Religion and globalization
Central to Huntington’s thesis in The Clash of Civilizations is the assumption that the post-Cold War world would regroup into regional alliances based on religious beliefs and historical attachments to various “civilizations.” Identifying three prominent groupings—Western Christianity (Roman Catholicism and Protestantism), Orthodox Christianity (Russian and Greek), and Islam, with additional influences from Hinduism and Confucianism—he predicted that the progress of globalization would be severely constrained by religio-political barriers. The result would be a “multipolar world.” Huntington’s view differed markedly from those who prophesied a standardized, homogenized global culture.
There is, however, considerable ethnographic evidence, gathered by anthropologists and sociologists, that refutes this model of civilizational clash and suggests instead a rapid diffusion of religious and cultural systems throughout the world. Islam is one case in point, given that it constitutes one of the fastest-growing religions in the United States, France, and Germany—supposed bastions of Western Christianity. Before the end of the 20th century, entire arrondissements (districts) of Paris were dominated by Muslims, the majority of them French citizens born and reared in France. Thirty-five percent of students in the suburban Dearborn, Michigan, public school system were Muslim in 2001, making the provision of ḥalāl (“lawful” under Islam) meals at lunchtime a hot issue in local politics. By the start of the 21st century, Muslims of Turkish origin constituted the fastest-growing sector of Berlin’s population, and, in northern England, the old industrial cities of Bradford and Newcastle had been revitalized by descendants of Pakistani and Indian Muslims who immigrated during the 1950s and ’60s.
From its inception, Christianity has been an aggressively proselytizing religion with a globalizing agenda. Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church was arguably the first global institution, having spread rapidly throughout the European colonial world and beyond. Today, perhaps the fastest-growing religion is evangelical Christianity. Stressing the individual’s personal experience of divinity (as opposed to priestly intercession), evangelicalism has gained wide appeal in regions such as Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, presenting serious challenges to established Catholic churches. Following the collapse of Soviet power in 1991, the Russian Orthodox church began the process of rebuilding after more than seven decades of repression. At the same time, evangelical missionaries from the United States and Europe shifted much of their attention from Latin America and Africa to Russia, alarming Russian Orthodox leaders. By 1997, under pressure from Orthodox clergy, the Russian government promoted legislation to restrict the activities of religious organizations that had operated in Russia for less than 15 years, effectively banning Western evangelical missionaries. The debate over Russian religious unity continues, however, and, if China is any guide, such legislation could have little long-term effect.
In China, unauthorized “house churches” became a major concern for Communist Party officials who attempted to control Muslim, Christian, and Buddhist religious activity through state-sponsored organizations. Many of the unrecognized churches are syncretic in the sense that they combine aspects of local religion with Christian ideas. As a result they have been almost impossible to organize, let alone control.
Social scientists confirm the worldwide resurgence, since the late 20th century, of conservative religion among faiths such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even Shinto in Japan and Sikhism in India. The social and political connotations of these conservative upsurges are unique to each culture and religion. For example, some sociologists have identified Christian evangelicalism as a leading carrier of modernization: its emphasis on the Bible is thought to encourage literacy, while involvement in church activities can teach administrative skills that are applicable to work environments. As a sociologist of religion, Berger argues that “there may be other globalizing popular movements [today], but evangelicalism is clearly the most dynamic.”