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Understanding of Religion and the Role Played by Cultural Sociology in the Process
Understanding of Religion and the Role Played by
Cultural Sociology in the Process
Sheila Vaughham (MSc)
Master of Science and Candidate to PhD in Sociology at the Isles
Internationale Université (European Union)
Abstract
This paper assesses the contribution of cultural sociology to the understanding of religion from a critical
perspective. First it examines and summarizes how three Weber, Durkheim and Marx see the nature of
religion as a cultural form. It then looks at various recent theories of religion under globalization. The
author then assesses the contribution that these cultural theories give to the understanding of real religious
phenomena through examining whether they can help in an understanding of Islamic fundamentalism.
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Giddens states that sociological approaches to
religion are still strongly influenced by the ideas of
the three “classical” sociological theorists - namely
Marx, Weber and Durkheim (Giddens, 1996). It is
for the above reason that this essay will start off
with a critical evaluation of the beliefs that these
three “classical” theorists held about religion as a
cultural form.
Budd claims that Marx was not as interested
in religion as he was in other social institutions,
and that his views on it were not very different
from those of other contemporary radicals (Budd,
1973). To Marx, religion was made by man
and corresponded to nothing “super-empirical
or internal”. In fact, according to Budd, Marx
believed religion was nothing more than a sign of
the alienation of man in a society which oppressed
and dehumanized him. Marx believed that,
because a “liberated” man would feel no need of
“metaphysical explanation” on life, religion would
disappear in time (Budd, 1973). Budd leads us to
believe that to Marx, religion would only change
with changes in the relations of production. It
would therefore be defeated by the birth of a new
social and economic order. (Budd, 1973).
Giddens believes that Marx accepted the view
that religion represents human self-alienation.
He claims that, in Marx’s view, religion in its
traditional form will, and should disappear. This
does not mean that Marx dismissed religion, it
simply means that he believed that the positive
values embodied in religion could become guiding
ideals for improving society, (Giddens, 1996).
In fact, according to Giddens, Marx believed
that religion is the “opium of the people” (Giddens,
1996, p464). In other words, Marx believed
that religion defers happiness and rewards to
the afterlife, teaching the acceptance of existing
conditions in this life. This means that attention is
diverted away from inequalities and injustices in
this life by promising a better future in the Afterlife.
In addition to this, Budd believes that Marx
thought religion not only reflected the suffering of
the working class, but offered a “fantasy escape”
from that suffering (Budd, 1973).
Marx believed that religion had a very powerful
ideological element, and that religious beliefs and
values often provide justifications of inequalities
of wealth and power (Giddens, 1996). He
further claims that religion often has ideological
implications which serve to justify the interests of
the ruling class at the expense of other subordinate
classes (Giddens, 1996).
Thus, one can see from the above that Marx
viewed religion as just another commodity in
the hands of the people who own the means of
production (i.e.: it is a tool in the hands of the
powerful in order to repress the masses). I believe
that Marx’s views of religion are too simplistic.
This is because, while Marx’s view on religion
does allow one to see in which ways it preserves the
status quo, it fails to show in which ways religion
can be a catalyst for social change (an issue which
will be dealt with later). In addition, Marx’s belief
that religion would disappear as society changes
and develops is also flawed. This can be seen, as,
in the modern era of globalization, many religious
groups are stronger now than they ever were in
the past. This will be demonstrated in the later
discussion on Islamic fundamentalism.
Having stated the weaknesses of Marx’s theory
of religion, it is important to note that in many
ways religion does function to control society.
Budd demonstrates this when he says that
Many empirical studies of the operation of
religious institutions in modern societies
suggest that they do fulfill the role Marx
claimed for them, that of adjusting people
to a social order from which their material
gains are so small that a political, even
revolutionary, response would seem to
be the only reasonable alternative (Budd,
1973, p55).
In contrast to Marx, Durkheim spent a large
part of his intellectual life studying religion.
He concentrates his study of religion on small
scale, traditional societies (Giddens, 1996).
Durkheim, unlike Marx, does not connect religion
primarily with social inequalities or power, but
with the “overall nature of the institutions of a
society” (Giddens, 1996, p465). He based his
work on the study of the totenism practiced by
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Australian aboriginal societies, which he believed
represented religion in its most “elementary
form” (Giddens, 1996). A totem, according to
Giddens, was originally an animal or plant taken
as having particular symbolic significance for a
religious group. It is a sacred object, “regarded
with veneration and surrounded by various ritual
activities” (Giddens, 1996).
Giddens goes on to explain how Durkheim
defined religion in terms of a distinction between
the “sacred” and the “profane”. He says that sacred
objects and symbols are treated as apart from the
routine aspects of existence (i.e.: the realm of the
profane). As a sacred object, the totem is believed
to have divine properties that separate it completely
from other animals that might be hunted (Giddens,
1996). Giddens says that Durkheim takes this idea
further and claims that totems are sacred as they
represent the group itself, and they stand for all the
values central to the group or community. This can
be seen in the following quote:
The reverence that people feel for the totem
actually derives from the respect they hold
for central social values. In religion, the
object of worship is actually society itself
(Giddens, 1996).
Giddes believes that Durkheim holds that
religions are never just a matter of belief, and
that all religions involve regular ceremonial and
ritual activities, in which a group of believers
meet (Giddens, 1996). He further holds that in
these collective ceremonials, as sense of group
solidarity is affirmed and heightened, as they take
the individual away from the concerns of this life
(i.e.: the ‘profane social order”) into an elevated
sphere in which they feel in contact with higher
forces. Durkheim claims that these higher forces
(such as totems or gods) are really the expression of
the influence of the collectivity over the individual
(Giddens, 1996).
Giddens goes on to say that, according to
Durkheim, ceremony and ritual are essential to
binding the members of groups together. This
is why rituals and ceremony are found not only
in regular situations of worship, but in various
life crises at which major social transitions are
experienced. He says that Durkheim believed that
collective ceremonials reaffirmed groups solidarity
in times when people are forced to adjust to major
changes in their lives (Giddens, 1996).
According to Giddens, Durkheim believed
that all small traditional cultures have every
aspect of life permeated by religion. He claims
Durkheim believed that religious ceremonies
both create new ideas and categories of thought
and reaffirm existing values. This means that
Durkheim believed that religion is not just a series
of activities, but that it actually conditions modes
of thinking of individuals in traditional societies
(Giddens, 1996).
Similar to Marx, Durkheim believed that
with the development of modern societies, the
influence of religion would wane. This is because
scientific thinking replaces religious explanation
and ceremonial and ritual activities come to
occupy only a small part of an individual’s life.
However, in contrast to Marx, Durkheim believed
that religion in an altered form would continue to
exist, since even modern societies would depend
on rituals to reaffirm their values and to help create
cohesion (Giddens, 1996).
I believe that Durkheim’s views on religion are
much more useful that Marx’s, because many of the
trends he described can be seen in modern religious
movements, and they will be demonstrated later in
this essay.
In contrast to Durkheim, Weber studied
religions on a worldwide scale. In fact, Weber
made detailed studies of what he called “world
religions” - the religions that have attained large
numbers of believers and have affected the course
of global history (Giddens, 1996).
Weber’s writings on religion concentrate on the
connection between religion and social change.
His work contrasts to that of Marx since Weber
argues that religion is not only a conservative
force, but that religiously inspired movements can
inspire social change (Giddens, 1997).
Giddens claims that Weber saw his study
of the world religions as a single project, and
that his study of the impact of Protestantism
on the development of the West is part of a
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comprehensive attempt to understand the influence
of religion on social and economic life in varying
cultures (Giddens, 1997). In his comparison of the
different world religions, Weber points out that in
traditional China and India there was at certain
periods a significant development of commerce,
manufacture and urbanism. However, these did
not generate the radical patterns of social change
involved in the rise of industrial capitalism in
the West. This is because the religion found in
these parts of the world inhibited such change. In
contrast to this, Weber believed that Christianity
has a “revolutionary aspect”. This means that
while the religions of the East cultivate an attitude
of passivity towards the existing order within the
believer, Christianity involves a constant struggle
against sin. Hence, it can stimulate revolt against
the existing order of the status quo (Giddens,
1996).
To me, Weber’s work is the most comprehensive
and convincing of the three “classical theorists”
dealt with in this essay. This is because he looks
at religion on a worldwide scale, comparing
and contrasting different religions in different
cultures and examining how these different
religions affected the development of the cultures
themselves. I must stress, however, that I think
that the fact that Weber did not actually ever
experience these different cultures personally, but
researched them using the work of others, means
that his work might be flawed.
The above has briefly summarized the views of
the three “classical” sociological theorists that will
be dealt with in this essay. It has briefly assessed
what each of them believed, showing in which
ways their theories are useful and in which ways
they are not. This essay will now look at modern
theorists’ beliefs about religion and its relationship
with the global world.
The first modern theorist that will be discussed
is Keith Roberts. Roberts says that during the
last fifty years, societies around the world have
undergone radical, fundamental changes. He
says that each society and nation has become
less isolated and autonomous (Roberts, 1995).
Roberts says that globalization involves several
interdependent processes. First, it involves a
structural interdependence of nation-states.
Second, it involves a synthesis and crossfertilization of cultures as societies borrow ideas,
technologies, artistic concepts, mass media
procedures, and definitions of human rights
from one another. Third, it involves a change in
socialization to a broader inclusiveness of others
as being “like us” and to a sense of participation in
the global culture. Finally, it involves an increase
in individualism, accompanied by a decrease
in traditional mechanisms of control (Roberts,
1995).
In terms of religion under globalization,
Roberts claims that an interesting religious
development of the global era is what he calls “the
increase of global perspectives in the theologies
and ethical systems of major world religions”
(Roberts, 1995, p399). He goes on to explain
that many sociologists believe that the recent
phenomenon of accommodation and tolerance of
other religious traditions is the result of increased
global interdependence. In other words, as people
are forced to trade and interact with people in
other parts of the world controlling important
resources, it becomes apparent that judgmental
attitude implying the inferiority of others (or a self
righteous posture regarding one’s own moral and
spiritual values) is unacceptable (Roberts, 1995).
Roberts sates that religions can no longer ignore
global interdependence and the fact that the world
is becoming “a single sociocultural place”, and
that the global cultural diversity compels churches
to accept pluralism as the first step towards
accommodation of diverse people and alternative
social systems (Roberts, 1995).
Roberts goes on to explain how globalization
involves three important processes that have
an effect on religion. These three processes are:
secularization of social structures and cultures,
the introduction of advanced and complex
communication technologies, and the changing
demographic migration patterns (Roberts, 1995).
According to Roberts, secularization involves
a rational, utilitarian, and empirical approach
to decision making, so that the world becomes
“de-spiritualized”. It also involves institutional
differentiation and increased autonomy of various
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institutions from religious domination (Roberts,
1995). He goes on to say that as societies modernize,
religious institutions are often relegated to a less
influential role in social life. This means that
official religious pronouncements compete with
the state to define what encompasses acceptable
social behaviour (Roberts, 1995).
McGuire believes that secularization is not
a foolproof concept. She claims it is imprecise
and broad, and lends itself to “nonobjective
discussions”. She goes on to say that the concept
of secularization is not very useful as it implies
a unilinear historical development - i.e.: the
inevitable decline of religion and religiosity. Since
the nature of social change is far more complex,
and religion is thoroughly embedded in so many
facets of society, a unilinear interpretation cannot
portray the complex ways religion reciprocally
influences society (McGuire, 1992). Further,
McGuire believes that, the data often used to
substantiate secularization are based on narrow
definitions of religion that does not incorporate
new forms that religion might take in the future
(McGuire, 1992).
Roberts explains that the improved
communication technologies found in the global
era can have major impacts on religion. He says
that technologies of various sorts usually originate
in the West, and push for improved competition
and social change. Since religious groups often
protect traditions, the traditional religious groups
either “feel besieged or are forced to adapt and
to develop some form of process theology that
embraces change” (Roberts, 1995, p404).
He explains how mass communication has
been used effectively by Islamic leaders to
communicate their message. This means that
through the availability of mass media, official
monotheistic Islam has spread to the country,
where “folk versions” of Islam or non-Islamic
deities have prevailed (Roberts, 1995). Roberts
does, however, point out that the media can have
a negative effect on traditional religions such
as Islam. This is because the media introduces
Western consumerist ideals. It is for this reason
that even though the orthodox leaders tend to see
the benefits that the improved media network can
have fundamentalists are more likely to attack
the media with its intrusive consumerism, even
(Roberts, 1995).
Roberts claims that religious groups often make
up multinational conglomerates. An example of
this is the way that the Roman Catholic Church
is an international body that has members located
all around the world, in many different nations.
The political influence of religious groups is well
summed up by Roberts: “the vitality of religion
is frequently connected to its functions for ethnic
identity or for the mobilization of political power
of an ethnic or regional group” (Roberts, 1995,
p406). In fact, Roberts goes on to say that the role
religion plays in solidifying ethnic identity may
be even more important for religions in pluralistic
societies, where “supernatural sanction of one’s
own culture helps fend off anomie” (Roberts,
1995).
In addition to the above, McGuire identifies
other global trends that have impacted on religion
in modern societies. She claims that institutional
differentiation has had a major effect on religion
in modern times. This is the process by which “the
various institutional spheres in society become
separated from each other, with each institution
performing specialized functions”(McGuire,
1992, p251). In contrast to complex societies,
simple, traditional societies’ beliefs, values and
practices of religion directly influence behaviour
in all other spheres of life. In complex societies
on the other hand, each institutional sphere has
gradually become differentiated from others
(McGuire, 1992). In fact, in a highly differentiated
social system, the norms, values and practices of
the religious sphere have only indirect influence on
the other spheres such as education and business.
McGuire claims that this is evidence of the
declining influence of religion (McGuire, 1992).
McGuire also introduces the term legitimacy,
which she defines as “the basis of authority
of individuals or institutions, by which they
can expect their pronouncements to be taken
seriously”(McGuire, 1992, p253). She then says
that legitimacy is not an inherent quality, but is
based on the acceptance of an individual’s claims
by others (McGuire, 1992).
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She states that the location of religion in
contemporary society reflects changes in the
basis of legitimacy within that society. This
means that stable societies typically have stable
sources of legitimacy. Religion legitimates
authority in traditional societies by its “pervasive
interrelationship” with all other aspects of society
(McGuire, 1992). McGuire believes that, in
contemporary society, the differentiation process
has resulted in competition and conflict among
various sources of legitimacy that are available
(McGuire, 1992).
Historically, religions were monolithic. This
means they established the worldview of their
society, and had the monopoly over the ultimate
legitimization of individual and collective life
(McGuire, 1992). McGuire introduces the term
Pluralism to refer to the modern global societal
situation in which no single worldview holds a
monopoly. McGuire claims that pluralism can be
used in a narrower sense - to describe the political
and societal tolerance of competing versions of
truth. She then says that pluralism, in both this
limited sense and in the broader sense has an
effect on religion. Where worldviews coexist and
compete as plausible alternatives to each other, the
credibility of all is undermined. In other words,
“the pluralistic situation relativizes the competing
worldviews and deprives them of their taken-forgranted status” (McGuire, 1992, p255). This has
a very important effect in society. In a pluralistic
situation, worldviews and authoritative claims
compete and this results in the diffusion of sources
of legitimacy among many agents in society, thus
possibly breaking up the social order found in that
society (McGuire, 1992).
McGuire develops this argument further and
tells us that the instability of sources of legitimacy
can encourage the formation of minority groups,
who challenge the ruling social order “through a
development of their own particular views and
symbols (McGuire, 1992). A good example of
what McGuire is talking about here could be the
Islamic Fundamentalists that will be discussed
later in the essay.
McGuire goes on to show how a religious
movement that arises in response to social change
may itself help bring about social change. She
believes that, depending on certain situation that
could be present or absent in different contexts,
religion can either prevent social change, or it can
encourage it (McGuire, 1992)
She claims that there is something inherently
conservative about religion. This is because
religious beliefs consist of taken for granted truths
that can build a strong force against new ways of
thinking. These practices that people believe are
handed down from God are very resistant to change.
She also believes that religion is often used by the
dominant classes to legitimize the status quo, as
well as the specific roles and personal qualities
that are found in that society (McGuire, 1992)
McGuire goes on to demonstrate how religion,
under the right circumstances can promote social
change. She attributes this to the effectiveness
religion has in uniting people’s beliefs with
their actions, and by promising a better future
with its vision of the way the world should be
(McGuire, 1992). Another aspect of religion that
can contribute to social change is the capacity of
religious meanings to serve as symbols for change,
since they often present an image of a utopic future.
They therefore create a vision of what could be
and suggest to believers that they all have a role
to play in bringing about this change (McGuire,
1992).
She goes on to explain that social change
often requires an effective leader who can express
desired change, motivate followers to action and
direct their actions into some larger movement
for change. McGuire believes that religion often
is a major source of such leaders, largely because
religious claims form a potent basis of authority
(McGuire, 1992). McGuire expresses that the
social unity that religion brings to a group of
people is empowering. She thus believes that the
followers of a charismatic, religious leader may
experience a sense of power in their relationship
with the leader and with fellow believers that will
enable them to apply a new order to their social
world (McGuire, 1992).
McGuire claims that certain qualities of some
religious beliefs and practices make them more
likely too effect change than other religions.
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These religions would emphasize a critical
standard position that poses an internal challenge
to the existing social arrangements. In addition,
ethical standards also provide a basis for internal
challenge to the existing social arrangements.
Furthermore, the content of the norms and ethical
standards found within a religion would influence
the minds of resulting social action (McGuire,
1992). Finally, she claims that the way in which
an individual’s perception of their social situation
would be heavily influenced by the way that
their religion defines that reality. This means that
believers are unlikely to try and change a situation
that their religion has defined as one that humans
are powerless to change. It is important to realize
that the opposite also applies (McGuire, 1992).
The final condition that she gives is if religious
modes of action are the only channel that people
have for affecting their social world. This means
that economic dissatisfaction and political dissent
may be expressed in religious terms and resolved
through religious modes of action (McGuire,
1992).
The above has summarized the ways in
which several modern theorists view religion as
a cultural form in the post-modern, global era.
One can see that the ideas of Marx Weber and
Durkheim have all been used and developed
in these modern theories. The essay will now
briefly examine how these theories can be used
to understand fundamentalism in general, and
Islamic fundamentalism in particular.
On the subject most pertinent to this essay,
Roberts claims that religious fundamentalism in
the twentieth century is not a process unique to
a single religious tradition or society. This means
that it cannot be interpreted simply in light of local
or national events, nor in terms of characteristics
of any given religion. He believes that the cause
for fundamentalism is global, and appears to
be a reaction against global modernization and
secularization (Roberts, 1995). He then goes on to
list what he calls the “several features of the global
process” which cause fundamentalism (Roberts,
1995).
Firstly, he believes that the increased pluralism
and relativity in the increasingly diverse global
world is threatening the traditions that always
protected the absoluteness of norms and values.
In other words, “the idea of alternative lifestyles
being tolerable is offensive to those who are so
certain that they alone know ‘the truth’” (Roberts,
1995, p402). The second feature is what Roberts
calls “fear of economic interdependence on
other people”. This he claims stimulates a desire
to reassert autonomy and to proclaim one’s
uniqueness. This means that fundamentalism is
in part, an attempt to “reestablish isolation and
independence from the world system” (Roberts,
1995). The third feature Roberts gives is that
fundamentalism represents a reaction against
institutional differentiation that characterizes the
global era. He says that fundamentalist groups
are convinced that the acceptance of globalization
will involve the death of their traditional
culture (Roberts, 1995). The fourth feature of
fundamentalism Roberts identifies is that they are
often counteractions against religious reforms. To
explain what he means by this, he uses a case study
of Iran as it went through modernization. He claims
that official Islam in that country became liberated
from folk versions and emphasized a universalistic
monotheism. However, it also embraces aspects
of secularization. As conservatists rejected
modernization in favour of traditionalism, they
also rejected the new interpretation of Islam.
They did this by forming a new, “literalistic and
uncompromising” interpretation of Islam (Roberts,
1995).
Kamal and Samatar claim that the rise of Islam
in its fundamental form as in its other forms is a
response to a double alienation. The first is a feeling
of “being subjected to the logic of the modern
world system, but not being of modernity”. In
other words, many Muslims believe that they are
objects in the constitution of modernism, and do not
have any agency to effect their own social world
(Pasha & Samatar, 19??). The second alienation
is located in the domestic context where both
“civil associations and the state are in some form
of decomposition”. They claim that when people
are confronted by relentless material deprivations,
repressive and inept policies, and constant cultural
dislocation, many of them feel compelled to take
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part in drastic rethinking and thus fundamentalism
(Pasha & Samatar, 19??).
Beckford puts forward a set of ideas that have
major implications for the way in which religion
can be understood in different types of societies
(i.e.: post-industrial and post-modern society).
These ideas are associated with various Marxist and
quasi-Marxist scholars. Beckford claims that what
these scholars have in common is the belief that,
as a result of basic transformations in the structure
of capitalist societies the new post-structural stage,
“new social movements” have began to attain
major importance (Beckford, 1989). This means
that, whereas the dominant conflicts of industrial
society, according to Marx were supposed to have
arisen from the contradictions between capital
and labour, it is now believed that capitalism has
undergone such major transformations that the site
of the dominant social conflicts are now over the
struggle for quality of life and the social make-up
of society in the future (Beckford, 1989). Beckford
defines these new social movements as:
Forms of collective action and sentiment
which are based on feelings of solidarity
and which engage in conflict in order to
break the meanings of the system of social
relations in which they operate (Beckford,
1989, p144).
It is my belief that Islamic fundamentalism can
be seen according to the above definition of new
social movements.
Another contribution that Beckford makes is
that he explained why Marxist and Quasi Marxist
theories have shifted their concentration from
economic based conflicts to culturally based
conflicts. He says that this shift has occurred
because in post-industrial societies, the social
system is no longer based solely on an economic
base. Instead it is run by means of informal
systems that are designed to ensure the markets
and resources are efficiently exploited (Beckfoird,
1989). This means that the old struggles for
working class participation in the system and for
minimal standards of living have been replaced
by new struggles over meaning and value of the
social process as a whole (Beckford, 1989). The
second reason for this shift is that, whereas in
the past class conflicts were fought in “symbolic
media” and were therefore only partly cultural, the
new movements are primarily and directly cultural
(Beckford, 1989). It is my belief that the above
shift can be seen in action in the case of Islamic
fundamentalism.
According to the Microsoft Encarta
Encyclopedia, the Islamic world began to
experience the increasing “pressure of the military
and political power and technological advances
of the modern West” as early as the 18th century
(Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1996). It goes
on to say that it became clear that at the economic
and technical level at least, the world of Islam
had fallen behind. The reason why this rocked the
Islamic world so greatly was because the Western
countries were mainly Christian. This meant that
the Islamic belief that Islam is the final revelation,
supplanting Christianity was being questioned by
Islam’s failure to lead the world into the future
(Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia, 1996).
The religious crisis felt by many Muslims was
further developed in the 20th century with the
creation of the state of Israel in an area regarded as
“one of the heartlands” of Islam. This crisis caused
two responses by the Muslim world. Firstly, many
people argue that Islam needs to be modernized
and reformed, while the second response is to
revert to the old, traditional Islamic way of life
(Microsoft Encarta, 1996).
These people believe that the crisis faced
by Islam is a result of the” willingness of many
Muslims to follow the false ideas and values of
the modern secular West”. They therefore believe
that what is needed is a reassertion of traditional
values. They further claim that the crisis of
Islam is the result of the corruption of Muslim
governments and the growth of secularization and
Western influence in the Muslim world (Microsoft
Encarta, 1996). Often those that argue in this
way believe in the use of violence in the cause
of overthrowing unjust and corrupt governments,
and it is this approach that is referred to as Islamic
fundamentalism (Microsoft Encarta, 1996).
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In terms of the major case study that will
be used in this essay (i.e.: the rise of Islamic
fundamentalism in Algeria), another important
point needs to be made. The Microsoft Encarta
Encyclopedia claims that the FIS political party
found in Algeria (which will be referred to later)
has emerged with the objective of installing what
it sees as a “proper Islamic government”, running
a state based on Islamic law (Microsoft Encarta,
1996). It can therefore be described as an Islamic
fundamentalist party. This essay will now examine
the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria.
Arjomand begins his article by identifying
the processes of social change which he believes
are likely to strengthen disciplined religiosity
and, under the right conditions, to give rise to
movements for “orthodox reform and renewal of
Islam” (Arjomand, 1986). He identifies five such
processes. The first he calls “integration into the
international system” (such as Western colonialism
and the advent of Christian missionary activities).
The second he refers to as “ the development of
transport, communication and the mass media”.
The third is urbanization. The fourth is the spread
of literacy and education and the last process he
notes is the incorporation of the masses into the
political society (Arjomand, 1986).
He goes on to say that with the advent of
books and newspapers, a public sphere in which
the literate members of society could participate
was created. This sphere was then extended
to include some of the semi-literate through
the “institution of public debates and lectures”
(Arjomand, 1986, p88). It was this arrival of the
media of communication that gave rise to certain
religious movements (Arjomand, 1986). This can
be seen in the above sections on the importance
of the rise of the media and its effects on religion.
Where Arjomand takes this further is his belief
that, when one looks at the case study that will be
used in this essay (i.e.: Islamic fundamentalism in
Algeria), one can see the effect of the “channels of
physical communication” - such as roads - had on
the spread and movement of the Islamic doctrine.
Arjomand claims that the non-existence of good
roads caused the expansion of orthodox reformism
to be limited. He demonstrates how, when
transport was improved in West Africa after the
Second World War, the spread of Islamic doctrine
along the newly improved roads was dramatically
increased. He even claims that the cheaper and
safer cost of transport has increased the number of
pilgrims to Mecca, which in turn contributes to the
spread of Islam in West Africa (Arjomand, 1986).
In terms of urbanization, Arjomand claims that
cities throughout history have been the center of
Islamic (and Jewish and Christian) piety. He also
claims that social dislocation such as migration
from villages to towns is accompanied by increased
religious practice (Arjomand, 1986). He then
gives an impressive array of statistics that show
that the rapid urbanization of Iran and Turkey has
been accompanied by an increase in the level and
intensity of religious activities, as well as with a
multifaceted revival of Islam (Arjomand, 1986).
Arjomand shows that, coupled with the rapid
urbanization comes another important condition
for the development of Islamic Fundamentalism:
the spread of literacy. He claims that the increase
in literacy seems to increase the interest in religion
and seems to run independently of urbanization. He
demonstrates how the spread of literacy coincides
with the expansion of higher education, and that
a close connection between higher education and
Islamic activism also seems to exist (Arjomand,
1986).
The above has demonstrated the contribution
that the above sociologists have made to the
theoretical understanding of fundamentalism in
general. It will now demonstrate how many of the
phenomena and processes mentioned above can
be found in the real-life case study of the rise of
Islamic fundamentalism found in Algeria.
Spencer claims that Islamic fundamentalism,
and the popularity of Islamic political bodies that
are found in Algeria arose because of several key
concepts that have already been discussed. She
says that since its independence from France in
1962, the Algerian state had been associated with
a “secularized, modernizing and socialist path of
development” (Spencer, 1996). This shows how
the Algerian state was effected by the processes of
secularization and modernization which have been
discussed above, and which we have seen can lead
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members of a society to search for meaning in life,
and possibly to tenaciously hold on to religion.
Spencer goes on to say that the urban riots of
October 1988 (which are often thought of as an
Islamic demonstration) were actually not Islamic
in nature. They were actually a protest against
unemployment, economic hardship and the “rigors
of reforms that affected the young and poor more
than they affected the vested interests at the center
of the one-party state” (Spencer, 1996, p93). It is
very interesting to note that the above demonstrates
a point put forward by McGuire, when she states
that religion can often cause social change if it is
the only channel open to people who are unhappy
with other aspects of social life.
The reason why the above phenomenon can be
seen in the essay is that it effectively demonstrates
that what at first glance looked like a religious riot
was actually a protest against conditions found in
the society that the masses were not happy with,
but had no avenue other than religion in which to
express their views. Spencer alludes to this when
she says that:
More than any other Islamist groups, the FIS
not only galvanized the opposition of the
young and the unemployed to the existing
single-party government, but also revived
forms of Islamic expression rooted in earlier
periods of Algerian history (Spencer, 1996,
p93).
The situation found in Algeria again
demonstrates a point raised earlier, which claims
that a major reason why religion can be a catalyst
for social change is because of its unifying effect
on people. This process can be seen in Spencer’s
article when she claims that the political party the
FIS (Front Islamique du Salut) “predominated
over other Islamist parties through the ability of
its leaders to draw several trends of thought and
activism together under a single, mobilizing,
populist umbrella” (Spencer, 1996, p94). She
further enhances this point by pointing out that
both moderates and radicals (i.e.: different types
of people that would have had no other avenue in
which they could work together) supported the
FIS, along with other people who were “committed
simply to undermining the governmental hegemony
of the single party state” (Spencer, 1996, p94).
Spencer demonstrates how Islam has always
been used by people in Algeria to contest the
legitimacy of the given status quo in Algeria’s
political history. She claims that different political
and social groups have fought different political
issues through the common medium of Islam, and
have drawn their strength from the appeals and
values of Islam (Spencer, 1996).
Spencer’s article shows the effect of the
communication networks, and urbanization
process had on the rise of the Islamism found in
Algeria. This is demonstrated when she shows
how Islamic leaders used the mosques and
“maquis” to protest against “the degradations of
urban life through the propagation of a new vision
of Islamist social and political morality” (Spencer,
1996, p97). Zoubir adds to this by claiming that
the mosques provided a political base for the
fundamentalist movements (Zoubir, 1998). Zoubir
also shows that the increase of religious programs
of television and radio ensured that the population
observed and understood the precepts of Islam,
and Islamic thought became entrenched in the
society (Zoubir, 1998).
Spencer further demonstrates how the FIS
used Islam as a means to create social change
when she says that the leaders of the FIS not
only presented radical alternatives directed at
the mass of the population, but they also had the
means to propagate their message swiftly. This
was due to a campaign of privately and publicly
sponsored mosque building, and the building of
Islamic universities. This meant that people in
Algeria had access to these centers of learning,
thus expanding the domain of higher education
(Spencer, 1996). This move to higher education,
as has been demonstrated above, opens the door of
opportunity for large groups of people to join and
participate in fundamentalism.
According to Zoubir, the rise of radical
fundamentalism in Algeria is difficult to explain
since a close relationship between religion and
politics has always existed in Algeria. This means
that Islam is not only a religion, but it is also the
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Understanding of Religion and the Role Played by Cultural Sociology in the Process
basis of the Algerian identity and culture (Zoubir,
1998). He goes on to demonstrate how the state
in Algeria used Islam to legitimize its rule, and
he does this through the use of the Durkheimian
view of symbols and meanings: “the state resorted
to Islamic symbols to establish and reproduce its
legitimacy” (Zoubir, 1998p 123).
Zoubir goes on to show how Islam became
a cornerstone for Algerians to resist and protest
French colonial rule. He claims that the brutality
with which the colonial authorities expropriated
the main local religious institutions left a mark
on the Algerian population. He continues that the
coercion to which the French resorted in order to
establish its “cultural hegemony” as well as its
contempt for the native population and its values
gives one an explanation as to why Algerians clung
to Islam as their distinct cultural identity (Zoubir,
1998).
Zoubir demonstrates what he believes was
the cause of Islamic fundamentalism in Algeria.
He believes that the reason for its rise in Algeria
was due to the Weberian term “disenchantment of
the world” (which is caused by modern science)
(Zoubir, 1998). He defines a fundamentalist as
“someone who has become conscious of the acute
inequalities, but who is also convinced that the
current strategies of development will not succeed
in alleviating them” (Zoubir, 1998, p131).
He goes on to show how fundamentalist
organizations fulfilled the needs of the masses
by providing structures that adequately replaced
the “old, communitarian” ones. This meant that,
by providing such structures, the fundamentalist
groups enabled the alienated individual to regain
a global image of the self within a community of
people with similar beliefs (i.e.: Islam) (Zoubir,
1998).
Zoubir believes that Algeria at this time was
dominated by a population of youths who felt
betrayed by their government, one which was not
capable of providing adequate services (such as
education, housing and employment). This meant
that the youth rejected all the “founding myths and
symbols” of the Algerian nation (Zoubir, 1998).
This coupled with the modernization process
occurring in Algeria meant that the state lost its
legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of the people
(Zoubir, 1998).
One can conclude from the above that cultural
sociology contributes greatly to the understanding
of religion. This has been demonstrated through a
look at how several cultural sociological theories
can be used to understand the rise of Islamic
fundamentalism in Algeria. It is important to
realize that the discussion on the rise of Islamic
fundamentalism in Algeria has been simplified
in this essay due to space constraints. It is also
important to realize that the work of the classical
social theorists on religion had a heavy influence
on many of the ideas of the modern social theorists.
This can also be seen in the above essay.
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