Article(print)#11998
RELIGION AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS: POLITICAL CHALLENGES
In: SAIS REVIEW, Volume 18, Issue 2, p. 19-24
AT THE DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY, MANKIND IS WITNESSING A POST-COLD WAR ERA IN WHICH A GLOBAL RELIGIOUS RESURGENCE IS CHALLENGING THE EXPECTATIONS OF MODERNIZATION THEORY AS WELL AS THE PROGRESSIVE SECULARIZATION AND WESTERNIZATION OF DEVELOPING SOCIETIES. RELIGIOUS IS A MAJOR IDEOLOGICAL, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL FORCE; IT IS EXPLOITED BY GOVERNMENTS, POLITICAL PARTIES, AND OPPOSITION MOVEMENTS; IT IS A SOURCE OF BOTH LIBERATION AND VIOLENT EXTREMISM.