Religion’s resurgence reflects political instrumentalization, not personal piety

Evidence

I begin with the premise that the once-popular notion in the social sciences that modernity will necessarily lead to a decline of religiosity, the so-called secularization paradigm, is no longer tenable. In the words of a leading sociologist of religion, Peter Berger (1999, 9), “The world today is massively religious, is anything but the secularized world that had been predicted (whether joyfully or despondently) by so many analysts of modernity [including Berger himself in his earlier writings].” Furthermore, it seems clear that this worldwide resurgence of religion has not been the result of a rise in individual religiosity, but rather is due to the increasing presence of religion in the public sphere and its instrumental use in politics. — Nadim N. Rouhana and Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, When Politics Are Sacralized, 1664

Categorization

• XREF: Aligns with the reader’s divergence-of-professed-conviction-vs-behavior theme — institutional/public religion grows while individual religiosity does not. — connects to: Religious ideological orientation now predicts political views better than denomination or party — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 173; Religious political ascendance in the late twentieth century was a global, not Muslim-specific, phenomenon — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 314; Religious revival signals anti-Westernism, not rejection of modernity — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 276 (+9 more)

Broader Connections

• Religious revival signals anti-Westernism, not rejection of modernity #expands (0.75) — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 276
• Religious ideological orientation now predicts political views better than denomination or party #corroborates (0.72) — Andrew L. Whitehead; Samuel L. Perry, Taking America Back for God, 173
• Religious political ascendance in the late twentieth century was a global, not Muslim-specific, phenomenon #expands (0.72) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 314
• Failed secular ideologies leave religion to fill the political vacuum #corroborates (0.72)