Secularization and Counter-Secularization

In today’s world, fundamentalism is often considered a strange, rare, hard-to-understand and hard-to-explain phenomenon. However, Berger argues that, when you look at the contemporary world today, what is rare is not the phenomenon of fundamentalism, but knowledge of it.

Berger goes on to say that the assumption that we live in a secularised world is false. The world is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in some places more than ever. Berger defines secularization theory as “modernization necessarily leads to a decline of religion, both in society and in the minds of individuals.” However, this is wrong. Although secularisation has had some effect in some places, it has also provoked strong movements of counter-secularisation. The relation between religion and modernity is therefore rather complicated.

To some people, modernity and secularisation is the enemy. To others, it is some kind of invincible world-view to which religious beliefs and practices should adapt themselves. In this sense, religious phenomena is considered backward or superstitious to some extent. However, this can be argued against. If we really lived in a highly secularised society, as some believe we do, then religious institutions would be expected to survive to the degree that they manage to adapt to secularity (Berger 4). But, in fact, religious communities have survived and even flourished to the degree that they have not tried to adapt themselves to the alleged requirements of a secularized world.

Take Islam for example. The world is currently experiencing an Islamic upsurge. Berger explains this as an impressive revival of emphatically religious commitments overtaking vast geographical scope and affecting every single Muslim country from North Africa to South-East Asia (7). This resurgence is bringing about a restoration of distinctively Islamic life-styles.

For instance, many daughters of secularised professionals are adopting the hijab, the Islamic headscarf or veil. This is occurring in predominately Western-style higher education such as universities in Egypt and Turkey. So, the movement is by no means restricted to the less modernized or backward sectors of society.

In my opinion, and through research conducted in my past, I can confirm that the resurgence of the hijab in Western societies is indeed occurring in the contemporary world, and for positive reasons. Today, the wearing of the hiab can function as a way of establishing identity. The wearing of the hijab now, for Muslim feminists such as Leila Ahmed, affirms pride in Muslim identity in Western societies. As I established in an essay last year:

“In Western societies, some Muslim women wear the hijab to find pride in their ethnic identities (Howard 2012: 154). It can be a powerful symbol of Muslim identity. Muslim women consciously reinforce their religious identity by adopting "scripturally ordained apparel" (Gabriel & Hannan 2011: 14). One Muslim woman says she wears it "as a way of openly identifying with a group that people have prejudices about" (Ahmed 2011: 8).”

So, in contemporary society, the wearing of the hijab affirms pride in Muslim women’s Muslim identity. This resurgence therefore acknowledges Berger’s theory, being that religious communities have survived and even flourished in the wake of secularisation, to the degree that they have not adapted themselves to the modern world, but adopted and restored traditional religious life-styles. In this instance, secularisation has in fact caused a counter-secularisation approach, or resurgence of religion, the opposite of what this theory attempts to achieve.

Secularisation is therefore not a theory that stands true today, despite popular belief. As Berger concludes, “those who neglect religion in their analyses of contemporary affairs do so at great peril” (18).

References

Ahmed, Leila. (2011). A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence from the Middle East to America. London: Yale University Press.

Berger P. The desecularization of the world. A global overview. In P. Berger. The desecularization of the world. Resurgent religions and world politics. Grand Rapis, MI: William Erdmans & Co.

Gabriel, Theodore & Hannan, Rabiha. (2011). Islam and the Veil: Theoretical and Regional Contexts. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.

Howard, E. (2012). Banning Islamic veils: Is gender equality a valid argument? International Journal of Discrimination and the Law, 12 (14). DOI: 10.1177/1358229112464450