Iraq: Out of the desert into Mosul (closed)

[ganulv]

This may be unrelated, but I must say it because I live in Lagos, Nigeria - not New York or London.

1. Religious narratives are gaining traction in the developing World. The attraction is not primarily political, it is spiritual.

2. These narratives are "accessible" to the poor in the way no Western narrative is likely to ever be.

They’re not always so primarily spiritual as you let on. In the 1980s the Guatemalan dictatorship was actively supportive of Pentecostalism, and association with evangelical communities provided a measure of safety at a time when Catholicism = Liberation Theology = Communism in the eyes of the generals. Hezbollah is avowedly Islamist, and they don’t separate that fact from their development and political activities.

I don’t think there is a blanket response to your questions/comments. It just depends on the locale.

[KingJaja]

They’re not always so primarily spiritual as you let on. In the 1980s the Guatemalan dictatorship was actively supportive of Pentecostalism, and association with evangelical communities provided a measure of safety at a time when Catholicism = Liberation Theology = Communism in the eyes of the generals. Hezbollah is avowedly Islamist, and they don’t separate that fact from their development and political activities.

I don’t think there is a blanket response to your questions/comments. It just depends on the locale.

Politics doesn't explain the growth of Evangelical Christianity in China - and it has experienced quite significant growth there.

This is primarily spiritual. Western analysts (with their love for neat categories) find it hard to put their fingers around this, but it is true.

[ganulv]

This is primarily spiritual. Western analysts (with their love for neat categories) find it hard to put their fingers around this, but it is true.

With due respect, you are the one delineating a neat category. I am the one saying that religion is one part of life tied into many others.