Globalization and new forms of religiosity (an Islamic perspective)

This paper focuses on the relationship between globalization, on the one hand, and religion and its institutions, on the other. Modernity and globalization are exerting major influences on religion, in some extent diminishing the role of its traditional institutions. However, this does not signify a weakening of religion itself, because globalization has driven the emergence of new forms of religiosity – a phenomenon known as revitalization of religions. Indeed, one of the most prominent political concerns of our time is religious fundamentalism, which is assumed to be a response to globalization. Ironically, fundamentalism is a by-product of globalization and the global society, as well as an instrument of globalization. The article discusses primarily the correlation between religion, its institutions and globalization, and tries to demonstrate that new forms of religion are going global and creating new boundaries, breaching the old frontiers of nation, culture and ethnicity. The paper provides a general description of the different approaches to the relationship between religion and globalization and considers, in particular, the problem of Muslim fundamentalism in its various manifestations. The article demonstrates that the key role in expressing new forms of religiosity is played by transnational religious movements and could be explained by the phenomenon of “deculturalization” of religion, meaning that it is not attached to a particular culture or nation. The proliferation of fundamental Islam (not only amongst Muslims, but also amongst people of other confessions) may, therefore, be explained by the fact that it has no territorial boundaries: it is an abstract identity, which may appeal to everyone. The paper ends with the conclusions on this issue.