RELIGION AND GLOBALIZATION

Robertson

1. National cultures are called into question
2. Greater emphasis on "civilizational" complexes
3. Nostalgia for the past
4. Distinction between religions that react against globalization and those that celebrate diversity  (postmodern fundamentalists versus postmodern liberals)

SECULARIZATION

Operates on three levels:

Macro level

Differentiation of organized life in the economy and polity
Rationalization
Societalization (Wilson)
Urbanization
Disenchantment of the world (Weber)

Meso level

Did (Western) religion secularize itself around 1500?  (Berger)
Contemporary churches are "trapped" between liberal and fundamentalist positions (Steve Bruce)

Micro level

Is the individual isolated, confused, adrift?  Or are there new and exciting opportunities for spirituality?

Paradox of postmodernity (Ashley).  The more detached individuals become from societal institutions (fairly rigid collective expectations) the more difficult it is to cultivate "individuality."

Moderate versus radical versions of secularization (USA versus W. Europe?)