The Cultural Defense

Assess the View That, for Minority Ethnic Groups, the Practice of Religion and Membership of
Religious Groups in Mainly a Form of Cultural Defence (33)
An ethnic minority is a group of individuals whose nationality and cultural traditions differ from that of the majority population in a society. Compared to Britain's main population, ethnic groups have been identified to be more religious. The use of religion of these ethnic minorities has been debated, with some sociologists arguing that it serves the purpose of cultural defence whereas others argues that it has a different function. cultural defence refers to where an ethnic group uses religion to maintain their culture and protect it against outside influence and threats.
Sociologist Steve Bruce initially argues that ethnic minority groups use religion in the form of cultural defence when they find themselves in an uncertain situation or hostile environment or as cultural transitioning which is an attempt to blend in and cohabit with the host society. An example that
Muslims who migrated from Asia to Britain encountered racism aimed towards them, in retort however they frequently attended mosque as a response to feeling like outcasts in a society which was supposed to be their new home yet offended their identity. Aswell as this Bruce goes on to argue that ethnic minorities may also react with cultural transition which is the use of religion to merging and blending in the society your hosted in. Sociologist chrysside support Bruces idea of both cultural defence and transitioning. Regarding defence, chrysside asserts that ethnic minorities may turn to renewed vigor, which is when the individual becomes increasingly religious. However she also comments that another reaction by ethnic minorities is that of accommodation and apostasy which is evidence that religion is not solely used for defence but can have other purposes such as integration.
An example of accommodating is that individuals may have to compromise wedding rituals in their cultural to fit policies and regulations in british society.Bruce however goes on to explain that once the immigrant group has been assimilated into society, religion is no longer needed for the function of defence or transitioning- this is referred to Chrysside as apostasy. Challenging this however is Brown, he asserts that there has never been a golden age whereby religion is completely unified a society to the extent it is no longer needed.
Regarding Cultural defence, theorist Heidi Mirza identifies reasons as to why it may occur with ethnic minorities. Mirza particularly focuses on young muslims and argues that there has been an increase of religiosity due to a need of defence. The reasons are British foreign policy, a lack of choice in identities and Multicultural policies. Global event highlighted in the media such as 9/11 may make young muslims feel as though they are being targeted and being shown infamously, whilst multicultural policies may lead to a rise in a feeling of resentment towards the host society. Aswell as this, without being represented in politics, muslims feel as though they are marginalised, and that they don't have an identity which is promoted. Consequently they may seek that identity within their religion. A postmodern perspective can be used to argue that religion is used as a form of cultural defence as a reaction by ethnic minorities. Globalisation is a phenomenon which has meant there is increasing levels of plurality, with a growth of multicultural and multi faith societies. This mix of cultures, otherwise known as cultural hybridity, may cause individuals to feel defensive as they fear that their

own culture may be in jeopardy of being overtaken by another. Alongside this, a diverse society has individuals and groups all claiming a monopoly of truth whilst still showing tolerance of other belief systems. This relativity may cause people to feel uncertain and untrustful of everything, which is defined as hyper skepticism by baudrillard. Being in what they deem to be a risk society, which is constantly threatening their universe of meaning and identity; ethnic minorities may react defensively. Sociologist Huntington further supports this; he argues that this culture clash may lead to groups of individuals responding immorally to stop what they think to be a decimation of culture- this primarily applies to western, specifically an American form of culture. Highlighting this is the rise fundamentalism which can be considered as an extreme practice of a religion, with teachings and texts being read infallibly. One example being the Iranian revolution. The entire political structure of iran was forcefully changed from that of a western, institution of monarchy into that of an Islamic state led by the Ayatollah, following shariah law.
This is a direct reaction of cultural defence to what ethnic minorities thought to be the influence and result of westoxification. Seabrook adds on to this by arguing that the west’ attempt to spread its supremacy via globalisation, has led to Global terrorism being bred as a cultural resistance to what ethnic minorities see as ideological war on local cultures. This negative perspective on Globalisation however is challenged by liosa who argued that initially, yes, wars and conflict, stemmed from cultural differences- however the quicker the different cultures merge into a single one for the better. Additionally the global media can be argued to trigger a defensive mechanism- even in individuals being recruited by radicalised groups.. Chowdary claims that young muslims become interested in their faith due to media focus, however as they are religiously illiterate they can’t determine if the interpretation of the religion is correct.
Adopting a theoretical perspective, Marxist would argue that religion is not merely used by ethnic minority groups as a cultural defence but as a theodicy of privilege. Ethnic minorities can be considered a marginalized group, secondary citizens who are manipulated and exploited by the ruling class without knowledge. Religion is arguably used to dull the pain of this oppression by providing
‘answers’ as to why they are in this situation- an example being in the bible there is a hymn which states “ Rich man at his castle, poor man at his gate, God made them high and low and ordered their estate”-Examples like this allow the ruling class to exploit the masses without fear of a break in false class consciousness and a type of misplaced solace for the proletarians.
Functionilists agree with marxists that religion had another purpose differing from cultural defence, however they also challenge the marxist adaptation. Functionalists argue that religion helps to integrate individuals, with Durkheim arguing that religion acts as a social cement. An example being that the 10 commandments mirror the laws of society such as theft being a crime and not being tolerated Religion also helps individuals cope with situations and deal with the out of the ordinary. An example is funerals; they allow closure for the individual as well as a support system whilst they worship collectively. Overall hit helps to avoid anomie, a term coined by Durkheim referring to a sense of normlessness and instability. Supporting this positive outlook on religion is pryce. He argues that much like what weber said, the ascetic lifestyle promoted in Church allows for individuals to be gratified in regards of elevated social positioning. They are able to accumulate wealth and profit by not spending it ion indulgences. They can then reinvest it a d create a further profit. This all together

allows for upward social mobility which can help ethnic minorities transgress the part of thier identity that makes them a secondary class citezen.

In conclusion the way in which a group or individual uses religion is hard to measure, just like their level of religiosity. Aswell as this there are other factors that need to be considered, one being that if
Lyotard is correct in asserting that there is a collapse of metanarratives, then secularisation is taking place. This loss of religion is society can be argued to mean that the function of religion is no longer an important matter as it as a medium is on the decline. There are various reasons for this, one being that the church is compromising its teachings to appeal to a wider membership, this Ecuminical movement however means the level of compensation the church offers is reduced. Replacing it may even be that of the belief system of science, as it is based on evidence there is no uncertainty when it comes to the provision of answers. Ultimately however the purpose of religion can be argued to be both delicate and fluid, it has no one single function and serves people in multiple ways. Bird’s identification as towhy ethnic minorites are mroe religious is applicable to thisidentified that ethnic groups have higher levels of religiosity compared to their counterparts, his argument is applicable where considering how