal-democratic Christian civilisation.

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Criticisms

Jackson (2006) sees Huntington's work as an example of orientalism- a Western ideology that stereotypes Eastern nations and people as untrustworthy, inferior or fanatical others and serves to justify exploitation and human rights abuses by the West.

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Criticisms (2)

Casanova (2005) argues that Huntington ignores important religious divisions within the civilisations he identifies eg between Sunni and Shia Islam.

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Criticisms (3)

Horrie and Chippindale (2007) see the clash of civilisations as a grossly misleading neo-conservative ideology that portrays the whole of Islam as an enemy.

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Criticisms (4)

Similarly Karen Armstrong (2001:2005) argues that hostility towards the West does not stem from fundamentalist Islam but is a reaction to Western foreign policy in the Middle East. The West has propped up oppressive regimes.

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The real clash of civilisations?

Huntington' work suggests that the Muslim world holds fundamentally different, anti-democratic values from those of the West. However evidence indicates that this is not the case. Using data from the World Values survey Inglehart and Norris (2011)

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The real clash of civilisations? (2)

conclude that the issue that divides the West from the Muslim world in not the democracy but gender and sexuality. They find that support for democracy is similarly high in both the West and the Muslim world but there are great differences when it

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The real clash of civilisations? (3)

comes to attitudes, to divorce, abortion, gender equality and gay rights. While Western attitudes have become more liberal in the Muslim world they remain traditional. Inglehart and Norris comment that in the last decade democracy has become the

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The real clash of civilisations? (4)

political ideology to gain global appeal but there is no global agreement about self-expression values such as tolerance of diversity, gender equality and freedom of speech.

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Cultural defence

Bruce (2002) sees one function of religion in today's world as cultural defence. This is where religion serves to unite a community against an external threat. In such situations religion has special significance for its followers because it

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Cultural defence (2)

symbolises the group or society's collective identity. Defending the community against a threat often given religion a prominent role in politics. Two examples of religion as a cultural defence from the late 20th century are Poland and Iran.

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Cultural defence (3)

They illustrate how religion can be used in defence of national identity in the face of political domination by an external power. In Poland the external power was Soviet communism while in Iran it was Western culture and capitalism.

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Poland

From 1945 to 1989 Poland was under communist rule imposed from outside by the Soviet union. During this time the Catholic Church was suppressed but for many poles it continued to embody Polish national identity. The church serves as a popular

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Poland (2)

rallying point for opposition to the Soviet Union and the Polish communist party. In particular it lent its active support to the solidarity free trade union movement in the 1980s that did much to bring about the fall of communism.

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Poland (3)

Thereafter the church regained a public role and has had significant influence on Polish politics since.

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Iran

Western capitalist powers and oil companies had long influence in Iran including involvement in the illegal overthrow of a democratic government in the 1950s to install a pro-Western regime headed by the Shah of Iran. During the 1960s and 70s his

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Iran (2)

successor embarked on a policy of modernisation and Westernisation. This included banning the veil and replacing the Muslim calendar. Meanwhile modernisation was widening the gap between rich and poor while protest was ruthlessly suppressed.

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Iran (3)

Change was imposed rapidly and from above causing great suffering. Under these conditions Islam became the focus for resistance to the Shah's regime led by clerics such as the Ayatollah Khomeini. The revolution of 1979 brought the creation of the

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Iran (4)

Islamic Republic in which clerics held state power and were able to impose Islamic sharia law. However Haynes argues that the Iranian revolution was not typical of the Middle East in that it was led by the religious leaders. In countries such as

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Iran (5)

Saudi Arabia the religious leadership is closely tied to the local elite who in turn are tied to Western imperialism. As such local religious leaders are opposed by local fundamentalists who regard them as enemies of Islam.

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Religion and development

For secularisation theory modernisation undermines religion. The importance of science and technology in economic development and the rational worldview on which they depend are seen as destroying belief in the supernatural. On the other hand

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Religion and development (2)

religion may contribute to development as Weber argued in the case of the Protestant ethic. More recently sociologists have examined what role religion may play in development in today's globalising world.

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God and globalisation in India

Globalisation has brought rapid economic growth and has seen India become a more important player on the world political stage. It has also brought rising prosperity to some-notably India's new middle class. Meera Nanda's (2008) book God and

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God and globalisation in India (2)

Globalization examines the role of Hinduism the religion of 85% of the population in legitimating both of the rise of a new Hindu 'ultra-nationalism' and the prosperity of the Indian middle class.

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Hinduism and Consumerism

Globalisation has created a huge and prosperous scientifically, educated, urban middle class in India, working in IT, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology sectors closely tied into the global economy. These are precisely the people whom secularisation

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Hinduism and Consumerism (2)

theory predicts will be the first to abandon religion in favour of a secular worldview. Yet as Nanda observes a vast majority of this class continue to believe in the supernatural. A survey by the centre for the study of developing societies (2007)

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Hinduism and Consumerism (3)

found that Indians are becoming more religious. Only 5% said their religiosity had declined in the last five years, while 30% said that they had become more religious. The survey also found that urban educated Indians are more religious than their

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Hinduism and Consumerism (4)

rural and illiterate counterparts. Increased interest in religion has also been reflected in a dramatic growth of religious tourism such as visits to shrines and temples. Nanda note that it is becoming fashionable to be religious .

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Hinduism and Consumerism (5)

Another feature of this middle class religiosity is that they are attracted to what were once low-status village gods and goddess worshiped by the poor. This is because these deities are seen as being more responsive to people's needs than the

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Hinduism and Consumerism (6)

traditional Hindu 'great gods'. Nanda examines what motivates the sophisticated, urban middle class to continue to believe in miracles and supernatural beings. She rejects poverty and existential insecurity as an explanation because they are not

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Hinduism and Consumerism (7)

poor. She also rejects the idea that their religiosity is a defensive reaction to modernisation and Westernisation. On the contrary the Indian middle class are optimistic about the opportunities that globalisation brings them.

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Hinduism and Consumerism (8)

Instead Nanda argues their increasing religiosity is the result of their ambivalence about their newfound wealth. This ambivalence stems from a tension between the traditional Hindu belief in renunciation of materialism and worldly desires and

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Hinduism and Consumerism (9)

the new prosperity of the middle classes. This is resolved for them by the modern holy men and tele-gurus to whom they turn who preach the message that desire is not bad but rather a manifestation of divinity that motivates people to do things.

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Hinduism and Consumerism (10)

Similarly they dispense business friendly versions of Hinduism and take the edge off guilt by teaching that middle class consumerism can be spiritually balanced by paying for the performance of appropriate and often extravagant rituals.

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Hindu ultra-nationalism

Nanda (2003) also examines the role of Hinduism in legitimating a triumphant version of Indian nationalism. Nanda notes that India's success in the global market is increasingly attributed to the superiority of Hindu values a view constantly

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Hindu ultra-nationalism (2)

promoted by the media and politicians along with the idea that Hinduism is the essence of Indian culture and identity. In this Hindu ultra-nationalism the worship of Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation of India and Hinduism has

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Hindu ultra-nationalism (3)

become a civil religion. However as Nanda points out this is creating a widening gulf between Hindus and non-Hindu minorities. Hinduism has also penetrated public life so that the supposedly secular state is increasingly influenced by religion.

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Capitalism in East Asia

In recent decades East Asian tiger economies such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have industralised and become significant players in the global economy. China is now a major global industrial power. The success of capitalism in East Asia has

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Capitalism in East Asia (2)

led some sociologists to argue that religion has played a role similar to the one Calvinism played in the development of capitalism in 16th and 17th century Europe. For example Gordon Redding (1990) describes the spirit of capitalism among Chinese

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Capitalism in East Asia (3)

entrepreneurs in the tiger economies. He sees their post-Confucian values encouraging hard work self-discipline, frugality and a commitment to education and self-improvement.

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Pentecostalism in Latin America

Peter Berger (2003) argues that Pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a functional equivalent to Weber's protestant ethic. That is it encourages the development of capitalism today in the same way as Calvinism did in 16th and 17th century Europe.

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Pentecostalism in Latin America (2)

Latin America Pentecostalists embrace a hard work ethic and lifestyle similar to that of the Calvinists. Like calvinism pentecostalism demands an ascetic way of life that emphasises personal discipline, hard work and abstinence from alcohol.

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Pentecostalism in Latin America (3)

In this way it encourages its members to prosper and become upwardly mobile. Berger concludes that Pentecostalism has a strong affinity with modern capitalism. Berger agrees with Weber that an ethic like protestantism is necessary to promote

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Pentecostalism in Latin America (4)

economic development and raise a society out of poverty. This process can be led by an active minority with an ethic of this worldly-asceticism such as the pentecostalists. Thus in Chile and southern Brazil there is now a growing and prosperous

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Pentecostalism in Latin America (5)

pentecostalist middle class leading capitalist development. However Berger underlines Weber's point that religious ideas alone are not enough to produce economic development-natural resources are also needed. For example while Pentecostalism has

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Pentecostalism in Latin America (6)

grown in northern Brazil the region lacks resources and remains backward. By contrast the South which is developing rapidly has both a work ethic and the necessary resources.

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Pentecostalism: global and local

In the last five centuries Christianity has globalised itself by expanding out of Europe first into South America and then Africa. David Lehmann (2002) distinguishes between two phases for this explanation: in the first phase Christianity

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Pentecostalism: global and local (2)

accompanied colonisation and was imposed on the indigenous populations by conquest often forcibly suppressing local religions. In the second phase over the last century or so it has spread because it gained a popular following from below.

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Pentecostalism: global and local (3)

Lehmaan attributes the suucess of Pentecostalism as a global religion in part to its ability to incorporate local beliefs. Although it preaches a similar message worldwide it uses imagery and symbolism drawn from local cultures and beliefs.

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Pentecostalism: global and local (4)

Pentecostalists attack such cults as the work of the devil but their ministers conduct exorcisms to rid people of evil spirits. By doing so Pentecostalism validates local traditional beliefs while at the same time claiming to give believers access to

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Pentecostalism: global and local (5)

greater power that of the Christian Holy Spirit. In this way Pentecostalism creates new local religious forms rather than simply replacing existing local beliefs with an imported one as the first phase of Christianisation has done.

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Pentecostalism: global and local (6)

In Africa this has led to the Africanisation of Christianity rather than the total disappearance of indigenous religions. As a result of this ability to adapt to local customs and establish a local identity for itself Pentecostalism shows

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Pentecostalism: global and local (7)

considerable local diversity in different parts of the world. Pentecostalism has also been successful in developing countries it is able to appeal to the poor who makes up the majority of the population.

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Topic 5: Religion in a global context

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