Topic 5 - Religion in a Global Context Flashcards
1
Q
What are Fundamentalists?
A
- Appeal to tradition and seek a return to the basics or fundamentals of their faith.
2
Q
What is religious fundamentalism?
A
- It only arises when traditional beliefs and values are threatened or challenged by modern society and by the increasingly globalised economy
3
Q
What are the key features of fundamentalism?
A
- An authoritative sacred text, Fundamentalists interpret religious scriptures literally and view them as the absolute truth
- An Us and them mentality, fundamentalists separate themselves from the rest of the world and refuse to compromise with it,
- Aggressive reaction, they respond strongly to threats to their beliefs and values, and sometimes resort to violence
- Use of modern technology, they use it for evangelism
4
Q
According to Davie why does fundamentalism occur?
A
- ## It happens when those who hold traditional beliefs and values are threatened by modernity and feel the need to defend themselves against it.
5
Q
According to Giddens why does fundamentalism occur?
A
- Argues that fundamentalism is a reaction to globalisation which undermines traditional social norms
- argues that it is a retreat into faith based answers and away from the risks and uncertainties of a globalising world
6
Q
What is Cosmopolitanism?
A
- Giddens contrasts fundamentalism with cosmopolitanism which is a way of thinking that embraces modernity and is open to diverse views and new ideas
- it requires people to justify their views by the use of rational arguments and evidence rather than relying on sacred texts
- It emphasises on the pursuit of personal meaning and self improvement rather than submission to authority
7
Q
What are the 2 types of responses to post modernity and who said?
A
- According to Castell the 2 responses are
- Resistance identity, a defensive response of those who feel threatened, thus leading to fundamentalism
- Project identity, a positive engagement with social movements such as feminism
8
Q
What are criticisms of Giddens?
A
- Ignores hybrid movements
- giddens lumps all types of fundamentalism together ignoring important differences between them
- his description of fundamentalism as a reaction to modernity ignores the fact that reinventing tradition is also a modern reflexive activity
9
Q
What does Bruce argue about fundamentalism ?
A
- That it comes around because of todays globalising world that threatens traditional beliefs
- argues that fundamentalism is confined to monotheistic religions such as Judaism and Islam because monotheistic religions offer one absolute truth
- polytheistic religions are unlikely to produce fundamentalism because it lacks a single authoritative sacred text so there is much more scope for different interpretations
10
Q
What are the two types of fundamentalism according to Bruce?
A
- Western Fundamentalism, where fundamentalism is often a reaction to change taking place within a society, especially the trend towards diversity.
- Developing world fundamentalism, as a reaction to external forces
11
Q
What does Davie argue about secular fundamentalism?
A
- argues that modern secular ideologies have also become fundamentalist
- distinguishes between two phases of modernity
- First phase, which is the enlightenment project thought which held a secular belief and it dominated european thoughts and helped secularise all areas of life
- second phase, which is the loss of faith in the enlightenment project because of uncertainty
12
Q
What does Huntington argue about the clash of civilisations?
A
- religion has played an important role in global conflicts such as 9/11, and huntington argues this is because of the clash of civilisations
- argues that religious differences between civilisations are now the major source of conflict
- this is because globalisation increases contact between civilisations thus increases conflict
- says that religious differences are harder to resolve than political ones because they are deeply rooted in culture and history
- says that this is the cause of growing tension between the west and islam
13
Q
What are criticisms of Huntington?
A
- Jackson sees Huntingtons work as as example of orientalism which is a western ideology that stereotypes eastern nations as untrustworthy and inferior
- Casanova argues his view is too simplistic and ignores important religious divisions within the civilisations for eg the sunni and shi’a in islam
14
Q
What does is a function of religion ?
A
- According to Bruce a function of religion is cultural defence, this is where religion serves to unite a community against an external threat
15
Q
What are examples of cultural defense ?
A
- Poland, was under communist rule imposed by the USSR and during this time the Catholic Church was suppressed but for many poles it continued to be embody their polish national identity, however it helped to serve as a popular rallying point as opposition to the USSR
- Iran, Western capitalist powers had a long influence in Iran, however the Islamic revolution helped to oppose it
16
Q
How has globalisation benefited India?
A
- It bought around rapid economic growth and made India become more of an important player on the world political stage
17
Q
What effect has globalisation had on India’s religion?
A
- Since globalisation created a scientifically educated middle class in India, the secularisation theory predicts these people to be the first to abandon religion and take a more secular approach
- A survey found that only 5% of indians said that they had become less religious and 30% said that they had become more religious
- there was a growth in religious tourism which helps to show the increase in religious interest
18
Q
How does Nanda link Hinduism to the growth of national identity?
A
- She found in a survey that 93% of Indians believed that their people were not perfect but their culture was superior to others
- Nanda believes that India’s success in the global market is because of the superiority of Hindu Values
- Hinduism became a civil religion meaning it could influence state policy
- Examples such as the teaching of Hindu sciences such as astrology being taught as an academic subject in Universities
19
Q
What are some critics of Nanda?
A
- She fails to explain how religious minorities are affected by this trend
- Ignores opposition to Hindu Ultra nationalism from within India
20
Q
How has capitalism developed in East Asia?
A
- Recently East Asian tiger economies such as South Korea and Singapore have industrialised and become significant players in the global economy
- Some sociologist compare the role capitalism in East Asia to protestant ethic in europe
- Redding sees their post confucian values as encouraging hard work, self discipline and self improvement
leading to economic stability
21
Q
What does Berger argue about Pentecostalism in Latin America?
A
- argues that pentecostalism played a similiar role to the protestant work ethic
- as it encouraged the development of capitalism the same way calvinism did
- Pentecostalism helps promote self discipline and hard work similair to calvnism
- for example pentecostalism demands a ascetic way of life and this encourages its members to prosper
- in brazil, pentecostalism is seen as the cause of the rising middle class prosperity
22
Q
What does Berger say to undermine Weber?
A
- That religious ideas alone are not enough to produce economic development , natural resources also are needed
- for example in northern brazil there is a rise in pentecostalism but there is a lack of resources and consequently their economy is stagnant whereas in the south they have resources and the work ethic so they prosper
23
Q
What are so critics of Berger?
A
- Fails to explain why some pentecostal regions remain poor
- overlooks economic and political factors for driving growth
