Religious Fundamentalism and Secularisation

🌟Religious fundamentalism is best explained as a response to secularisation. Evaluate this view.🌟

The question focuses on the reasons for the growth of religious fundamentalism in recent years. Sociologists such as Bruce see fundamentalism as a response to secularisation; it is an attempt to preserve traditional values and lifestyles against perceived threats from liberal, western values. In good answers, this viewpoint is likely to be contrasted with other explanations for the growth of fundamentalism. Alternative explanations include the idea that the growth of fundamentalism has been encouraged by the emergence of new technologies for disseminating ideas and attracting supporters. In this view, fundamentalist beliefs and groups have long existed; it is simply that recent advances in means of communication have made it easier to promote fundamentalist ideas and recruit new followers. Another explanation sees the growth in fundamentalism as a response to growing awareness of inequality and discrimination. People who struggle to succeed in societies where globalisation and capitalist competition is an increasing force search for meaning in fundamentalist beliefs.

🌟For:🌟
💥 Bruce argues that fundamentalism is a form of culture defense where people seek to protect and maintain their cultural or ethnic identity in the face of secularization and the spread of liberal values.
💥 The rise of Islamic fundamentalism has largely coincided with a period when many Islamic countries have become increasingly exposed to globalization and to the influence of western (secular) belief systems and values.
💥 Traditional religious authority is threatened by secularization as states become more separate from the influence of religious ideas. This can lead to a resurgence in religion, including fundamentalist religion, as religious groups seek to maintain political influence. For example, in the USA Christian fundamentalist groups have organized to a point where they have a significant political presence today.

🌟Against:🌟
💥 Bruce’s explanation may fit some examples of fundamentalism better than others. For example, support for Christian fundamentalism in America has increased rapidly in recent years, yet the processes of secularization have been well established in America for many decades.
💥 Explanations for the growth of fundamentalism must take into account that some social groups are more likely to be supporters of fundamentalist beliefs than others. Groups that are poor or marginalized are more likely to be adherents, for example. Alongside the impact of secularization, therefore, attention needs to be paid to poverty and deprivation as factors that also contribute to the growth in fundamentalist religions.
💥 The idea that fundamentalism is an attempt to defend traditional religious values can be questioned. Fundamentalism in some forms today can be seen not so much as a reaction to secularization but as an expression of certain modernist values. For example, some converts to fundamentalist religions speak of a search for personal identity, meaning, and a desirable lifestyle (in many ways, these are modernist concerns that have little to do with traditional religious teachings and value systems).
💥 Increased migration may be an important reason for the growth in religious fundamentalism. People who were less religious in their previous location may become more religious when they move to a new area as a means of coping with all of the social and cultural changes they experience (particularly if they are a religious or ethnic minority in the new area).
💥 Much of the growth in religious fundamentalism may be due to the questioning of the value of rationalization and science in recent years, which has made it easier for fundamentalist groups to attract new supporters.