RELIGION IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT

Question 1

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Answer 1

• Globalisation has made various cultures and religions have come more intertwined, particularly by globalised media, including the internet and social networking sites.
• For instance, Mayer et al suggests that the world’s religions are becoming less tied to certain geographical locations of countries. In other words, there has been a process of cultural globalisation.
• This means that there has been a severance of connections between a religion, a specific society and a territory. As such, many of the world’s religion, such as Islam, are now transnational, with the spreading of religious organisations, beliefs and practices.
• For example, there are large Muslim communities in the UK and in New York. Singleton therefore argues that globalisation has meant that Islam has been reconstituted as a transnational religion, making it no longer tied to specific areas of the world. This has led to a growing emphasis on the idea that Muslims constitute an unmah.
• Despite the impact of globalisation noting how there is now a relationship between various cultures and religions, this argument can be criticised as the secularisation theory notes how there is a decline in people’s attendance of churches, meaning globalisation has not made such a change. For instance, Wilson notes how church attendance fell from 40% in the mid-19th century to over 10% by the 1960s, noting how Britain has become a secular society.
• Hence, it can be argued that globalisation has led to major changes in religious beliefs and practices as it has created greater religious diversity, creating a wider appeal of religion to people.

Question 2

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Answer 2

• Additionally, Huntingdon suggests there can be conflict, which he refers to as ‘a clash of civilisations’.
• This stems from religion and religious identity being an important aspect of different civilisations in the contemporary world, which have differences between them in lifestyles and beliefs.
• For example, the growth of Islam, notably Islamic fundamentalism comes into conflict with Christian-based Western civilisation. In this sense, Huntington helps identify how religious differences are creating a set of hostile ‘us and them’ relationships with increased competition between civilisations for economic and military power, for example in the Middle East.
• Religious differences thus seem more difficult to resolve than political ones due to how they are deeply rotted in culture and history.
• Kurtz adds to this by suggesting how conflicts between people, groups, classes and nations are now framed in religious terms, as the struggle of good against evil.
• In some ways, globalisation has therefore meant religion and culture have displaced race as the main sources of anxiety, as people encounter more about other religions than initially.
• For instance, Islamophobia may be a more prominent issue in some communities in the UK today than racism.
• Despite this, religious prejudice aren’t easy to disentangle if the religion concerned is held by a particularly ethnic group, meaning Islamophobia in the UK may be concealing anti-Pakistani racism.
• However, despite Huntingdon effectively recognising how globalisation has increased religious and cultural conflict due to various differences, Huntingdon’s work can be criticised as
• Horrie and Chippindale see ‘the clash of civilisations’ as a wholly misleading neo-conservative ideology portraying the whole of Islam as an enemy. In reality, only a small minority of the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims are interested in a ‘holy war’ against the West, meaning this ‘conflict’ is over-exaggerated.
• Consequently, it can be argued that globalisation has led to major changes in religious beliefs and practices as it has led to the clash of civilisations as religious differences create competition between civilisations.

Question 3

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Answer 3

• Lastly, it must also be noted that globalisation has led to an unexpected rise in religiosity in India as a result of development. It has created a huge and prosperous, scientifically education, urban middle-class in India, closely tied into the global economy.
• These are the people whom secularisation predicts will be the first to abandon religion in favour of a secular view.
• Yet, Nanda observes how a vast majority of this class still believe in the supernatural.
• For instance, a survey by the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, 2007, found that Indians are becoming more religious, with 30% saying they had become more religious.
• Nanda argues that their increasing religiosity is the result of their ambivalence about their newfound wealth.
• This stems from a tension between traditional Hindu belief in renunciation of materialism and worldly desires, and the new prosperity of the middle classes.
• This is resolved by the modern holy men and tele-gurus whom they turn to, who preach the message that desire is a manifestation of divinity that motivates people to do things.
• Modern versions of Hinduism thus legitimate the position of the middle class and allow them to adjust to globalised consumer capitalism.
• Nanda also also notes how India’s success in the global market is attributed to the superiority of ‘Hindu values’; a view promoted by the media and politicians.
• In this sense, the worship of Hindu gods has become the same as worshipping the nation of India, and Hinduism has become a civil religion.
• This is creating a widening gap between Hindus and non-Hindu minorities, linking to the point made above.
• However, despite Nanda recognising how rapid economic growth has led to increased religiosity in India, Nanda’s views can be criticised as this is a trend unlikely to last.
• Individuals’ turn to religion due to uncertain times, but when things settle globalisation will cause secularisation, reducing the extent of religiosity.
• Arguably then, Nanda shows how globalisation has led to major changes in religious beliefs and practices as religion helps individuals’ deal with the effects of globalisation causing positive changes for religious practice.