The global rise of religious nationalism

Abstract

The global rise of religious politics is found in every religious tradition, spurred on by the widespread perception that secular nationalism is an ineffective and insufficient expression of public values and moral community in a global era in which traditional forms of social identity and political accountability are radically transformed. Religious violence is an expression of this anti-secular protest and the symptom of a longing for a renewed sense of morality and values in public life.

Notes

1. These ideas are further explicated in my book, Global rebellion: religious challenges to the secular state (2008), from which revised excerpts have been utilised for this essay.

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Notes on contributors

Mark Juergensmeyer

Mark Juergensmeyer is Professor of Sociology and Global Studies and Director of the Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. He is the author or editor of over 20 books on religion and politics in comparative and global perspectives