Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 1, 1994 TAG: 9404240271
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: reviewed by Marie S. Bean
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ The nightly news on TV stuns us with on-the-spot reporting of violence by religious activists around the world. We do not feel safe in our own country, and we are not safe in many countries where we once traveled freely. We are denounced as "the Great Satan" by those who have only recently been recipients of our aid.
In "The New Cold War?" Mark Juergensmeyer has made an important contribution toward understanding the new world "disorder." This book is the product of case studies and first- hand observations gathered over the past several years as he traveled the globe researching the modern phenomenon of religious nationalism.
At the outset, Juergensmeyer, a university dean and professor in Hawaii, defines terms he thinks will be helpful, and deconstructs some others (e.g., "fundamentalism") he finds merely pejorative. Through the words of religious leaders and others, he attempts to correct our notion that religious turmoil here and abroad is simply the out-of-bounds behavior of fanatics.
He documents a rising disillusionment that turns against secular nationalists even within Third World countries because they are perceived to be in league with a more global enemy, the secular West. Around the world, religious leaders hold up a moral and spiritual vision of what they would like themselves and their nation to become. Whether the religion is Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism or Islam, the goal is somehow to reconnect with transcendent values.
Juergensmeyer is dispassionate but persuasive. He does conclude on a hopeful note, providing some evidence that accommodation between religious and secular nationalists is possible if not easy. Marie S. Bean is a retired
pastor.
by CNB