Global context

• Davie- fundamentalists are a product of modernity as modernity threatens traditional values and fundamentalism offers certainty
• Giddens argues that fundamentalism is a reaction to modernity which undermines traditional norms
• Bruce said the main cause of fundamentalism is religious traditionalists thinking globalisation threatens their beliefs and lifestyle
• Huntington argues that religious conflicts have intensified since the collapse of communism and are symptoms of a wider clash of civilisations
• Bruce- one function of religion is cultural defence, religion unites a community against an external threat such as racism and symbolises the groups collective identity
• Nanda examines the role of Hinduism in legitimating the rise of a new Hindu 'ultra-nationalism’ and the Indian MC
•  Nanda argues that Indias are becoming more religious due to the middle classes' ambivalence about their newfound wealth
• Berger argues that Pentecostalism in Latin America acts as a ‘functional equivalent’ to Weber's protestant work ethic, encouraging the development of capitalism