“A Suspension of (Dis) Belief: The Secular – Religious Binary and the Study of International Relations” by Elizabeth Shakman Hurd is an intriguing chapter that questions the relations between the secular and religion. Shakman Hurd argues that most individuals have unchanging meanings of what the secular is and what religion is. Shakman Hurd states that the analysis of the secular and religion in world politics needs to be re-examined in terms of the beliefs (political and religious) that support the secular – religious binary. To clarify her argument, Shakman Hurd uses instances that have took place in world politics to address her argument. By looking at the relationships between the United States and other countries, Shakman Hurd claims that the secular-religious binary should be considered as being a concept that is …show more content…
In this critical response, I will go over the three consequences regarding secular – religious binary that the author addresses in this chapter. In the examination of world politics in association to secular – religious binary, three consequences were mentioned by the author that I found quite thought – provoking. The first consequence being that many social scientists are being trained to ignore religion and conduct their research and demonstrate their findings on the basis of only the “secular”. The next consequence mentioned was that the study of religion has a tendency to focus on presumed religious practices in addition to religion and secularism. The other consequence that I thought was fascinating was that people have particular definitions of religion that are perceived as being the “standard”. These consequences are
Secularisation theory has argued that modernisation has undermined religion. The importance of science and technology on economic development and rational worldview on which they depend on are seen as destroying the belief in supernatural. However religion can contribute to development, but most recently sociologists have examined what role religion may play in development in today’s globalising world.
Sociologists argue that in Britain, there has been an overall steady decline in the importance of religion since the 19th century, which has led some sociologists to suggest there was a ‘golden age’ of religiosity. Many sociologists have proposed explanations for the secularisation thesis, for example Weber, Berger and Bruce. However Postmodernists criticise the secularisation theory as they believe that religion hasn’t declined it has just become modernised. Other theories, such as religious market theory and existential security theory, also go against the view that Britain is becoming a secular society as they believe religion takes form in
Religious ignorance is an imperative issue throughout the world because it is fundamental to billions of people’s lives. It is tremendously relevant and the underlying reason for some world issues and society today. In addition, it can also be the solution to problems. For example, in the United States, white Christians assisted in the election of Donald Trump as president based on his religious stances. It is a civic problem that affects American politics domestically and abroad. We need to understand the importance and value of religion in order to understand how the world
Through further analysis, the complexities of religious neutrality and the attempts to represent minority and majority religions will be discussed.
However, there is another side to religion, one that is quite contrary to idea of unification and acceptance. When looking through the scope of history, we can also see religion as an exclusionary tool, often used to differentiate groups of people on an innate level. As many of these idealogies attempt to assert
Religion, whether we realize it or not, is a major element of American society (and also worldwide history). For many, religion is a significant part of their cultural identity. Religion plays a part in all levels of politics and is often an aspect of community events and organizations. Everyday, we all interact with people who have different religious backgrounds and personal beliefs. Children born into religious families are very connected with their religions from birth and this affects the way they will see the world for the rest of their lives. Even those who later explore other faiths or convert to other religious ideas will be affected in
From its primal adaptations to the specialized, highly sophisticated systems in which they currently operate, religion and politics has been inexplicably linked to humanity, with each playing a significant role in sociopolitical development since man’s very inception. As humans have become increasingly more interconnected and interdependent, the now commonplace societal entities of politics and religion were borne into fruition, servicing as an agent of communal advancement and moral betterment. Despite thousands of years of co-existence, the relationship between religion and politics has been one of consistent animosity, with perpetual jockeying for power often resulting in social unrest and public dissent that has sent philosophers scurrying
In Stephen Prothero’s Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know – and Doesn’t (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2008) 1 – 372, Prothero discusses how the American society was once a religiously literate nation, how we became religiously illiterate, and how (if willing) we can become religiously literate again. Prothero states that “this book argues for both the constitutionality and the necessity of teaching about religion in public schools and higher education.” He further explains that the main goal of this piece is to “help citizens participate fully in social, political, and economic life in a nation and world
In Raymond Helmick’s article, Does Religion Fuel or Heal in Conflicts, he wastes no time in admitting that many problems evolve when religious values are introduced into situations of conflict. However, he points out that the real “religious fuel” to conflict occurs not because of religion itself, but really a group’s perception and interpretation of the religion in question. He argues it is when religion is used for political purposes in conflicts, tracing it as far back as the Constantinian arrangement, describing both religion and the state as parallel institutions that reflect one another within a political and national entity. Helmick (2001) states, “All governments have caught on to the fact that churches are the custodians of the Just War theory. When war begins, every government appeals at once to the church to get up in the
As Peter Berger (1967) explained religion, it is a sacred canopy under which the entirety of life is explained and regulated. Secularization theory as explained by Weber holds that modernity challenges this sacred canopy through two major ways: increased cultural and structural pluralism and increased primacy of economic pursuits (Emerson and Hartman, 2006:129). With globalisation accelerating in the post Cold War era, causing mass migration across borders, increased interstate interaction and huge growth in the global financial market, it was predicted that religious influence would be relegated to the private sectors of social life by ripping the sacred canopy, and leaving people with, at best, sacred umbrellas (Smith 1998). Despite this, what secularization theory did not anticipate is that the demystification of the world provided within it the seeds both for the re-mystification of the world and resistance to the demystification (Berger, 1992:1). Hence the world today, with some exceptions, is as furiously religious as it ever was, in some places more so than ever (Berger, 1999:8). Since the 1970s there has been a particular rise in religious fundamentalist movements, as signalled by the Iranian Revolution in 1979 led by Ayatollah Khomeini, which led to the establishment of the first Islamic State. As Almond et al note, fundamentalist movements have risen to the highest levels of power in Sudan in 1993, Afghanistan and India in 1996, and in India again
The Fifth Element illustrates an advanced society that is characterized by sociocultural evolution, long-term social trends resulting from the interaction of continuity, innovation, and selection (Schaefer, 2013). The film is reflective of the society’s cultural advancements in technology, industry and media. Known for being a blockbuster action sci-fi, The Fifth Element contains several sociological concepts which include secularization, agents of socialization, conferral of status, and Marx’s “Power Elite”. The secularization theory refers to the belief that as societies progress, particularly through modernization and rationalization, religion loses its authority in all aspects of social life (Norris, 2004). Émile Durkheim hypothesized
In this report I will be both contrasting and comparing the religious view of Catholicism and the world view of Secular Humanism. The three questions I will be analysing through the religious view of Catholicism and the world view Secular Humanism include:
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional
In this essay we will discuss the importance of religion in society. We will attempt to explain why societies have religions and what functions their belief system has for them. We will also ask if these functions are now out-dated and if religions have any meaningful function in today's world or are they just stained glass windows into a bygone era? 'Religion' can be defined by two main groupings. 'The inclusive definition' covers all topics and subjects of a persons life including, not only, their belief in a deity but also their belief and belongingness to music, sport and any other interests the person may hold. 'The exclusive definition' refers to just their belief system regarding a 'supra-human' (Browne 2005, p. 311). It is mainly
We need to pay close attention to the effects of secularism: confining the role of religion to the private domain of the individual and creating a dichotomy between "religious" and "worldly," between "private" and "public." It denies religion and its mediating institutions any public function and influence in shaping matters of public policy.