Religious Confrontation And The Problem Of Spirituality In A Globalizing World

Abstract

The modern world is very heavily politicized and secularized. Against the backdrop of the triumph of pragmatism in Western societies with regard to Islam, the technology of demonization was chosen. It exists as a kind of decoration, and if it is used, it is exclusively as a tool of politics. In today's world, traditional spiritual values are not taken into account in the interaction of countries at all. There is no Islam as a spiritual phenomenon on the world stage, only political Islam. There is the Christian Democratic Party of Germany, but there is no Christianity. The inflating of negative attitudes towards Islam is also a kind of instrument of political struggle. It is advantageous for the forces that provoke chaos in Islam and militant extremist sentiment to use this factor for their political purposes. Today, the impact of unifying globalization is palpable in the world space. Interest in other cultures is decorative – as in exoticism, without a deep understanding of the Other. The gravitation towards spiritual self-improvement has been lost. Even trips to holy places are, for many, part of the tourism industry, business or prestige element. These principles do not allow what we observe both on the mass level and in the life of individuals. There are three whales of the modern world – rationalism, pragmatism and capital. Modern social life is basically not subject to any religious institutions. Under these conditions, religion, faith is increasingly a personal matter for every person.

Keywords: Religionspiritualitytoleranceintercultural dialogueinterfaith dialoguemulticulturalism

Introduction

The beginning of the second decade of the 21st century was marked by the fact that the last illusions of Europeans about multiculturalism as a panacea for increasing conflict in Western societies due to the mass influx of migrants were dispelled. The problem of coexistence and interaction of ethnoses and cultures is not new, but in the age of globalization it is particularly urgent to create in society an atmosphere of tolerance to other things: mentality, way of life, faith. It would seem that multiculturalism is an ideology of cultural diversity. However, multiculturalism is not a cultural concept, but a political ideology. It is a politically pragmatic idea with little in common with culture.

That is why the policy of multiculturalism leads to the confrontation of cultures, but not to their mutual enrichment. Moreover, multiculturalism promotes isolationism; it is expressed in the parallel existence of autonomous "identities" rather than in their interaction, which excludes both their mutual penetration and mutual transformation and creative development.

Multiculturalism implies tolerance. It does not aim at interaction, but only at the coexistence of cultures. But in order for them to coexist, tolerance is necessary – a tolerant attitude that excludes aggression and overt dislike of another culture. No more is required.

Thus, multiculturalism and tolerance are phenomena on the same level. The value of one is related to the value of another. But if European leaders by the end of the first decade of the 19th century declared the collapse of multiculturalism (McGhee, 2008), tolerance still remains important in the public consciousness.

Problem Statement

If tolerance is not an ideal, what can act as one? The way out is in the dialogue of cultures (Gutner, 2018). The dialogue of cultures is an interaction. It can be very diverse, both conscious, desirable and violent, forced and ignored. But it happens all the time. Genuine cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue have nothing to do with multiculturalism. The dialogue of cultures in human history is inevitable because no culture can develop in isolation. Culture itself is dialogical because it lives in relationships between people.

At the same time, such a dialogue cannot take place without a culture of dialogue. It seems that the notion of the culture of dialogue of cultures is important in this issue (Melikov & Gezalov, 2014). Emphasis should be placed on the word culture of dialogue. First of all, it excludes aggression towards others and the perception of others as strangers. We had to deal with the lack of such an approach until recently, in the 90s and early 2000s. It is a common attitude: I do not understand it, so I do not agree with it and do not accept it. But interaction requires understanding. Although understanding does not necessarily require acceptance.

Today, many experts in the same West talk about the difficulties of dialogue with the Islamic world. However, the opposition between Islam and Christianity is far-fetched by politicians (Nysanbaev, 2017). In fact, Islam is a religion that has developed and spread further the doctrine of Christ. Figuratively speaking, Islam is the lunar face of Christianity. Just as the Moon shines with light reflected from the Sun, so Islam is the reflected hypostasis of Christianity.

Why did Mohammed lead a political power, and not limit himself to a spiritual power like Christ? Everything rests on the specificity of the East, and especially of the people in whose bowels Islam originated. The time of the emergence of Islam is not only the time of a new religion, but also the time of the establishment of statehood in the Arabs.

Arab people were oriented to material life, their spiritual space is the land itself, which does not mean at all that they were materialists tearing matter away from the Spirit and considering it independently. The Arab peoples considered the earth as a reflection of heaven, they lived with earthly problems, but their earthly problems were not detached from heaven. They grasped heaven through the earth, their way to heaven lay through the earth. The soul was not considered outside of earthly affairs. The whole incarnate world and all that is connected with it had significance for them. Their rituals are mainly connected with spiritualization of everyday life, i.e. they are aimed at establishing the heaven in the earthly. Christianity and Islam, Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Sunnism and Shiism do not oppose or deny each other in terms of their divine essence (Cornille & Corigliano, 2012). These are different roads leading to the same temple, the temple of God. All contradictions between religions are invented by a policy that always focuses on differences rather than unity. Meanwhile, if the politics focus on difference, God always is in unity.

Research Questions

The modern world is very heavily politicized and secularized. Against the backdrop of the triumph of pragmatism in Western societies with regard to Islam, the technology of demonization was chosen, while religion is practically absent in the modern social reality. It exists as a kind of decoration, and if it is used, it is exclusively as a tool of politics. We often talk about the Christian world, but this is almost conventional, there is really no Christian world. Is it possible to call today's Europe Christian? What ideas of Christianity do they embody in their socio-economic practice? All these are just words! Christianity calls for justice, for mercy. Where do we see it in the speeches of politicians, in public life, except in charity events, which, as a rule, have commercial background? In the activities of a few volunteers? Are we talking about a state governed by the rule of law, about democracy, is it in the Christian spirit? What is Christian about the Christian Democratic Party in Germany? It's a caricature name, the creature of Christianity is emasculated there.

The inflating of negative attitudes towards Islam is also a kind of instrument of political struggle. It is advantageous for the forces that provoke chaos in Islam and militant extremist sentiment to use this factor for their political purposes. Today it is reliably known that the same Osama bin Laden cooperated with US intelligence agencies. All recent excesses related to Islam are political derivatives. There are many serious independent experts and philosophers in the Islamic environment who could give explanations of what is happening in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria – but we do not hear their voices. They do not have a platform. They have been marginalized. The Western establishment is consolidated enough not to sponsor opinions that run counter to their interpretation of events in the same Middle East or Muslim Africa.

From someone covering up their criminal acts with religion, those acts do not become religious. Extremism is a social phenomenon. Terrorists are people who are politically zombified.

Today religion is a private matter of man in the Western world. The modern social life, whether we like it or not, is not subordinated to any religious establishments in its basis (Cornille, 2013). A person can follow religious norms and principles in his personal development. But there are other laws and norms in public life. Somebody fits in and somebody doesn't.

Today, the impact of unifying globalization is palpable in the world space. The majority of discoveries, know-how, inventions work on improvement of domestic comfort, on prolongation of youth, improvement of physical form of a man, no matter what moral principles he has. Personal well-being, success are idols for millions of people. The urge for spiritual self-improvement has been lost, business coaching techniques, which tune the masses of people to make money, are in high demand. The interest in other cultures is fake- like exotic, without a deep understanding of the Other. By the way, even trips to holy places are a part of tourism industry, business or prestige element for many people.

In modern social systems that claim to become global, religion is not needed, although archaization, conservatism, odiousness of hostel norms are welcomed. If you want – wear your clothes, pray, fast. That is, observe the formal things. It is profitable. And supporters of globalization have less to worry about. And technological development is even welcome. In the same Muslim countries of the Pacific, production is being transferred, the good news is that cheap labor is there. But the spiritual and cultural component of these societies is not envisaged in the global process. Capitalism is rationalism. For the soul, please choose all kinds of religious practices, downshifting, aesthetic hobbies, sports. Show business offers different behavioral models. Religious experience in its essential, beingness sense gradually becomes marginal. Even in a seemingly religious country like Iran, the ritual side of Islam hides the processes of washing out, devaluation of ideal, spiritual foundations of the human hostel. But can religion in the spiritual and moral life of a person be reduced to external attributes? And few people care what it can turn out to be for culture, for the development of people. Economic indicators and political stability are taken into account.

To understand that, you have to turn to the real story. Let us recall M. Weber's work "Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism". Is Protestant ethics present in capitalism as a social and economic phenomenon? Initially, yes. Does the modern capitalist world have at least a share of Protestantism? In my opinion, no. Already in the 50s of the XX century, and there is a lot of evidence for that, the religious component of human life in Western societies began to be perceived as purely belonging – Catholic, Protestant, etc. In Islam, the marker "Sunnit", "Shiite" is still more important, although a person may not understand the subtleties of the differences in the directions of Islam.

It seems that in history the roots of many social phenomena should be sought in religion. Then it is true that they are forgotten, but the momentum is there. Take socialism, communism. Isn't Christianity where their roots lie? A. Blok captured it in the poem "Twelve", discerning in the mash of those revolutionary, terrible bloody days. In my understanding, socialism is not an atheistic phenomenon. It's a neotheocracy. But capitalism does not need religion.

But it is possible that something will change radically with the development of digital economy, information factor, etc.

The multitude of sects in this world is also a certain sign. Today various sects have more influence on the life of Western societies than traditional religions. And the more delusional ideas are proclaimed in sects, the more widespread they become. Take Moon, Hubbard. From 2006 to 2012 the mayor of Kyiv was L.M. Chernovetskiy, who was elected with the support of the newly formed sect "Embassy of God", which was founded by Sunday Adelaja – a Ukrainian preacher of Nigerian origin, who came to the Soviet Union in his time to study.

Islam, alas, does not avoid the same processes. A lot of terrorist organizations are nothing but sects. True, they must be defined as a political phenomenon, an instrument of political battle. The authoritative representatives of the Islamic clergy cannot approve of all this.

The Islamic world is a battleground nowadays. Sometimes in discussions one asks why the people of Muslim countries, who have experienced so many dramatic accidents in recent years, have not yet put forward the "chroniclers" of these events, whose voice would be heard by the whole world? This will probably be done in the future. In the meantime, there is a colonial past doomed to lack of development, illiteracy, poverty, struggle for existence. The terrible life in refugee camps does not contribute to that. We can only hope that in the generation that is leaving for the West, future authors of books about how the Muslim factor, the figure of Islam, was played on the "Great Chessboard" during the last centuries, will be born.

In today's world, traditional spiritual values are not taken into account in the interaction of countries at all. In any case, Islam as a spiritual phenomenon is not on the world stage. There is political Islam (Mirsky, 2002). There is the Christian Democratic Party of Germany, but there is no Christianity itself.

There are also no such representatives of religion as brilliant theologians – Sufi Ibn Arabi or Orthodox Gregory Palamu. But this is in fact a true religion, focused on the higher goals of spiritual life.

Spiritual life requires as much attention as economics and politics (Abramov et al., 2015). Moreover, its development is not only valuable and significant in itself, but also affects the entire social life, in particular, the economy and politics.

This is what must be taken into account. Without any comparison, I would say: look at how quickly the degradation of science and cultural life in Russia began in the 90s without state support and appropriate policies. And this is in the presence of the richest Soviet heritage, from which the promises of Western "freedoms" were abandoned in the fuss! This is despite the fact that the military industrial complex still uses the developments of the Soviet era. And how many minds left the country when there was no interest in intellectuals. And what a breakdown was happening in the field of humanitarian knowledge! These destructive processes resulted first of all from an appropriate attitude to spiritual life, in particular to science and education.

The Soviet multinational model of society had its advantages because it did not ignore the importance of spiritual life. National literature, theater, cinema were developed and mutual translations were actively carried out. The famous school of translators from the languages of the peoples of the USSR and Russian autonomies grew up. History, culture and literature of the peoples of the Union were taught in secondary and higher educational institutions.

To be fair, it must be said that even before the Soviet period, Russia, by subjugating itself and making other peoples dependent on itself, gave them the opportunity to develop. All major representatives of the cultural layer of the national outskirts of Russia during the period of its membership were closely connected with Russian culture. Europe is now multinational, but it has no such experience. It should be understood that dialogue and interaction between cultures is important not only for the development of cultural diversity, but also for stability in the country.

Simplification has now also entered the spiritual sphere (Tuman-Nikiforov, 2011). It is very indicative of the level at which religious knowledge reaches people. Many believers know at best only about the ritual side of their religion, without understanding its doctrine. There is a huge gap between the existing religion and its essence. In Western Christianity, there is now a concept of "fasting for two hours". The world is simplified for an ordinary person, but there is still a sphere of knowledge for the elite, closed and very expensive educational institutions. What can this division into two worlds – governing and governed – lead to? The notion of "deep state" has also entered our everyday life. Are the same Trump or Macron real leaders? And it's not about conspiracy theories, it's about practice, strategy and material possibilities to conquer the whole world.

Purpose of the Study

The aim of the study is to reveal the social and political causes of religious confrontation and to show the possibilities of spiritual development in the context of globalization.

Research Methods

When preparing the article, the dialectical method that is necessary for any social-philosophical analysis was used as the main one. In addition, a systematic approach that allows to consider the cultural-historical and social-historical aspects of social phenomena in unity and religious life and spiritual development as something united and inseparable from the general cultural context proved to be valuable. The set of methods typical for socio-philosophical research also turned out to be valuable: historicism, historical-cultural, comparative-historical, analogies, deduction.

Findings

The spiritual program of human life in modern society is a personal path. A person has to become a person in order not to merge with a society that is often built on spiritualless principles (Bizhanov & Nysanbaev, 2018). If in traditional society a person can remain just a person, a citizen of society, in order to comply with the highest religious principles, then in the modern world the only way to avoid the evils of society is to become a personality.

Conclusion

It should also be taken into account that no matter how strong a religion is, modern society in its present form cannot exist according to religious principles. After all, these principles do not allow what we observe both on the mass level and in the life of individuals. There are three whales of the modern world – rationalism, pragmatism and capital. Even Iran, which proclaims spiritual priorities, theocracy, has to live in an established capitalist reality. Religion, faith is increasingly becoming a personal matter for every person.

For all the soullessness of this state of affairs in modern public life, the highest spiritual principle is established – the main thing is that your religion remains in your heart.

References

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