Chapter 24 (3/4): Accelerating Global Interaction

Fundamentalism on a Global Scale

            Fundamentalism is a militant piety-defensive, assertive, and exclusive- that took shape to some extent in every major religious tradition. This took shape, to an extent, on every major religion.

            With the bringing of the scientific revolution not far behind these events, scientific and secular focus of global modernity directly challenged the sole beliefs of religions, which were called to be superstitious. “Social upheavals connected with capitalism, industrialization, and globalization thoroughly upset customary class, family, and gender relationships that had been long sanctified by religious tradition.” (741) All of these ideas, and these “disruptions” came from foreigners, who were usually westerners. They came in the form of military defeat, colonial ruling, economic dependency, and cultural intrusion. As a response, fundamentalism was represented to be religious. However they used modern technology to communicate as there rejection of modernity was selective. Fundamentalist would use extensive education along with propaganda, political mobilization, social welfare programs, and sometimes violence.

            This term of fundamentalism came from the U.S. and where its religious conservatives were angered by critical and “scientific” approaches to the bible and the ideals of Darwinism. They wanted a return to the fundamental, which included the scriptures, the virgin birth and the physically resurrection of Jesus as well as miracles. At first fundamentalist separated themselves from the secular worked in their own schools an churches but decided to enter into the political realm so that they could bring America back to a “godly path.”

            In India, this idea of fundamentalism was very different and in a different setting. The fundamentalist movement in independent India was known as Hindutva or Hindu nationalism. It represented a politicization of religion within a democratic text. India had always been, and still was an essentially Hindu country even in the midst of Muslim invaders, and British Christians coming in. Muslims in particular were defined as outsiders. This movement took a political change in form of a political party known as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Much of the support came from urban middle-caste and upper caste people who resented the State’s interest and efforts to cater to Muslims, Sikhs and the lower castes. This party became very popular and the major political force in India. It won a number of elections and promoted a Hindu identity in education, culture, and religion.