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Volume 13 Issue 6 Version 1.0 Year 2013 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Inc. (USA) Online ISSN: & Print ISSN: Abstract- This article highlights secularization debate; identifying its major variants; critiquing the idea with particular reference to Peter Berger’s rendition; and presenting his recent position on the debate. The paper then provides a snapshot of development from the Western perspective, examining the relationship between religion and development, showing how it differs from an African perspective. The paper argues that,the Western models of development are not compatible with Africa because they are alien, incompatible with the norms and values of most Africans, and notably, neglect or relegate several important aspects of the people’s culture, including the role of religion in development.Thus, when African leaders embrace and applaud the Western-based idea of secularized development at the expense of the subalterns, who do not feel the impacts of these superficial developments, it becomes a terrific façade. The article concludes by proposing a bottom-up approach to development conception and implementation in non-Western society, notably Africa, asserting that it has to beconsidered as a process compatible with the people’s realities, reflecting their values, including religion and culture generally. Keywords: religion, development, secularization, peter berger, façade, ideas, practices. GJHSS-C Classification : FOR Code : 220499 Secularization and Development in Africa A Terrific Faade Strictly as per the compliance and regulations of: © 2013. Mustapha Hashim Kurfi. This is a research/review paper, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 Unported License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/), permitting all non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Secularization and Development in Africa: A Terrific Façade Mustapha Hashim Kurfi Abstract - This article highlights secularization debate; identifying its major variants; critiquing the idea with particular II. Increasing Secularization of 3 reference to Peter Berger’s rendition; and presenting his “Modern” Society 01 recent position on the debate. The paper then provides a 2 snapshot of development from the Western perspective, Secularization is one of the main themes in r ea examining the relationship between religion and development, sociology of religion. The terms of the current Y showing how it differs from an African perspective. The paper anthropological literatureon secularism are set in relation argues that,the Western models of development are not to both classic and recent developments in 15202 compatible with Africa because they are alien, incompatible secularization theory (Cannell, 2010:86). As with most with the norms and values of most Africans, and notably, concepts in the social sciences, there is no single or neglect or relegate several important aspects of the people’s widely accepted definition of secularization. There is, culture, including the role of religion in development.Thus, when African leaders embrace and applaud the Western- first of all, disagreement about its locus. Some 3 based idea of secularized development at the expense of the definitions emphasize individual beliefs and practices, subalterns, who do not feel the impacts of these superficial others the influence of religious norms, and elites, and developments, it becomes a terrific façade. The article still others the differentiation of religious and concludes by proposing a bottom-up approach to nonreligious spheres or institutions (Gorski and development conception and implementation in non-Western Altinordu, 2008:57).InThe Sacred Canopy(1967) Berger society, notably Africa, asserting that it has to beconsidered as first deals with his theory or conception on the nature of a process compatible with the people’s realities, reflecting religion. He argues that humans are biologically fated to their values, including religion and culture generally. Keywords : religion, development, secularization, peter “exteriorize” and fill their world with meaning, that is berger, façade, ideas, practices. create a culture, which is then “interiorized” by a Volume XIII Issue VI Version I process of socialization. Often, this leads to ) 4 C I. Introduction “alienation ”, since humans start to regard products of ( their own activity as natural, unchanging and external his essay is divided into two main sections. The 1 objects that are “out there”(1967:2). Berger introduces first section presents arguments on European the notion of “plausibility,” structure- a conversation by T sociologists’ conviction about the increasing which this particular reality5 works, asserting that secularization of “modern” society, drawing from the whenever the conversation stops, the world starts to ideas of Peter Berger and Max Weber. The paper then shake. reviews and critiques some of the contemporary Culture6 and society are rooted in man’s postulates on the debate. The second section of the biological nature. Society structures, distributes, paper presents discussion on the nature of religion and coordinates, and provides the infrastructure for the economic development, examining how Western 2 world-building activities of man. Society is a necessary development models fail to work in Africa , and condition for culture because “only in society can the proposing a bottom-up approach that is compatible with products of those activities persist over time” (p.7). ofSocial Science rnal Human the realities of the people, reflecting their values. Berger asserts that religion itself has been probably the most powerful agency of alienation because religion has been a very important form of false consciousness lobal Jou (1967:87).It is worthy to note that Berger’s ideas on G secularization stem from Weber, and is therefore an Author : Department of Sociology, Boston University, Massachusetts - U.S.A. E-mail : [email protected] 3 Berger subscribes to the modernization definition. He defines the term as a process in which religion diminishes in importance both in society and in the consciousness of individual secularization is the 1 The roots of the secularization idea can be traced to European direct result of modernization (2001: 443). scholars, but the later proponents are not necessarily Europeans. 4 He borrows the idea from Marx 2 It is worthy to acknowledge that Africa is a huge continent with 5 Social construction (externalization, objectivation, internalization) diversities and differences even within sub-regions and individual 6 Berger refers culture to the totality of man’s externalized products countries. This is not to generalize and say that all African societies are and the term “society’ to refer to the specific social arrangements the same or should follow the same patterns of development. upon which culture rests (1967: 6). © 2013 Global Journals Inc. (US) Secularization and Development in Africa: A Terrific Façade extension of Weber’s analysis of the“secularizing7” (1967:137). Against this background, Berger concludes function of Protestantism. Let me briefly recount Weber’s that Pluralism is particularly detrimental to “religious ex- idea on secularization. monopolies” (1967:137). On the effect of secular society When Max Weber designates as secularization on religion, Berger asserts that it represents a severe the process whereby the concept of “calling” moves or rupture of the traditional task of religion, which was is relocated from the religious to the secular sphere to precisely the establishment of an integrated set of signify, now for the first time, the exercise of secular definitions of reality that could serve as a common activities8 in the world, he is using as analogy the universe of meaning for the members of society (1967; canonical meaning of the concept (Casanova, 1994:13). 134). Couple of decades later, Berger changed his mind Similarly, Hughey (1979) argues that, with reference to and debunked his theory. The next section reviews 3 Max Weber’s work, secularization9 may refer to very some critiques of the secularization theory. 201 different phenomena in different situations, depending on the content and specific sociohistorical context which III. Secularization: A Critique ear Y it occurs(90). Rationalization, with particular reference to In The Desecularization of the World, Peter religious intellectuals can be used to illustrate that. The Berger(1999) identified mistakes in his theory andrefuted 202 16 process of intellectual rationalization results in a his claims that "modern" society would become systematization of religious values in terms of their own increasingly secularized. “My point is that the autonomous and internal logic. At the same time, assumption that we live in a secularized world is false” secular sphere of value (political, economic, kinship, (1999: 2) he declared. The world today, he further military, aesthetic, intellectual, etc.) undergo the same argues, “with some exceptions to which I will come process of intellectual rationalization and how they are presently, is as furiously religious as it ever was, and in organized into logical systems based on their own some places more so than ever” (1999:2). But even immanent laws. The further the rationalization and before that, his ideas and theory were challenged. On sublimation of the external and internal possessions of- decline of
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