religion in a global context

Question 1

globalisation

Answer 1

The process by which businesses or other organisations (in our case religions) develop international influence or start operating on an international scale (across the globe)

Question 2

colonisation

Answer 2

to establish a colony, which is to settle in a new place or country
(England colonised Australia)

Question 3

migration

Answer 3

The movement from one place (country) to another

Question 4

religion and development

Answer 4

-religion has existed in a worldwide context for a long time
-It is described as the ‘original globalisation’ because for centuries, the major religions have spread across the world through war, conquest, colonisation and migration
-In secularisation theory, modernisation is a threat to and undermines religion
HOWEVER
-Sociologists argue that religion has contributed to development (Weber- protestant work ethic)

Question 5

Hinduism and consumerism
NANDA

Answer 5

-explains that the secularisation theory is incorrect because in his studies of developing societies, 30% of Indians said they had become more religious in a society that is technologically advancing and developing (but the secularisation thesis states that society develops religion declines)
-It is fashionable to become religious in India, as members are given a chance to express their wealth and success to the community- the globalisation process made the middle-class, more prosperous
-(although not perfect, 93% of Indians agree, their culture is the most superior in the world, Hindu Ultra Nationalism)

Question 6

What is Hindu ultranationalism?

Answer 6

-The worship of Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation of India
-Hinduism has become a civil religion.

Question 7

Capitalism in East Asia
REDDING

Answer 7

-explains the countries of east Asia, such as South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan have become successfully industrialised, playing an important role for the global economy
-This is because the process of confucianism took place in these countries
-the effect of this belief and value system leads to the productivity of capitalist society

Question 8

what is confucianism

Answer 8

an ethical and philosophical belief system, focusing on hard work, self discipline and commitment to education
-similar to the processes of Calvinism

Question 9

Pentecostalism in Latin America
BERGER

Answer 9

-explains that Pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a functional equivalent to Weber’s ideology of the Protestant ethic
-In Latin America, the Pentecostal embrace a work ethic and lifestyle similar to Calvinism
-This is because they demand an ascetic lifestyle, emphasising, personal discipline, hard work and abstinence from alcohol and encouraging members to be upwardly mobile
-Therefore, it has a stronger affinity with modern capitalism

Question 10

What does Berger emphasise about Weber’s point?

Answer 10

-underlines Weber’s point that religious ideas, alone are not enough to produce economic development as natural resources are also needed
-e.g. Pentecostalism has grown in northern Brazil the region lacks resources and remains backwards, but the south which is developing rapidly has both a work ethic and the necessary resources.

Question 11

Lehmann: 2 phases

Answer 11

two phases:
-First phase: colonisation of the indigenous populations brought along Christianity by conquest, often forcibly suppressing local religions
-Second phase: has spread due to gaining a popular following over the last century or so (by 2015, 25 million Pentecostals in Brazil alone)

Question 12

Lehmann: 2 reasons for its success

Answer 12

-it is able to appeal to the poor who make up the majority of the population
-uses global media to spread its message

Question 13

Lehmann: the Pentecostal’s relationship with cults

Answer 13

-attacks spirit possession cults as the work of the devil but their ministers conduct exorcisms to get rid of evil spirits
-validates local traditional beliefs, but also claims to give believers access to a greater power, which is the Christian holy spirit

Question 14

Lehmann
What is Africanisation?

Answer 14

-pentecostalism create new religious forms, rather than replacing existing local beliefs, with an imported one
-In Africa, this led to the Africanisation of Christianity, rather than the total disappearance of indigenous religions
-can adapt to local customs and establish a local identity for itself

Question 15

Characteristics of fundamentalism

Answer 15

-appeals to tradition, and seek to return to the basic fundamentals of the faith, but it is different from traditional religion as it arises, only where traditional beliefs and values are threatened or challenged by modern society, especially due to an increasingly global economy
-threats to religious beliefs can be from the outside, or from within

Question 16

From outside

Answer 16

-through capitalist globalisation
-The penetration of western culture
-Military invasion

Question 17

From within

Answer 17

when sections of society, adopt new secular ideas e.g. liberal attitudes to sexuality and gender

Question 18

What are the 7 key features of fundamentalism

Answer 18

-an authoritative sacred text
-an ‘us and them’ mentality
-Aggressive reaction
-Use of modern technology
-Patriarchy
-Prophecy
-Conspiracy theories

Question 19

An authoritative sacred text

Answer 19

-Christian fundamentalism: every word of the Bible is the literal truth, and is without error, that’s not open to questioning
-Requires belief in virgin birth of Christ, his divinity, his bodily resurrection from the dead and his immigrant second coming, so only those who accept these historical facts from the Bible are true Christians
-Intolerant of other view
BUT ALDRIDGE

Question 20

Aldridge- authoritative sacred text

Answer 20

Notes that all texts need to be interpreted so in reality, what fundamentalists believe to be true, it’s not the text itself but the interpretations of it as historical facts
-they ignore other interpretations of it as poetry, symbolism or metaphor

Question 21

An ‘us and them’ mentality

Answer 21

-they separate themselves from the rest of the world, and refuse to compromise with it
-DAVIE: they seek to establish islands of certainty against what they see as social and cultural chaos

Question 22

Aggressive reaction

Answer 22

-fundamentalist movements aim to draw attention to the threat to the beliefs and values, so their reactions are therefore aggressive and intended to shock, intimidate or cause harm
-authoritative leaders like the clergy and elders, who interpret the text are important in giving direction to the reactions

Question 23

Hawley
Patriarchy

Answer 23

-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

Question 24

Prophecy

Answer 24

-Christian fundamentalists proclaimed the relevance of biblical prophecies to contemporary events
-‘last days’ will soon be upon us when the faithful dead would be resurrected, and will go to heaven before the seven-year rule of the Antichrist and final defect of Satan in the war of Armageddon

Question 25

Conspiracy theories

Answer 25

-often attracted to them: idea that powerful hidden evil forces and organisations are in control of a human destiny
-Many Christian and Islamic fundamentalist hold anti-Semitic conspiracy theories that Jews are conspiring to secure world domination

Question 26

use of modern technology

Answer 26

although very critical of modern culture, fundamentalists are keen to use modern technology to achieve their aims- from computers and the internet to televangelism and military weaponry

Question 27

Davie
Fundamentalism and Modernity

Answer 27

-fundamentalism occurs where those who hold traditional orthodox beliefs and values are threatened by modernity and feel the need to defend themselves against it
-fundamentalism is a product of modernity out of the clash between modernity and traditional cultures

Question 28

Giddens
Fundamentalism and Modernity

Answer 28

-argues that fundamentalism is a product of and a reaction to globalisation, which undermines traditional social norms, such as the nuclear family, gender, sexuality (e.g. prohibition of abortion, homosexuality, sex outside marriage)
-In today’s ‘late modern society’- individuals constantly faced with choice, uncertainty and risk so fundamentalism provides them promises in an uncertain world due to its rigid beliefs
-This causes a retreat into faith based answers and away from uncertainties and the risks of an uncertain world
-Identifies fundamentalist versions of many religions, such as Islam, Christianity and Hinduism

Question 29

Giddens
Cosmopolitanism

Answer 29

-Contrasts fundamentalism
-Way of thinking that embraces modernity, and is in keeping with today’s globalising world
-Tolerant and open to the view of others, constantly reflecting on and modifying beliefs in the light of a new information (‘reflexive thinking’)
-Requires people to justify their views using rational arguments and evidence rather than appealing to sacred texts
-Lifestyle is a personal choice
-Emphasises the pursuit of personal meanings and self improvement over the submission to authority
-similar to Harvieu-Leger’s ‘pilgrims’, who explore New Age spirituality

Question 30

Bauman
Responses to postmodernity

Answer 30

-sees fundamentalism as a response to living in post-modernity
-Post modern Society brings freedom of choice, uncertainty, and a heightened awareness of risk undermining old certainties about how to live (traditions)
-some embrace the new freedom, but others are attracted to fundamentalism, and its claims of absolute truth and certainty

Question 31

Castells
2 responses to modernity

Answer 31

-resistance identity: a defensive reaction of those who feel threatened and retreat into fundamentalist communities
-Project identity: response of those who are forward-looking and engage with socialist movements, such as feminism and environmentalism

Question 32

Beckford’s CRITICISMS
(of Giddens, Bauman, Castells)

Answer 32

-distinguish two sharply between cosmopolitanism and fundamentalism, ignoring ‘hybrid movements’
-Fixed on fundamentalism, ignoring other important developments, such as how globalisation is affecting non-fundamentalist religions, such as Catholicism
-Giddens groups, all types of fundamentalism together, and ignores important differences between them
-Giddens’ description of fundamentalism as a defensive reaction to modernity, ignores the fact that reinventing tradition is also a ‘reflexive activity’

Question 33

HAYNES criticism

Answer 33

we should not focus narrowly on the idea that Islamic fundamentalism is a reaction against globalisation as in the Middle East conflict caused by failure of local elites to deliver promises on increasing standard of living and is often the fuel that drives fundamentalism

Question 34

Bruce
Monotheism and fundamentalism

Answer 34

-The main course of fundamentalism is the perception of religious traditionalists that today’s globalising world threatens their beliefs
BUT
-Believes it is confined to monotheistic religions rather than polytheistic
-This is because monotheistic religions are based on the notion of gods will revealed through a single authoritative sacred text e.g. Qur’an, Bible- this is believed to contain the actual word of God, and lays down specific rules for believers to follow
-however, polytheistic religions, lack a single all-powerful deity and a single authoritative text, so there is more scope for different interpretations and no claim for absolute truth e.g. hinduism has been described as being more like a collection of religions than just one

Question 35

Bruce
Two fundamentalisms

Answer 35

-while all fundamentalist share, some characteristics, different fundamentalist movements may have different origins
-Some are triggered by changes within their own society, while others are a response to changes being thrust upon a society from outside
-In the west fundamentalism is most often a reaction to change taking place within a society, especially trends towards diversity and choice, typical of secular modern society
-e.g. New Christian rights in America has developed an opposition to family, diversity, sexual permissiveness, gender, equality, abortion rights, secular education, and privatisation of religion.
-it’s aim is to reassert ‘true’ religion, and restore it to a public role where it can shape the laws and morals of wider society
-in the Third world, fundamentalism is usually a reaction to changes being thrust upon from a society outside
-e.g. Islamic revolution in Iran was triggered by modernisation and globalisation, where western values are imposed by foreign capitalism or by local elites supported by the west- fundamentalism involves resistance to the states attempts to sideline it and confine it to a private sphere

Question 36

Davie
Secular fundamentalism

Answer 36

-emergence of secular forms of fundamentalism, and links this to the changes in the nature of modern society
-Distinguishes between two phases of modernity:
-First phase: gave rise to religious fundamentalism (18th century to about 1960s)
-Second phase: gave rise to a secular fundamentalism

Question 37

Davie: First phase

Answer 37

-The Enlightenment project dominated European thought, and help to secularise all areas of social life attacking and undermining religious certainties
-religious fundamentalism is one reaction to the secularisation process

Question 38

Davie: Second phase

Answer 38

-since the 1970s, optimism of the enlightenment project, due to growing mood of pessimism and uncertainty- the product of insecurity caused by changes such as globalisation concerns about the environment and the collapse of communism in 1989
-This led to a loss of faith in major secular enlightenment ideologies e.g. liberalism and nationalism (in Western Europe) and Marxism (in eastern Europe) whose claims to truth and belief in progress have been undermined, so these secular ideologies are also struggling- they are ‘past their sell-by date’- Davie
-supportive of secular ideologies like nationalism have been attracted to fundamentalism when secular ideologies are under attack

Question 39

examples of secular fundamentalism

Answer 39

e.g. The disintegration of communist Yugoslavia (in early 1990s) led to a secular nationalist fundamentalism that justified ethnic cleansing of territory to create clearcut separation between ethnic groups- ‘us and them’

e.g. In Western Europe perceived religious challenges to liberal secular values, led to secular fundamentalist reaction e.g. In France
-2004: banned pupils from wearing religious symbols in schools
-2010: illegal for women to wear veil in public
-2015: some French local councils start serving alternatives to pork in their school meals on the grounds, that all pupils must be treated, equally, and religion must be kept out of the secular public sphere- discriminate against Muslims and Jews who do not eat pork

Question 40

Ansell

Answer 40

-see such trends of secular fundamentalism as a form of cultural racism that uses apparently liberal language of universal equality and social integration, while denying racist aims, but in reality, it is preserving cultural identity and ‘our’ way of life and legitimatises the exclusion of religious and cultural minorities

Question 41

Davie- conclusions about religious and fundamentalist movements causing fundamentalism

Answer 41

-in conclusion, both religious and secular movements can lead to fundamentalism as a result of the greater uncertainties of life in the late modern/post- modern world, in which reasserting, truth and certainty is increasingly becoming attractive

Question 42

Harvieu- Leger

Answer 42

sees fundamentalism as a form of ‘recreated memories’ in late modern societies that have suffered ‘cultural amnesia’ and forgotten their historic religious traditions

Question 43

Huntington
The ‘clash of civilisations’

Answer 43

-in recent years, religion has become the centre of a number of global conflict, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks by fundamentalist Islamists in the US
-Believes such conflicts have intensified since the collapse of communism in the 1989, and is symptoms of a ‘clash of civilisations’
-Believes the problem is not Islamic fundamentalism, but Islam itself
-Identify seven civilisations: Western, Islamic, Latin America, Confucian China), Japanese, Hindu, and Slavic Orthodox (Russia and Eastern Europe)
-In today’s Wells, religious differences between civilisations are a major source of conflict, because globalisation has made nation states less significant as a source of identity, creating a gap that religion has filled
-At the same time, globalisation increases the contacts between civilisations and increases the likelihood of conflict
-Believes, religious differences are creating a set of hostile ‘us and them relationships’ with increasing competition between civilisations for economic and military power e.g. in the Middle East
Sees religious differences as harder to resolve than political ones, as they are deeply rooted in culture and history
-sees history as a struggle of progress against barbarism, and believes the west is under threat, especially from Islam and urges the west to reassert is identity as a liberal democratic Christian civilisation.

Question 44

Criticisms of Huntington

Answer 44

-Jackson: sees Huntington’s work as an example of orientalism- a western ideology that stereotypes eastern nations and people (especially Muslims) 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 civilisation he identifies e.g. Sunni and Shi’a Islam
-Horrle and Chippindale: see the Clash of civilisations as a grossly, misleading neoconservative ideology that portrays the whole of Islam as an enemy, but in reality, only a tiny minority of the world 1.5 billion Muslims are remotely interested in a holy war against the west
-Karen Armstrong: Augies hostility towards west does not stem from fundamentalist Islam, but is a reaction to west foreign policy in the Middle East- the west has propped up oppressive regions and continues to support Israel, despite its aggressive treatment of Palestinians

Question 45

Inglehart and Norris
The real clash of civilisations?

Answer 45

-evidence suggests that Huntington view that the Muslim world holds fundamentally different anti-democratic values from the west is not the case
-Using data from World Value Survey: Inglehart and Norris conclude that the issue which divides the west, and the Muslim world is not democracy, but gender and sexuality
-Similar support for democracy in both the west and Muslim world attitudes to divorce abortion. Gender, equality and gay rights is very different with the west being more liberal, but the Muslim world remains traditional
-They comment in the last decade democracy has become the political ideology to gain global appeal, but there is no global agreement about ‘self-expression values’ e.g tolerance of diversity, gender, equality, and freedom of speech
-And their view, these divergent values constitute the real clash of civilisations between Muslim societies and the west

Question 46

Bruce
Cultural defence

Answer 46

-where religion serves to unite a community against an external threat
-A function of religion
-He explains that religion, symbolises societies, collective identity and defence, the community from threat from external factors by often having prominent roles in politics
-examples: Poland and Iran-both explain how religion can be used in defence of national identity in the face of political domination by an external power
-The external power:
Iran: Western culture and capitalism
Poland: Soviet communism
-So the role of religious needs need to be understood in a transnational context

Question 47

Poland

Answer 47

-in 1945-1989, Poland was under communist role in post 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 served as a popular rallying point for opposition to the Soviet union, and Polish communist party- lent its active support to the solidarity free trade union movement in the 1980s that helped caused the fall of communism
-there after the church regained a public role, and this has significant influence on Polish politics since

Question 48

Iran

Answer 48

-Western capitalist powers and oil companies had long influence in Iran, including involvement in the illegal overthrow of a democratic government in the nineteen fifties to install a pro western regime, headed by the Shah of Iran
-modernisation meant that in Iran, the cup between the rich, and the poor was widening, while protesting was being ruthlessly suppressed
-Cleric, Khomeini, promised the return to traditional religious values
-He declared an Islamic republic and was appointed Iran, political and religious leader
-Haynes argues that the Iranian revolution was not typical of politics in the Middle East
- in other countries e.g. in Saudi Arabia, the religious leadership is closely tied to the local elite, who in turn are tied to Western imperialism, and as such local religious leaders are opposed by local fundamentalist, who regard them as enemies of Islam