Abstract
Classical social theory tends largely to be studied out of historical interest these days and is frequently not regarded as relevant to modern world problems. However, it is the contention here that it is the most relevant perspective from which to understand contemporary religious fundamentalism and conflicts, especially Islamic. Modern concerns over religion directly mirror the core concerns behind the rise of classical social theory as modern industrial society and scientific culture challenged and then displaced the then dominant Christian religious understanding and interpretation of the world in the nineteenth century. The West’s clash with Islam, whilst exaggerated, does reflect the same kind of confrontation that the classical social theorists witnessed in their heyday; hence, they can be studied to great benefit as windows into the modern world. Lessons can be learnt of direct benefit to all, not just in sociology and anthropology, who seek to cope with contemporary problems of religious conflict.
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Notes
- 1.
http://theweek.com/articles/697599/real-existential-threat-radical-islam: this is just one example of a flurry of articles on the Web and in other media that suggest an existential threat. However, saner voices have now begun to roll back this rhetoric; see: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/24/terrorism-poses-no-existential-threat-toamerica. See also Dingley and Hermann (2017). Here we assume the term to be used as implying a threat to the existence of Western life, society and democracy in generic sense, since all terrorism threatens individual lives, as do motor accidents or ordinary murders.
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
Dingley and Hermann (2017).
- 5.
Dingley and Hermann (2017).
- 6.
This, one can only assume, is what is meant in discussions of existential threats; see footnote 1.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
In the sense that it is Western values and (socio-economic and political) order that is invading Islamic states, it may be the West that poses an existential threat to Islam.
- 10.
Caution is needed here, since many Protestant denominations, especially fundamentalist ones, also utilise a scholastic framework.
- 11.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36801671. A Muslim drove a lorry into a crowd of pedestrians in Nice.
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Dingley, J. (2018). Classical Social Theory and the Understanding of Contemporary Religious Terrorism. In: Dingley, J., Mollica, M. (eds) Understanding Religious Violence. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00284-8_2
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