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-~~DECKJS~~
-# Alternate modernities #
-## Do societies become more secular? ##
-Ryan Schram
-Mills 169 (A26)
-ryan.schram@sydney.edu.au
-http://anthro.rschram.org/1002/10
-October 2014
-## The annual debate over banning burqas ##
-In the recent public debate about whether women should be allowed to
-wear a face veil in Parliament House, two prominent politicians
-offered their views.
-* Tony Abbott
-* Julie Bishop
-What were they?
-## For your information ##
-**Hijab**: 'veil, curtain'. Typically a headscarf that covers the head and
-chest. Also a generic word for 'covering' of all kinds.
-**Chador**: A long robe that covers head and body, revealing the face.
-**Jilbab**: A long coat covering hands.
-**Niqab**: A face veil.
-**Abaya**: A long sleeveless 'cloak' covering the body.
-**Burqa**: A long robe covering head, face and body.
-All of these Arabic terms have specific meanings in local contexts,
-and every local culture has its own styles of each type of
-clothing.
-## Why anthro should be a graduation requirement ##
-Commentators have offered many views on what the veil 'means'.
-It's a very anthropological sort of question.
-None of them have apparently read this week's article.
-## The problem of modernity ##
-All societies change, but as we have learned in this class, not all
-societies turn out the same.
-There is no single road of progress which all societies travel.
-Globalization is not the conquest of the world by capitalism or
-Western culture.
-Put another way: There are multiple modernities.
-## Why do people talk about modernity ##
-If there is no one single road of progress, where did this idea of
-modernity come from?
-[[:Max Weber]]'s theory of society is key to the development of
-modernization theory. Weber argued that history is a process of
-rationalization. Over time, all societies become more complex, and
-develop greater differentiation in their social organization.
-[[:max_weber|Weber]] says that modernity is the opposite of tradition.
-## Weber's theory of society ##
-Weber's theory of society starts with the concept of "social action".
-Social action is action that is recognized as having a meaning, and
-means something to the actor.
-There are four types of social action, each based on a type of meaning
-they embody.
-* Traditional: I do it because this is how it has always been.
-* Affective: I do it because it expresses my emotions.
-* Value-rational: I do it because this is the best possible way to
-  advance a collective goal of my society.
-* Instrumental-rational: I do it because I get the most for the least
-  amount of effort.
-## Social action and society ##
-People are always motivated to act by a combination of all four types
-of motivation: tradition, affect, value-rationality, and instrumental
-rationality.
-One type of motivation is always predominant in a single form.
-People do different kinds of actions in different kinds of contexts.
-Social institutions and rules tap into different kinds of motivation.
-## Examples ##
-Giving a fruit loaf.
-Giving change to the Salvos.
-Buying ramen noodles.
-Each of these have different kind of primary motivation. Each social
-role one plays -- relative, donor, customer -- embodies a different
-value.
-## Religion as a type of social action ##
-What kind of value does religion embody? Or, from an actor's point of
-view, what is the motivation for participating in religious worship
-and a religious organization?
-## Religion as a type of social action ##
-In most senses of the word, people are not motivated to participate in
-religion for reasons of economic gain, at least not primarily. It
-isn't **instrumentally rational**, at least not primarily.
-By the same token, religious institutions are not set up to create a
-space for people to pursue self-interested goals.
-Many people find religion emotionally satisfying. But many people find
-soap operas emotionally satsifying too, so that can't be the only
-motivation.
-Tradition, yes, perhaps.
-## Religion as ethics ##
-For Weber, some religions draw people because they give them an answer
-to the ultimate meaning of life, and show them how to be an ethical
-person. They ask people to do things based on "value
-rationality". Pursuit of a collective goal is the reason why people
-pray, worship and participate in a religious community.
-## Religion is rationalization ##
-Religion is a force in society because it gives people an alternative
-to tradition. It forces them to examine why they do what they do.
-In other words, religion rationalizes people's social behavior.
-## Religious change leads to social change ##
-Weber argued that many religious movements sowed the seeds of social
-revolutions.
-As society became more rationalized in general, he believed people
-would not need religion to give them motivation to be rational. They
-could rely on systems based on instrumental rationality, like
-bureaucracy and markets.
-## The Secularization Thesis ##
-This is called the "secularization thesis":
-  * Religious ethics forces people to reorganize society in ways that separate traditional practices and rules from higher values.
-  * As societies become more rationalized, religious institutions are separated from other domains of society.
-  * Religious identity becomes a private matter.
-  * Overall, people become less involved in religious activities.
-## Problem: Secularization isn't happening ##
-For many years, people have observed a return to religion.
-As more modern forms of society have developed, new religions are
-developing too.
-While Europe and Australia are highly secular in some ways, religion
-is still a defining feature of people and groups.
-This is not what Weber predicted!
-## The paradox of religion ##
-Religion causes people to be rational, and to rationalize their lives
-and their environment. But this rationality does not lead to
-secularism or modernity in a classic sense.
-## Why revival in Java? #
-Brenner considers several theses:
-* A 'return' to tradition
-* Symbolic shelter
-* Maintain social esteem
-She ultimately rejects all these as insufficient explanations.
-## Reform and Islamic modernity ##
-She ultimately chooses to take seriously the explanation that her own
-informants gave her.
-Brenner's informants described religious change as a 'movement', a
-kind of training, and as self-discipline.
-Rather than being a restraint on freedom, women saw it as part of a set of new activities for self-improvement, including reading, study, prayer, and participating in a community.
-In other words, it was a new way of seeing oneself. It is a means to a
-new subjectivity.
-## Islamic modernity and Suharto's modernity ##
-Brenner contrasts the Islamic movement with the nationalism of the New
-Order and the goverment of Suharto (1960s-1990s).
-**New Order**: Modernity through consumerism and capitalism.
-**Islamic movement**: Modernity through creating autonomous individual
-believers who can choose to follow a pure Islamic ethic.
-What do these visions of the future have in common?
-What do they differ on?
-## Why secularism? ##
-**World Values Survey 2014, Australia, "How important is religion to
-you?"**:
-* 'Important' 31.1 %
-* 'Not very important' or 'not at all important' 65.3%
-* Compared to around 60% in Scandinavian countries and 30% in the US.
-Do these figures surprise you? Why is religion so unimportant to a
-majority of Australians, and for that matter, many European countries
-too, but not the US?
-## Stay tuned ##
-Ryan will be back for Week 13.
-## Reference ##
-World Values Survey. 2014. "World Values Survey Wave 6: 2010-2014:
-Online Data Analysis: V.9 Important in Life, Religion." World Values
-Survey Database. Accessed June
-, 2014. http://worldvaluessurvey.org/.
-## A guide to the unit ##
-{{page>1002guide}}

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