BELIEFS TOPIC 5 - RELIGION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT Flashcards
(11 cards)
The characteristics of fundamentalism
Appeal to tradition and often look back to the supposed golden age in the past, seeing a return to the basics or fundamentals of their faith.
An authoritative sacred text - for christian fundamentalists, every word of the bible is literally true and its truths are valid for all eternity. Aldridge - no text speaks for itself and it must be interpreted.
An us vs them mentality - fundamentalists separate themselves from the rest of the world and refuse to compromise. Davie - they seen to establish islands of certainly against what they see as social and cultural chaos
Aggressive reaction - fundamentalist movements aim to draw attention to the threat of their beliefs and their reactions are therefore aggressive and intended to shock, intimidate and harm.
Use of modern technology - keen to use modern technology to achieve their aims.
Patriarchy - hawley - fundamentalists favour a world in which control over women’s sexuality, reproductive powers, and their social and economic roles are fixed for a time by divine decree.
Prophecy - christian fundamentalists proclaim the relevance of biblical prophecies to contemporary events. They elieve that the last days will soon be upon us.
Conspiracy theories
Fundamentalism and modernity
Davie - Fundamentalism occurs when those who hold traditional orthodox beliefs and values are threatened by modernity and feel the need to defend themselves against it. Fundamentalists are themselves products of modernity in so far as they are born out of a clash between modernity and traditional culture.
Giddens - fundamentalism is a product of and a 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. The attraction to fundamentalism and its rigid, dogmatic beliefs is the certainty that it promises in an uncertain world.
cosmopolitanism and responses to postmodernity
Giddens contrasts fundamentalism with cosmopolitanism - a way of thinking that embraces modernity and is in keeping with today’s globalising world.
Tolerant of the views of others and open to new ideas, constantly reflecting on and modifying beliefs in the light of new information.
Requires people to justify their views by the use of rational arguments and evidence rather than by appealing to sacred texts.
Cosmopolitan religion and spirituality emphasises the pursuit of personal meaning and self improvement - similar to Harvieu-Leger’s ‘pilgrims’
Bauman - fundamentalism is a respnse to living in postmodernity.
Castells distinguishes between two responses to postmodernity:
Resistance identity - a defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalism
Project identity - forward-looking and engage with social movements such as feminism and environmentalism.
Criticisms:
Beckford argues that Giddens, Bauman and Castells distinguish too sharply between cosmopolitanism and fundamentalism, ignoring hybrid movements; they are fixated on fundamentalism ignoring other important developments; lumps all fundamentalism together, ignoring differences.
Monotheism and fundamentalism
Bruce sees the main cause of fundamentalism as the perception of the religious traditionalists that today’s globalising world threatens their beliefs.
Bruce regards fundamentalism as being confined to monotheistic religions as they are based on the notion of God’s will as revealed through a single authoritative sacred text which is believed to contain the actual word of God. There is little room for interpretation creating more commitment to its faith system.
The two fundamentals
Bruce argues that there are two fundamentalisms based on how they were triggered:
In the west - fundamentalism is most often a reaction to change taking place within a society, especially the trend towards diversity and choice typical of secular late modern society. The new christian right developed in opposition to family diversity, sexual permissiveness, gender equality and abortion.
In the third world - fundamentalism is 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.
Secular fundamentalism
We have considered fundamentalism to be a particular religious response to modernity and globalisation.
Davie - recent decades have seen the emergence of secular forms of fundamentalism.
She distinguishes between two phases of modernity:
The first phase gives rise to religious fundamentalism - this phase stretched from the time of 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 on the power of science and human reason to improve the world. This secularised the world and fundamentalism formed as a reaction.
The second phase is giving rise to secular fundamentalism - since the 1970s, the optimism of the enlightenment project has itself come under attack as a result of pessimism and uncertainty as a result of insecurity caused by changes in globalisation. Led to a loss of faith in the major secular enlightenment ideologies such as liberalism and rationalism whose claims to truth and belief in progress have been undermined.
The clash of civilisations
Huntington - identifies seven civilisations: Western, islamic, latin american, confucianism, japanese, hindu, slavic orthodox.
Religious differences between civilisations are a major source of conflict. Globalisation has made nation-states less significant as a source of identity, creating a gap that religion has filled.
Religious differences are creating a set of hostile ‘us vs them’ relationships with increased competition between civilisations for economic and military power.
Huntington sees history as a struggle of progress against barbarism. He believes the west is under thread, especially from islam
Criticisms:
Jackson - 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.
Casanova - huntington ignores important religious divisions within the civilisations he identifies.
Cultural defence
Religion serves to unite a community against an external threat.
Poland
From 1945 to 1989, poland was under communist rule impose from outside by the soviet union. During this time, the catholic church was suppressed but for many poles it continues to embody polish national identity
The church served as a popular rallying point for opposition to soviet union and polish communist party.
The church regained a public role and has had a significant influence on polish politics ever since.
Iran
Western capitalist powers and oil companies had long had influence in Iran, including involvement in the illegal overthrow of the democratic government in the 1950s to install a pro-western regime headed by the shah of iran.
Change was imposed rapidly and from above, causing suffering
Haynes - iranian revolution was not typical of the middle east, it was led by religious leaders and in countries such as saudi arabia, the religious leadership was closely tied to the local elite who in turn are tired to western imperialism.
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 for some - notably India’s new middle class.
As nanda observes, a vast majority of this middle class continue to believe in the supernatural. They re attreacted to what were once low-status village Gods and Goddesses worshipped by the poor. This is because these deities are seen as more responsive to people’s needs than the traditional Hindu ‘great gods’.
Nanda examines what motivates the sophisticated, urban middle classes to continue to believe in miracles. She rejects poverty and existential security as an explanation because they are not poor. She also rejects the idea that their religiosity is a defensive reaction to modernisation and westernisation.
This ambivilence stems from a tension between the traditional hindu belief in renunciation of materialism and worldly desirees, and the new prosperity of the middle class. Tele-gurus and modern holy men preach the idea that desire is not bad, but rather a manifestation of divinity that motivatd people to do things.
In hindu ultra-nationalism, the worship of hindu Gods has become the same as worshipping the nation of India, and Hinduism has become a civil religion.
Hinduism has penetrated public life so that the supposedly secular state is increasingly influenced by religion. Hindu sciences such as astrology are being taught as an academic subject.
Capitalism in east asia
East asian tiger economies such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have industrialised and become significant players in the global economy. China is now a major global industrial power.
The success of capitalism in East Asia has led some sociologists to argue that religion has played a role similar to the ones that calvinists played in the development of capitalism (weber)
Pentecostalism in latin america
Berger argues that pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a functional equivalent to weber’s protestant ethic. It encourages the development of capitalism today in the same way as calvinism did in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Pentecostalism demands an ascetic lifestyle emphasising personal discipline, hard work and abstinence from alcohol.
Berger agrees with Weber that an ethic like protestantism is necessary to promote economic development and raise a society out of poverty. This process can be led by an active minority.
Berger underlines weber’s point that religious ideas alone are not enough to produce economic development, natural resources are also needed.
