Counter-intuitive ideas make great headlines, especially ones
like "The Coming Religious Peace." Alan Wolfe's essay that appeared in the March Atlantic, was
written in response to the November Economist story "The New Wars of
Religion." (Not much of a grabber there.) The Economist
predicts religion will play a central role in public life in the
21st century, and that "faith will unsettle politics everywhere."
Dr. Wolfe preaches the gospel of peace and harmony to come. Who is
right?
While most of us long for peace among faiths and sects, we are
less than convinced that the world is headed in that direction.
Outside of Europe, spirituality is more popular than ever. And with
the exception of Muslims, those seeking salvation are far freer to
choose their brand of religion than were their fathers and
grandfathers. And boy are they. Almost half of Americans have
switched religious affiliations at least once, according to a new
Pew survey.
In fact as people become more consumer-oriented in regard to
religion, faith becomes more, and not less, intertwined with
politics, notes the Economist. Certainly the burgeoning
presence of political Islam, political Hinduism, and political
Christianity makes prospects for a peaceful coexistence less, and
not more likely.
Like the smarter elder brother of Alfred E. Neuman, Wolfe
considers the state of religion worldwide and asks, "What, we
should worry?" He allows that some religions are gaining in
popularity, but the good news -- and this seems to be his main
point -- is that where faith is flourishing, it is also evolving in
ways that allow it to fit more easily into secular societies, and
that weaken it as a politically disruptive force.
Still Dr. Wolfe (no doubt grudgingly) admits that some societies
-- EU candidate Turkey comes to mind -- are becoming less secular.
Indeed, thanks to the rise of Islam in Europe (or "Eurabia" is a
term Wolfe dismisses derisively), much of that continent too is
becoming less secular.
IT WOULD BE FOOLISH to bet against the power of the Enlightenment,
says Wolfe. Besides the forces of industrialization, democracy,
science, gender equity, and especially material progress will soon
make religion a thing of the past. "When god and Mammon collide,
Mammon usually wins," he argues.
Wolfe contends that as nations or peoples grow wealthier they
leave religion (or at least fundamentalist religion) behind, and
adopt secular, or mature faith systems. This leaves him at a loss
to explain why some of the world's wealthiest nations -- the United
States, South Korea, Israel, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia -- are wealthy
and deeply religious.
The essayist Wolfe not only has a hard time predicting the
future, he seems a bit foggy regarding what is going on around him
at present. Few Pakistanis, Turks, and North Africans that have
come to Western Europe have adopted the West's secularist culture,
and many of their children have been radicalized thanks to
cash-heavy Saudi Wahhabist outreach programs.
As Bernard Lewis wrote nearly two decades ago, "Fundamentalist
leaders are not mistaken in seeing in Western civilization the
greatest challenge to the way of life that they wish to retain or
restore for their people." Those who might be amenable to
integration have found host society's unwelcoming, and this has
made already resentful Muslims even more resentful toward the West
(particularly in France). Europe's prisons teem with young,
formerly nonreligious, Muslims, who have become radicalized in the
clink.
What's more Islamic nations (with the exception of a few Asian
countries) seem unlikely candidates to make substantial material
progress. Indeed, as Arab oil dries up and cleaner, more plentiful
energy resources are created, Arab proselytizers are likely to find
their propaganda funds drying up a well. A betting man probably
wouldn't gamble the farm on the prospective prosperity of Pakistan,
Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Nigeria, Sudan, Somalia, etc. Continued
trouble and strife is where the smart money lies.
WHILE WOLFE SEES the world moving toward secularization, the rest
of us see the world moving toward Islamification. In a few decades
Islam will become the world�s dominant
religion. Elsewhere the most radical, fundamental forms of
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Judaism are getting the most
adherents.
As Christian churches continue to adopt cafeteria-style
doctrines and dogmas designed to not to offend any one, they lose
adherents. As Islam becomes more radical, it gains members. The
reasons are obvious. Believers long for a religion that offers them
answers, and fundamental forms of religion can provide more answers
than new, wishy-washy all-inclusive sects.
Wolfe himself admits that the Catholic Church's resurgence is
due largely to Pope Benedict XVI's hardline refusal to give in to
touchy-feely Catholic worker spirituality. As the New York
Times reports, "the evangelical sects gaining ground are more
morally demanding, not less."
Ultimately, "The Coming Religious Peace" provides little reason
to think that the wars of faith are over. Man, it is said, is a
theotropic beast. While some may pray for absolute secularlization,
geneticists think that outcome rather unlikely. Anthropologists
suggest that rather than being a convenient way to explain the
mysteries of the natural world, religion developed as a survival
instinct, and such instincts are not easily lost. If if there is a
"god gene," as some geneticists believe, secularization is in for a
long battle.
In 1993, Samuel Huntington wrote, "the fault lines between
civilizations will be the battle lines of the future." I suspect
Huntington's faults will continue to widen no matter how much
material progress Tajiks or Tamils achieve.
topics:
Religion, Islam, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Africa, Energy, Oil
