Theorizing Religion in a Globalizing World

Drawing on the globalization theories proposed by Zygmunt Bauman, Ulrich Beck, and Manuel Castells, this article examines the contemporary significance of religious ideas, practises, and discourses. We show that novel patterns of social stratification, identity construction, economic polarization, and the impact of the alleged postmodern ‘crisis’ on the modern paradigm of science provide the context to the manifold contemporary resurgence of religion. Establishing an analytical dialectic between relevant social theory and the empirical record on millenarianism, religious radicalism, and the relationship between middle-class consumerism and religiosity, we argue that the social and psychological consequences of globalization have heightened the appeal and relevance of religions: As discourses of political resistance, as anxiety-coping mechanisms, and as networks of solidarity and community.