Explaining the global religious revival: a response

PABLO WRIGHT

Tokio, Japón

Congreso; 19 Congreso Internacional de la Asociación Internacional para la Historia de las Religiones (IAHR); 2005

Asociación Internacional para la Historia de las Religiones (IAHR)

In this paper I comment on Prof. Talal Asad´s paper, "Explaning the global religious revival: the Egyptian case", delivered at the 19th International Congress of the History of Religions (Tokyo, March 2005). While there are several specific cultural, political, and religious variables proper of the Egyptian context presented by Prof Asad regarding the role played by Islam in that country, I identify common, general features about religious revivals across the globe. The latter are related to the current status of capitalism, modernity, and the way modern nation-states manage their own cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. Western views of the Arab world tend to present it as homogenous and all-Muslim. This has consequences not only in the political arena but also in the social sciences as well. Examples from my anthropological experience in America are introduced, stressing a postcolonial view of religious and cultural globalization.