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    Berger - Desecularization of The World

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    belmasljivic1994

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    of 13
    Pere Beach s Univesity Profesor and director ofthe Ie sue forthe Study of Economic Cul 3 Boston Unive Si Among the books he har wten ae A Fr Glory. The Ono Jor Bath an Age of Clty, Reding Lani, and A Rae of ‘Ans Mode Scr andthe Rico of Sapna. THE DESECULARIZATION OF THE WORLD Resurgent Religion and World Politics Edited by Peter L. Berger Peter L. Berger Tu Weiming Jonathan Sacks George Weigel David Martin Grace Davie Abdullahi A. An-Na‘im Ethics and Public Policy Center Washington, D.C William B, Eerdmans Publishing Company Grand Rapids, Michigan Cori © 199 he Bc an ae Pay Cer O15 nh SN, Weng D.C: 3008 bid oily 199 bythe Ein an ib oy Cetra ‘Wi 1 Ens Pbishine Co. 2140 Inbal Dre NE rn Ray Mich. 49508 A ih eo Pine in she United Sn of Amer aro Campa Cag ain Dt ‘The deat fhe wr ret ond wo alte / sbelty Pour Beer Inne topper. sino eset IsIN.3, sre osoue4en- th Sk pape se pas Copenh Sean Cone. ere Per waste ime ce Contents Preface Eliott Abrams The Deseularization ofthe Werld A Global Overview Peer L. Berger Roman Catholicism in the Age of Job Paul If Georae Weigel The Evangelical Proustont Upsuge and Its Political Implications David Martin udaism and Politics inthe Moder World Jonathan Sacks Europe: The Exception That Proves the Ruler Grace Davie a7 31 63 © The Quest for Meaning: Religion inthe People’s Republic of China Tu Weining 7 Political Islam in National Polties ‘and Intersational Relations ‘Abdalla A. An-Nelin Notes Index of Names 85 103 123 129 Preface 1 1996 Jahn Kier, president ofthe Greve Foundation, approached “Andrew Bacevich with an idea. Baevich was then executive di- rect ofthe Foreign Policy lstiute at the Nitze School of Advanced International Stadies at ohne Hopkins University. The news, Kier si, was filled with pores ofthe impact of clin on polis: the ‘rangi! upsurge in Latin Ameria, Meslinn-Christian rivalries in [Aca dieputes erveen Arabs and lr, secularist-relpiou tus devin Tirkey, Musi fundamentalists fighting 2 sealing mili tryin Algeria Hind fundamentalists besting the Congess Party in Inka, How about taking a longer look a these penomens to See how religion is ikely to influence palit in the coming cencury? “Accepting the challenge, Professor Bacevich consulted us a the Ethics and Public Policy Center, where the impact of religion on publiclife is central concern, Could the Nite School and the Cen- fer coger launch a Teese series on his subject, atempting © over the min religions and regions of dhe world? We quickly roped in Profesor Peter Berger of Boston University, perhaps de word’ leading sociologist of religion: would he help vs think through the project and choose the speakers, and would he deliver the ist lec fue himecl? He agreed to dos, and we began our work “The produc oft joine efforts presented in his volume, whose tide is tien rom Professor Berger's powerfl keynote lctre. We vere fortunate to be able to ree as lecrrers some ofthe Leading ‘Students of religion and potcs nthe world: Tu Weiming, che diree- toro the Harvard-Nenching laste Jonathan Sacks, the chief rabbi ‘of ritin and the Commontsaldh; George Weigel, iy predecessor 2 the Center and the author ofa forthcoming biography of Pope John Paul If, David Matin, the leading strlen ofthe evangelical pe sure inthe Third Worl; Grace Davie,a Bris sociologit who an ‘expert on religion in Europe; and Abdullahi An-Niim, a inter ‘ional recognized scholar olan and human righ, We owe debi of grade to our seven authors, for eaveling to Wishington to speakand for de adtional work they id ta prepare their papers for publication, 1 would ike 25 well to chank Profesor Baevich for asking us collaborate wih him, akeays a ask boeh intelectual simulating and personally rewarding On his bebalfand my own, wish thank Joh Kizer andthe Greve Foundation for hi iniative his eounsel throughout, and th foundations financial support, Final. these es says wee edit for publication by Carol Griffith editor at the Ethics aun Public Policy Center, to whom we at the Center and allwho ead ‘his Book ae in db. lite Abrams, Present Ethics and Pubic Policy Center The Desecularization of the World: A Global Overview Peter L. Berger ew years ago the frst volume coming out ofthe so-alled Fun damenaism Project landed on my desk. The Fundamentalism Projet was very generously funded by the MacArthur Foundation and chaired by Martin Mary, the distinguished church historian a the University of Chicago. A numberof very eputble scholars tole fattinit and the published results ae of generally excellent quality But may contemplation of this fist volume gave me what as been called an “al experience” Te book ae very big, siting there on ny desk-—a“book- weapon,” the kind that could do serious injury So Tsked mysel, why wold the MacArthur Foundation sell ou sev- ‘ezalmilion dlls © supportan intemational stdy of religions fan- damental? “Tuo answers came to mind, "The fist wis abvions nd not very n= teresting. The MacArthur Foundation i very progressive out Peter Berger Univesy Profsr and dear of Oe tae forthe Sly of Feo Cole Boon Unser Among the ot et Sit Fr hy The Qe io ef dl 72) 8 eden angry (1907), This. iad sermon rom the vial riche wih peat in The Nata feet a 46, ne 195 Stating, DC) 2. otsecutanizarion oF THE wom understands fundamentaliste to be anti-progressve: the Project, then, was a mater of knowing one’ enemies, But there was aso ‘more interesting answer "Fundamentalism" x considered strange, Fard-to-understand phenomenon: th prpore ofthe Project wa 0 delve into this alien World and make it move enderstandsble. Bu © ‘whom? Hie find this world strange? Well the answer to that ques. tion was exy: people to whom the offic ofthe MacArthur Four dlasion normaly tll, such as profrvre a lite American univer ties, And with chis came che aal experience. The cancer tats have led wo this Project was based om an upside-down perception of the word, according to which “fundamentals” (which when als ‘sid and done, usualy refers a any sort passionate religious move ment) isa rare, hard-t-expai thing. But s lok either at history or at the contemporary world reveals thae what is rate i aot the p= rhomenon itself bot knowledge of ie The dlifcul-to-understand phenomenon & not Iranian malls but American university profes- Sors—ie might be word a maltsmilion-dallar projet to ty fo ex plain eae Mites of Secularization Theory My point star dhe assumption that we lve in sculried world ists, The world eda, with some exceptions to which Iwill come | presenti 2 Friously religious asi ever was, and in some places ‘more so than ever. Thismeans chat 2 whole body of iteraare by his- torians and socal scientists loosely labeled “seclarization theory" is ‘senslly mistaken. In my early work I contributed t this terature, Twas in good eompany—most sociologists of religion had silat ‘ws, and we had good reasons for holding them. Some ofthe wit ings we produce sil tnd up (As like to ell my stadents, one ad ‘vantage of being 2 social scientist, against being aya ploropher ‘oa theologian, s that you can have mach fon wise your theories a sed as when they ae verified!) ‘Although the term “tecularzation theory” refers to works fron the 1980s and 196, dhe ey den ofthe theory ea indeed be raced tothe Enlightenment Thatideais simple: Modernization necessarily leads toa decin of teligion, both i sacetyand in he minds of ndi- ides. And itis precisely ths key idea tat has ened out 9 be ever aoncsk 3 ‘wrong, To be sure, modernization ha had some secularisng effects, more in some pice than in others. Bue it has lo provoked power fil movements of counter secularization. Also, seclaiaaon onthe societal level nt necessarily Linked to secularization onthe level of indwidual consciousness. Cerain religious institutions have lost, power and influence in many societies, but both old and new reli= {Bots belief and pracies have nevertheless continued in the lives of Indwvidvale, sometimes tsking new institonal forms and some- ‘ims leading ogre explosions of religious fervor. Conversely, reli- ‘ously identified insieucons can play socal or polisal roles even ‘een very ew people Believe or practic the religion that theists tions represent: Ta say the lest, the elation benseen religion and modernity is rather complicated "The proposition that modernity necessarily lads toa decline of religion is in principle, "alue fee. That it can be affirmed both by people who think tis good news an by people who think itis very bad news, Mose Enlightenment thinkets and most pro- tressive-minded people ever since have tended toward the idea that ‘eularization is 4 good thing, st leat insofar a it does sway sigh ‘eligious phenomena that ae “backoard” “superstitious,” or “reae- tionary” (religious residve purged ofthese negative chaacterisis ray sill be deemed aecepebl). But religous peopl, including ‘hore with very wadisonal or ordiodox belies, have also affirmed the moderatyseclariy linkage, and have greatly bemoaned i Some have then defined modernity as the enemy, to be fought ‘whenever possible, Others have, onthe contrary, sen modernity as Some kind of invincible world-view to which religious beefs and Drocties should adapethembies. In other words, etn and a {pion ate two strategies apen to tligious commbnities in x world Understood to be seclarzed. Asi always the case when strategies are based on mistaken perceptions of the terrain, both strategies have had very doubefal results Teis posable, of couse, co reject any number of modern ideas and values theoretially but taking this rejection stick in ee ves of peopl smh harder. Teo tht requires ne of wo strategies. The Fire relguereolton: one tries to ake over sci 28 a whole and ‘make one's countersmovern religion obligatory fr everyons—a dit ficult enterprise in most countries in the contemporary word 4 DesecuLanizariOn oF THE WORLD (Granco tied in Spin and filed the malls aes aie in Iran and -_ couple of eer places) And this des have © do with moderniza- tion, which brings about very heterogeneous societies anda quanta leap in intercultural communication, two factors favoring pluralism and not favoring the esuabshment (or reestablishment) of religious ‘monopolies The ther possible way of getting people to teject od era ideas and values in thet Hives i oereate regs tres d= sipned to leep out the influences ofthe outside socesy That is 3 Somewhat more promising xerese than rsigous revolution, but it too is fraught with dificaey Modern cultre is avery powerfl force, and an immense efor is required co maintain enclaves with nt alitight defense sytem, Ask che Amish in eastern Pennsyhvania, OF ea Hasidic rab inthe Willamsburg section of Brookiya, Inerestinghy seeularzaton theory has also been fsifed bythe results of adaptation statis by religions institutions, If we really lived ina highly secularized work, then religions instiutions could bbe expected to survive to the degies that they manage to adapt to seculaiy. That has been the empirical asumption of adaptation statis. What has in fet occurred is that. by and large, eigious Communities have survived and even Fourished to dhe degre that, they have nt tied to adape themselves to the alleged requirement of a secularized world, To put it simpy, experiments with secularized religion have genera filed; religious movements with belief and practices dripping with reactionary superatualsm (te kind tery "beyond the pale a selEeespecting Fclty paris) have widely suc ceeded. ‘The Cotivlic Chur os. Modernity ‘The strugule with moderrity in the Roman Catholic Church nicely lustates the difficulties of various srtegis. In the wake of ‘he Enlightenment and is multiple revelations, the inal response bythe Church was mitant and then defiant rejection. Pethaps the most magnificent moment ofthat defiance cae in 1870, when the First Vitcan Council solemnly procaimed the iniliiiy of the Pope and the immaculate eancepion of Mary itera in the face of the Enlightenment bout ro occupy Rame inthe shape ofthe atny of Victor Eramanuel I (The disdain was mutual Ifyou have ever ise vere aencen 5 ited the Roman monument tothe Bersglier che elite army units thar occupied the Etcral Cty in dhe name of he Ralan Rien, you may have noticed the placement of the heroic figure in his Berar! uniform—he is positioned so Ut his behind points ex: actly toward the Vatican) ‘The Second Vatican Council, amos 2 hundred year lar, consid- crbly modified his ejcctonise stance, guided a twas by the notion of agtrment, bringing the Church up co dat—tht i, upto dat with the modern World (femember asking a Protest theologian ‘what he thought would happen at che Counell—this was before it Ina convened he replica that he dda’ know but he was sure hey ‘would not ead dhe minates of de ls meeting!) The Second Vtican Council was supposed wo open winows speifially the windows of the Catholic subculture hat had been coastrcted when ie became clear thatthe overall society could not be conquered. Inthe United States, his Catolic subculture has been quite impressive right up © the very reent past. The tle with opening windows i that you can’t contra what comes i, and a le has come in--indeed, the ‘sole turbulent World of modern cltare—dhat ha been very tou bling othe Church. Under the current pontificate the Choreh his been steering a nuanced course between rejection and adapeation, ‘sith ned results in diferent counties "This isas good 2 points any wo mention that all my observations haere ate intended to be “value fee that is, Tam tying eo look 3 the curren religious seen objectively. For the duration of thi ex: reise Ihave put aside my oven religous belies. As a sociologist of religion, [find it probable that Rome had todo some reining in on the level of both doctrine and practice, in the wake of the insti ‘ional disturbances that followed Vai TL. To any his however in ‘no way implies my theological agreemene with what has bear hep pening inthe Roman Catholic Church under the present pont ‘te Indeed, if Twere Roman Catholic, [would have considerable ‘misgivings about these developments. But Iam a liberal Proestat (the adjective refers to my religious position and not t9 my poli Ss), and Thave no amedite existential stake in what = happen ing within the Roman community Tam speaking here a s0ciolo- fs, in which capacity T can chim a certain competence; Ihave no {heoogial credential. 6 oEsecutanizarion oF THE WORLD "THE GLOMAL RELIGIOUS SCENE (On the international eeligious scene, itis conservative or orthodox or adivonalse movernents that are on the rise almost everywhere "These movements are precisely the ones that rejected an agiomamen- ‘a with movemity as defined by progressive intellectuals, Converse, religious movements and inseons that have made grea eo ‘conform to perecived modernity ae almost everywhere on the de= ‘tne Tn the United Stites this his been a mach commented pan {act exemplified by the decline of so-called mainline Protestantism and the concomitant ris of Branglicalis, but the United Stats is ‘by no means unusual in his ‘Nor is Protestants. The conservative crust inthe Roman Cath- ‘lic Church under John Pal Tf has borne feu in both number of converts and renewed enthusiasm among mative Catholics, specially in non-Westera countries. Following the collapse ofthe Soviet Un- ion thre occurred a remastable revival ofthe Orthodox Church in ‘Russia The most rapidly growing Jewish groups, boc in eae and in the Diepors, are Orthodox. There hive been similarly vigorous upsurges of conservative religion in all the other major religious communities~Islm, Hinduism, Buddhism—as well 6 revival movements in smaller communities (such 28 Shinto in Japan and. ‘Sikhism in India). These developments difer greatly in heir socal nd poiicl implications What they have in coramon is their unam- biguously religous inspration. Consequently taken engether they provide massive filsifieation ofthe iea thst modernization and see- Ularzaton ae cognate phenomena. At the very leas hey show that ‘ountr-seclaraation is at leat ae important a paenomenon i he onteraporary world as secularization, "Bot in the media and in scholarly publications, these movements ate often subsumed under the eatery of “andsmentals This is ro felicitous tem, not only because i eres pejorative under- tone bur alee because it derives fom the history of American Proves= ‘anti, where ithas a pectic reference thats dstorive ifextended {6 other religious advons All he same, the term hs rome sogge= tive us fone wisest expiain the aforemensoned developments It |soggests a combination of several eatutes—geat religious passion, 3 [defiance of what oters have defined a the Zest and a return (© ever usncer 7. \ traditional sources af religous authority These ae indeed common Features acoascultaal boundaries, And they do reflect dhe presence | of sculrizing forces, sine they mart be understood a a reaction | sein those frees (in tht sense, t lease something of the od ecu | lirzason theory may be sud wold up, ina rather back-handed | say) Ths imply of sensing and Foor sein frees Js would contend, one ofthe most importnewpies far a sociology | of contemporay religion, but fr too lage to consider here. I can ‘only drop a hint: Modern for fll understandable reasons, under- ‘mines all the old certainties; uncerainy is condition that many people find very hard to bea, cherefre, any movement (not oaly Feligious one) that promises to provide ort renew cerainy has 3 realy marke, Difernces Among Thriving Movements ‘While the aforementioned common festures sre important, an [analysis ofthe socal and pola impact of the various religious up- targes mus also tke full account of hee dllevences. This becomes ‘leat when one looks 3 what ar arguably hero most dynamic rei tous upurges in the world today, the Islamic and the Evangel the comparton lo underlines the weaknes of the estegory af "fun ‘ipa “earir” of progresive, Enlightened belie and values. While ins members ae relatively dhin on the ground, they are very inluen- fil a they contol ee institutions that provide the “oficial” defini sions of reality, noubly the educational system, the media of mas communication, and the higher reaches ofthe legal sytem, Tey ae remarkably sim allover the world today, s they have been for 2 Tonge (hough swe have seen, deve ate also defectors fom this subculture, especilly inthe Maslin countries). Aga, reretbly. eannoc speculate here as to why people with this type of education should beso prone to secularization ean only pint ou that hae sve have here ia globalized ee cult even asxoee 11 In country afer county then, religous psurges have 2 strongly populte charter, Over and beyond the purely religous motives, there are movements of protst nd resistance aa secu lite ‘The so-called culture war in the United States emphatically shares his festure.Tmay observe in passing that che plus of secu feation theory owes mich to hi international subeultute, When a teers eave, eey sully touch down in intellectual citcles— that is, among people uch Like themselves, They cat easly Gl nto the miconception tat these people reflec the overall visited rai, which, of course, i big mistake, Picture 2 secular inellectal fom ester Burope socializing with colleague the Fculty dub of the University of Teas Hle may tink he back home, Bus then perure him trying to drive ehrough dhe wall jam on Sunday morning in downtown Austinor, heaven help im, curing on his ear rato! ‘What happens then is a severe jot of what anthropological cul= ture shock. RESURGENT RELIGION: OntGINs AND PROSPECTS Alter this somewhat breathless tour drizon of the global religious “cen, let me tum to some the quessons posed for discussion i his Set of essay, Fit wha ar theo of he welder ofl cin? Two posible snewers have slreay been mentoned. One Mo ‘demisy tends to undermine the eken-forgranted certuintes by which people lived through most of history. The i an uncomfore sble ste of afr, for many an intolerable one, and religious move- ‘ments that chim to give certain have great appeal. Two: A purely sectla view of rest ha ts prncipal seal ocaton in an elite cl- ture that, not surprisingly, is resented by large numbers of people Sv ae no pare ae but wh fel nfluence (mos troubling = ‘heir childen are subjected roan education that ignores or even d- rectly attacks their ovm beliefs and values). Religious movemens| ‘vith strongly ans-secular bent en dhezefore appeal to people with ‘esenements tht somesees have quite non-religious SOUS. ‘But L would seer once more tothe lil tary with which I began, about American foundation officals woried about “Rasdamental ‘sm Inone sense thee is nothing explain here, Stonaly fe celi- 12._pesecutanzariow oF THE woRID eee [eee cee acee areares foc ee eres [Degree ee pecan meee a ae ae nae es Scan Sete eaaeeaee nea ee encase aeeamseae a ee eee ena eens aeae es ee patos seasocmenmis maa Pe eee Se ereasen acne Benita eep pete Pcie pert eget ee eee Peed asec a ee eel ec tmeond tiie acces eer Se eergena a ae See nee eee See ee cee eased Sseeiaret uae eee eee ae laces a eal ree a ome pene sie once 2oere ei berm eee eee ese eee eve. eencen 13 slicaism wil haves diferent Fore course if some ofits eases edi the politcal and legal arenas Gan iF continues be fs , uated in these arenas. Alo, in religion as in every eter aes oF| | human endeavor. individual personalities play a much larger role | than most social scents and historians ae willing to concede ‘There might hae been sn Islamic revolution in sn wichout the yao Khomeini, but i would probaly have looked gut der: fen. No one can predict the appestance of charismatic gus who will Lunch powerful religious movements in unexpected places. Who knows—perhaps the next gous upsurge in America wil oc cur among disenchanted postmodernist scademsies! Ted do theses fer eg te sear ede es, ‘of couse they de, depending on thei parca belie systems. Cardi tal Ratzinger and the Dali Lama wil be troubled by different aspect of contemporryseclar culture, What both wl agree upon, however, is the shallowness of culture ha ties o get along without any ane Scendent pnts of eference. And dhey wil ave god ressns 3p por ths view The religious impulse, the ust or meaning ha ran Scns the reticted space of empiial existence inthis worl, has ‘ben 2 perennial feature of humanig (This isnot theological sate ‘ment but an anthropological one—an agnestic or even an atheist phi- Tosopsr may well gree wrth e)Kewould require somethngclose tos ‘ution of the specs wo extinguish this impale for god. The more radical thinkers of the Enlightenment and their more recent ntlec- ‘ual descendants hoped for something lke this, ofcourse. So fr tas ‘nothappened, and 2 haveargud, tis unlikely to happen nthe fore seeable tare. Te eqn of security common tal the resurgent ‘movements is dat human existence beef tanscendence fs m= povershed and finaly untenable condition. othe eatenc tht seclarity today has + specially modern frm (there were eater forms in, for esmple, esions of Confucianism and Hellenistic cular) the nique of secular also entails 2eriique ofa least these aspects of modernity, Beyond that, however, diferent religous movements dir in their relation to modernity As T hive said, an argument can be made tha the lamie resurgence strongly tends towatd negative view of modernity in places its downight antismodern oF counter-modernizng, 2 in its view ofthe role of ‘omen. By contrast think tean be shown that te Evangelical esr 14 Desecutaarzarion oF THe woRLD gence i positively moderniingin most places where ioccurs, clearly Soin Latin America The new Evangelicalsthrowasde many ofthe

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