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XII Readings on Religious Protest
 An
artists depiction of the Ghost Dance |
Religion has always had a revolutionary
element; most religions began as a rebellion against one or another established order.
Christianity began as a Jewish protest against behaviors and beliefs that the protesters
felt were violations of God’s word. The gospels of the New Testament are clearly
revolutionary in intent, as we shall see when we examine the emergence of liberation
theology, while the Old Testament documents the struggles of people against what they
believe is illegitimate authority. |
| The readings in this
section each address the issue of religious protest. Throughout we need to ask the
question to what extent religion contributes to the expansion of the culture of capitalism
(as, for example, Western missionaries certainly did) and to what extent was it a vehicle
for protest, as it seems to be in the case of Islamic Fundamentalism and Liberation
Theology, and as it seems to have been in the instance of indigenous religious movements
such as the Ghost Dance and Cargo Cults? |
| A. Religion as Protest |
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Reading 1. Will Economism End in Time
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=
showitem&id=268 |
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John B. Cobb, Jr. has written extensively about the
dangers of capitalist expansion and the role of community and religion in remedying the
problems that it causes. In this article Cobb equates "economism," "a
world in which the economic order reigns," with idolatry, and claims that Christians,
as well as others, must resist it. The article is valuable for its historical
treatment of the relationship between religion and capitalism. You can find other articles
by Cobb (who is Professor of Theology Emeritus at the Claremont School of Theology) at religion-online.org. |
Reading 2. The Desecularization
of the World
http://www.eppc.org/library/litterae/berger.htmlNo
Longer Available |
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In this article, sociologist of religion Peter Berger explores the
attitudes of academics and the public to what they see as a resurgence of religious
activity, particulary of so-called religious fundamentalisms. Why, he asks, are
academics and foundation officials so anxious to explain what they see as worldwide,
religious resurgence. Berger calls into question many of the assumptions we
make about "religious revival," and the extent to which religion has accomodated
to secular demands. It is a mistake, he maitains, to see present religious revivals
as an anomaly, suggesting, instead, that "the world today is massively
religious." He also addresses the issues of the relationship between religion
and politics, religion and war, among others. |
| B. The Rise of
Religious Fundamentalism |
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The presence of large-scale, religiously-based alternatives to the culture
of capitalism made headlines with the Islamic revolution in Iran. Since that time,
Islamic, Protestant, Jewish, Sikh, as well as other religious groups, have sought to gain
political power by either creating their own state, or by increasing their participation
in the politics of a specific nation-state. Yet the presence of religious opposition
to the expansion of the Culture of Capitalism, as we describe in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, goes back at least to
the ninteenth century. Attitudes toward these movements vary enormously, even, as we
shall see, among social scientists. Even term "fundamentalist," is itself
questioned by some, partially because of its negative connotations. Some writers
suggest the term "religious nationalism," but that too carries a negative
meaning; in addition, most of the religious movements we will explore have political
aspirations that go beyond national boundaries.
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Reading 3. Fundmentalism
in the World
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.
dll?action=showitem&id=236 |
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In this review of Fundamentalisms Observed, edited by Martin
E. Marty and R. Scott Appleby, Robert Wuthnow provides a good overview of the role of
religious fundamentalisms worldwide. While emphasizing the differences among
fundamentalist movements, Wuthnow describes some similarities. Fundamentalisms, for
example, define themselves in opposition to modernity, concerned about the growing
secularity of society. They also, according to Wuthnow, tend to be an annoyance to
national governments and reinforce ideologies of male dominance. But Wuthnow also
cautions us about stereotypes of fundamentalist movements that are often depicted in the
popular media. |
Reading 4. Fundamentalist Resurgence: Causes and Prospects
http://home2.swipnet.se/~w-22615/fundamentalism.htm |
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This article by Lal Khan views the emergence of Islamic
Fundamentalism with some alarm. One of his more interesting observations is that the rise
of religious protest was strongly supported by Western (particularly American) governments
as a way to contain communist expansion. But he examines also the affects of socioeconomic
conditions, suggesting that fundamentalist resurgence is largely a consequence of the
failure of capitalist expansion to succeed in solving the problems of hunger and poverty. |
Reading 5. Jihad vs McWorld
http://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic/election/connection/foreign/
barjiha.htm |
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In this article that summarizes his book of the same title,
Benjamin R. Barber suggests that there are two opposing forces in the world, one that he
labels "McWorld," and the other that he calls "Jihad" (Holy War).
McWorld represents the forces of market capitalism (or the culture of capitalism,
as we treat it), the other represents local ethnic, religious, and political groups.
Jihad (into which the various religious protest movements we discuss fall) resists
the homogenization, uniformity, and integration imposed by McWorld. The danger, as
Barber describes, is neither McWorld or Jihad promotes or is sympathetic to democracy. |
Reading 6. The World of [American] Fundamentalism
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=
showitem&id=235 |
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In this article Robert Wuthnow presents a brief history of the
fundamentalist movement in the United States. It is, as he writes, neither a new
phenomenon, nor a unified, homogeneous phenomenon. But it does represent a vehicle
of protest. |
Exercise 1.
(a) Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afganistan
http://www.rawa.org/(b) National Abortion
Federation: Clinic Violence
http://www.prochoice.org/violence/index.htm |
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Resistence to the spread of religious fundamentalism often comes
from those who see themselves as victims of discrimination. Since most
fundamentalist movements espouse an ideology of male dominance, women are the most
marginalized. This is true of both Islamic and Christian fundamentalisms. To
get an idea of the problems, browse the sites on women in Afganistan and the site
documenting the violence associated with the anti-abortion movement in the United States. |
| C. Liberation Theology |
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Of all the mainstream religious movements of the past
three decades, Liberation Theology is clearly the most explicitly anti-capitalist.
It has also been systematically attacked by the hierarchy of the Catholic Church, and
labeled subversive by American military and intelligence agencies. It has also prompted
American support for Protestant evangelical movements in Latin America that often actively
compete with the Catholic Church for adherents. |
Reading 7. Christian Revolution in Latin America: The Changing
Face of Liberation Theology
http://www.mustardseed.net/html/body_toliberation.html
http://www.lawyernet.com/members/jimfesq/wca/1997/35/
deep.html |
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This is an excellent summary article by Ron Rhodes on the origins
and purpose of the Liberation Theology Movement in Latin America. In the article, Rhodes
discusses the explicitly anti-capitalist aspects of the movement, and offers some analysis
of its future. |
| D. The Militia Movements |
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Virtually all of the forms of religious protest we have examined above
have a violent component, groups that believe that the only way to resist whatever evils
they see in the world is through violence. One manifestation of this in the United States
is the rise to prominence of the so-called militia movements. |
Reading 8. Militias, Christian Identity and the Radical Right
http://www.religion-online.org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll?action=
showitem&id=102 |
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This brief article by Michael Barkun describes the connection
between the militia movement and the religious right, particularly the Christian Identity
movement. |
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Additional Resources on Religious Protest |
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