SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION IN INDIA
Changing paradigms
Aditya Jaspal
L-CB-0011/Fall 2017/B
Section B
Peerzada Raouf
The sociology of religion is an area that studies the religion in relation to the social contexts in which it exists and functions. It covers an enormous territory encompassing many interwoven topics like class, social forces, strata, social patterns etc.
To understand why issues of diversity and multiculturalism are currently challenging the foundations of our society and and emphasising the changes in the existing paradigms., requires the awareness that society is not a static entity, but an ever-changing one.
The more ethnically diverse a group, an organization or nation is, the greater the possibility for group tension and ethnic conflict. This is what sociologist Lewis Coser declares: “. . . the greater the structural or cultural diversity of those who unite in a coalition, the more their interests other than in the immediate purpose are likely to be divergent if not antagonistic.”[Rosado,1997] However, group tension, especially between ethnic/racial groups, should not be regarded as a negative factor, but as a positive force. What we need to understand is that during periods of great social upheaval and change as we are experiencing today, it is most natural for people to hang on to those values from the past which give them a sense of security in the present.
At the heart of diversity lies the concept of “multiculturalism,” which reflects the present reality in our schools and in the nation. Multiculturalism is a system of beliefs and behaviors that recognizes and respects the presence of the various racial/ethnic groups in a particular society or organization, acknowledges the validity of their different forms of cultural expression, and supports and encourages their cultural contribution to society or organization, within the major values of the same. [Rosado,1997]
With this perspective we need to understand the Sociology of religion in India till 21 century in it’s Historical perspective.
It all started with a few Early European scholars who were very interested in the observation and analysis of local beliefs and religious practices in India. These interests gave rise to a huge amount of literature. Gradually this research developed into a detailed mapping of customs, with their correlation with different religions across the expanse of Indian territory. Many Asian scholars also contributed in this exercise.
The classical studies of Marx, Durkheim, & Weber gave major input in the context of sociological study of religions in India, their relationship with society, the norms followed by various sects, etc. [Durkheim. 1915. Op. Cit. pramanik. 70],Marx considered religion “ an opiate” for the masses {1970} providing a type of opacity, a screen to divert the attention of the masses from real issues. In his ‘narrow’ opinion religion played a negative role in Indian society. [Pramanik. 61] . Weber, on the other hand studied the same to a great detail in the second volume of his study [1958] contrasting the ‘Asian’ religions, contesting that ‘Hinduism limits the development of spirit of enterprise and innovation’. [Pramanik. 62]Later Redfield, Singer [1955] and Dummont [1980] affirmed that the tradition and modernity in India function together through adjustment and adaptation.
These theories have been further contested by various Asian scholars highlighting the ignorance of the British about the traditions in India. Dipankar Gupta emphasized on the multiplicity of traditions that have has been the core of caste system in India. Ghurye [1962] on the other hand draws attention to the ‘god’ as creation of man.[Pramanik,2013]
Many studies have also been carried out in the field of relationship between religion and other institutional sectors of society in their intent to understand the role in the economic development of India.
• Srinivas [1962] analysed the caste hierarchies in a way controlling the hierarchies of values in different work areas.
• M..S.A.RAO [1972] studied the aspects of work and economic growth as factors under impact of changing paradigms of religion in India.
The point of contention that we have to keep in mind is that We live in dynamic, changing times. To be successful over the long haul, you need to change accordingly before it stops working. It’s hard because nobody wants to change something that’s working. This is because as long as an action, policy or structured situation satisfies our needs, we will not change. Thus, most persons and organizations will not change unless forced to. In the current scenario in India There are forces already in place in our society that make changes inevitable.
Further still, there are broad sociological issues that define these changing paradigms of religion in Indian society:
• SECULARISM. As NANDY [1992] states, little distinction has been made between secular and sacred in India. Its a kind of ‘worldview’ or the ‘vasudaiva kutumbakam’ thereby building a strong moral foundation. Where as in the west religion and politics are separated from each other.
• COMPARTMENTALISED ADAPTATION OF HINDUISM [MILTON SINGER 1972]: this underlines the fact that Hinduism gradually has been adapting to forces of modernization. Its like a mask being orn when away from families . there is a coexistence of both the aspects but active in different spheres of life. And interesting is to study the influence of the western culture in our traditional ethos.
• Massive waves of refugees entering the country. Over the years we have seen many such waves in India and the latest in this is the Rohingya crisis which is still unfolding before our very eyes and has become an issue that has become the bone of contention at international, national state and religious levels.
• Internal political strife and disunity. This is an aspect which is on the rise in the last 15 to 20 years of Indian politics.
• The Revival of the ethnic nationalism. This is the most impacting force that has come about in function at the level of national political situation in India. THE ROLE OF FUNDAMENTALISM: THE OVERT AND THE COVERT: there is vast amount of research on this area of study: understanding the new forms of fundamentalism and studying if they are in opposing the notion of secularism or not. Indian society is divided on this point especially since the last 2 decades and even more so now.
• Another question that arises is: Whether we are living an age of “pseudosecularism”? And Is it a product of religion or secularization?
• It is a perplexing area as we normally study the ‘Hinduism’ in its popular sense comprising of almost 80% of our population . but interestingly very little is sad or allowed to be said or commented on the religious minorities their customs and ceremonies; as to why there is a general tendency to bypass these in our general discussions and a point of order has to called to draw attention to these burning issues. These also form an integral part of our socio-political network.
• Use of media and internet by various religious groups, trying to revive Hinduism overtly. Thereby Resulting in reluctant but definitive growth of civil society
In every age the sense of loyalty was what connected one to society. In an agrarian society loyalty was to the family. When the economy shifted to the factory, loyalty shifted to the company, the corporation, the institution. The result was the rise of The Organizational Man35—the person who would always be loyal to the company, the organization, the institution. The reward for loyalty to the institution was that a person would always be guaranteed a job with the organization, since loyalty was reciprocal. But downsizing of organizations, budget cuts, a competitive global market, and restructuring have now forced organizations to change their policies of continuous employment. Organizations no longer feel the same loyalty to the individual, giving rise to an increase in part-time employment and temporary help, without the array of benefits. But the same utilitarian attitude is found in the individual. Individual employees no longer feel the same loyalty to the organization, but will use the organization to get what they want. This is because the focus is now on the individual, the new locus of loyalty. The new technology of computers, fax machines, modems, and the fiber optics information highway, have made individuals with the knowledge not only the new source of power, but have given rise to the new locus of loyalty, loyalty to the self. Name brands in products, churches or schools are not even safe any more, as people will go to where their needs are better met. In others words, people have greater options today than ever before.
During periods of great social upheaval, political change and economic uncertainty, people turn to religion as an spiritual anchor to provide a sense of social stability in their lives. This reflects the demanding side of religion in India.
The push/pull, centripetal/centrifugal forces of tribalism and globalism are creating what Harold Isaacs calls the “paradox” of our time.
The fragmentation of human society is a pervasive fact in human affairs and always has been. It persists and increases in our own time as part of an ironic, painful, and dangerous paradox: the more global our science and technology, the more tribal our politics; the more universal our system of communications, the less we know what to communicate; the closer we get to other planets, the less able we become to lead a tolerable existence in our own; the more it becomes apparent that human beings cannot decently survive with their separatenesses, the more separate they become. In the face of an ever more urgent need to pool the world's resources and its powers, human society is splitting itself into smaller and smaller fragments. [Harold Isaacs, Idols of the Tribe, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975, p. 2]
The result of these major socio-political transformations, that are creating havoc in our world, is that its disintegrating at the very time that it is coming together.
References
1. Paradigm Shifts And Stages Of Societal Change: A Descriptive Model. Caleb Rosado, Ph.D. © Rosado Consutling For Change In Human Systems, 1997 . http://www.rosado.net/pdf/Paradigms.pdf
2. sociology of religion in India.. Swapan Pramanik. Academia.edu. 2013 https://www.academia.edu/4379975/The_Sociology_of_Religion_in_India_Past_Present_and_Future
3. http://164.100.133.129:81/eCONTENT/Uploads/Sociology_and_religion.pdf
4. http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/changing-face-of-the-mob-new-narrative-of-nationalism-has-created-dangerous-public-emotion/story-pSk9zYbHjGOF7S6ac9uHeK.html
5. http://www.kractivist.org/historian-romila-thapar-religious-nationalism-underlines-the-exclusiveness-of-one-religion-culture-and-language/
6. Ghurye: Govind Sadashiv. 1961. Gods And Men. Bombay . Popular Prakashan.
7. Nandy. Ashis. 1992. Science hegemony and violence. A requiem for modernity. Oxford university press.
8. Redfield, r. & Milton, B.Singer. 1954. “economic development and cultural change. Vol 3 1. 53-57.:”cultural role of cities”