Brief Summary of Three Sources

“Hindu-Christian Conflict in India: Globalization, Conversion, and the Coterminal Castes and Tribes” by Chad M. Bauman from The Journal of Asian Studies is an analysis of Hindu-Christian violence (primarily in the last twenty-five years). The main topics of discussion consist of the history of the aforementioned subject, the identification and elucidation of current theories for the rapid growth and intensity of the conflict (along with several rebuttals), and suggestions for action that should be taken to properly identify the current contradictions/limited scope of those theories. The penultimate topic is presented by providing theories encompassing almost every factor of globalization (economics, politics, religion, etc.). The most important assertion (in my opinion) of the paper is that “An emphasis on nodality would mean that one would not attempt to explain interreligious riots as a function of politics, economics, or psychology alone.”, a claim which is greatly expanded in the final section.

“Refiguring Religion”, written by Mark C. Taylor for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion, presents an analysis of how religion/culture is integrated with societal, natural, and technological issues. This analysis leads to the conclusion that religion is a highly sporadic phenomenon which actually appears to be approaching an equilibrium. He further argues that as a result of globalization, projection models are more important than in any other age and that this tendency of religion to change unexpectedly is a limiting factor to accurate models. Another important facet to his argument is that he suggests that by identifying the nodes referenced in the first source (although the papers have no connection) and by using information from the earlier issues, a somewhat accurate function can be developed.

Jack Fischel writes in his article, “Politics Versus Religion”, for Midstream, a Jewish quarterly magazine, an analysis of some of the ideologies of major political/cultural movements of the past 200 years. He pays particular attention to the drawings from religious ideas in controlling the masses. He also explores the response of organized Christianity to many of these regimes and cults. This article is of particular interest because it attempts to show the reasons for both sides’ actions and because it uses examples from all levels of political ideology, from Marxism to Democracy.