In this section, Nye clearly postulates the fact that there is a connection between religion and politics. The collaboration is brought on board at the point where religion seems to be the means for which the politicians use in order to remain in power. As Karl Max puts it in this section, the moral statutes brought upon the humanity by the religion acts as ladder which indeed makes the populace believe in certain ideologies which are controlled by those in power. The connection through not direct from the political stance, it leaves one to wonder why most politicians seek the intervention of the religious leaders during times of crisis. In his assertion, Marx perceives religion as the heart of the heartless person and the sign of the oppressed. Additionally, connotations given by Antonio Gramsci accentuates that there is a great incompatibility between the Muslim religion and Christianity practiced in the western world. Hence, the differential religious perspectivesspearhead the control and fight for power in these two regions of religious divide.
Types of Cultures
Nye gives three sets of cultures as postulated by Williams in contemporary world. The first culture that is considered for the elitists is the ideal culture. He explains that this is the culture every person wants to ape since it is deemed to be very good. In so doing, Nye through the thoughts of Raymond Williams, explicates that the culture is defined by Christian music and leading a morally accepted life. The next set of culture is the mass culture which is embraced by many across the world. Here, he explains that culture is defined by things that people like to hear and embrace even if they are morally unaccepted. Thirdly, this section talks about social logic of values. Here he embraces the fact that people have different culture as dictated by their natural setting
Gender
In this section Nye is keen to unveil the predicaments the women especially in the middle East face due to their gender. He goes ahead to connote that the women due to their placement in the society, must be accompanied by a male person when going anywhere. The law enforcement departments in this country also molest the women in public where they are also expected to wear the veil at any point in time. Most of their decisions are made by their husbands and they not supposed to heard in any public gathering. The barbaric Hindu traditions like burning the widows are also very oppressive to women in this part of the world. In general, the Nye acknowledges the fact that women the middle east countries face a lot of tribulations as dictated by the traditions of the people of these countries.
Work cited
Nye, Malory. “Editorial: Culture and religion.” (2000): 5-12.Internet source.
Nye, Malory. “Religion, Post-Religionism, and Religioning: Religious Studies and Contemporary Cultural Debates1.” Method & Theory in the Study of Religion 12.1 (2000): 447-476. Print
Nye, Malory. Religion: the basics. Routledge, 2008.Internet source.