Abstract
Claiming Society for God is a succinct and persuasive continuation of Nancy Davis and Robert Robinson’s well known work about religious movements and concern for the poor. The reader will find a carefully developed and clearly explained theory applied to four case studies of religious movements in the Abrahamic traditions. The book will be of interest and use to scholars of religion, civic life, activism, and the welfare state. The authors also address the often reductionist explanations of orthodox civic engagement found in scholarship and media.
The book opens with a restatement of Davis and Robinson’s well-known theory about the moral cosmologies of the orthodox and modernists, contrasting it with other perspectives that are still common in debates about religion and public life. For example, “fundamentalists” are often considered to be irrational and reactionary. Instead, the authors draw our attention to the moral cosmology and “egalitarian face” of “orthodoxy”—their preferred term. The orthodox of the Abrahamic traditions are theologically communitarian, prioritizing the needs and responsibilities of the community over the individual. Whereas the orthodox are culturally and economically communitarian, modernists are culturally and economically individualistic. This theoretical point is not new to those familiar with their previous work, but here the authors discuss some larger implications.
The text acknowledges the culturally-strict positions these several orthodox movements do defend, but emphasizes the caring side that the authors contend others often ignore. From this perspective, then, the action of orthodox movements is less irrational than it is reasonable according to a standard perhaps considered illegitimate by other sets of actors who prioritize individual freedom over community responsibility. Here is also where the reader discovers a welcome contribution of the work, namely a soundly argued and empirically supported critique of individualist, utilitarian models of social action. This is particularly important in the sociology of religion where rational choice theories of action and activism have been ascendant. Sociologists grappling with rational choice will find this book very helpful.
What, then, are the strategies of action which Davis and Robinson highlight in their detailed histories of The Salvation Army, The Society of the Muslim Brothers, Shas, and Comunione e Liberazione? Above all, these case studies emphasize how the movements work to establish elaborate networks of religiously motivated institutions that sacralize society without directly confronting the state. This is a welcome contrast to scholarship and punditry which is myopic in taking religious violence as the quintessential form of orthodox social action. Instead, Davis and Robinson write that each of these movements, to varying degrees and with sometimes unique strategies, bypasses the state to capture civil society with quieter, longer-term mobilization. Building institutions, such as hospitals, charities, and schools, in their societies, these religious movements developed a strong presence that allowed potential movement converts to experience religious community without coercion. These are caring activities, not violent attacks on the existing order. The authors argue that the structures established by these theologically communitarian groups reveal the kinds of societies they would build if they did control the state. Nonetheless, by bypassing the state, the movements manage to sacralize civil society quite effectively. As such, their project also speaks to questions about secularization and the public presence of religion in modern societies. For Davis and Robinson, these religions are public, and even if they do not control the state, they manage to influence their societies in significant ways.
As an application of a cultural theory of religion to a global set of movements, this book is a must read for American sociologists of religion who often prioritize U.S. examples and an institutional or social capital approach. Here, we find the strong statement that culture matters as much, if not more than institutions, while not ignoring the complexity of these questions. This book is a welcome addition to the literature not only for its careful development and serious testing of theory, but also for the wealth of historical detail found in the case study chapters. Each case study could stand alone as an introduction to its particular movement. Many American sociologists of religion are likely familiar with the history and work of The Salvation Army as a guardian of the poor in a country with a relatively weak welfare state, but perhaps they know less about Shas or Comunione e Liberazione. The Sephardi Torah Guardians (Shas) are used as an example of a movement that did use electoral politics as a primary strategy of gaining influence in Israel, but leveraged this success to build a relatively autonomous network of institutions and serve its followers with a robust welfare state. Comunione e Liberazione is active in Italy, a strong welfare state, but we learn about the communitarian Catholic movement’s rejection of modernist, socialist values that dominated the government. Comunione e Liberazione retreated from politics to build a spiritual, “parallel state.”
Reading this in the summer of 2013, the timeliness of the chapter about the Society of the Muslim Brothers is impossible to ignore. I did wonder, as I read, if and how the unfolding of Mohammed Morsi’s presidency would fit into Davis and Robinson’s model. The Brotherhood is a test case that presents the theory with the most trouble, primarily because it does have a history of violence, but the authors earnestly address the challenges and show how violence cannot be understood as the Brotherhood’s primary tactic. We read of a movement that was regularly oppressed by the state, patiently built a “state within a state,” and quite late in its history began to find electoral success because of its presence in Egyptian culture. I found myself wanting to read what Davis and Robinson might have to say about Morsi’s brief tenure and the ongoing political struggles in Egypt. This is not a critique, but rather a testament to the importance of the work.
Sociologists of religion will find a familiar theory applied to new cases, and a welcome contribution to more abstract debates about individual motivation, and the role of culture and institutions in religious life. Those outside the sub-discipline will find a very readable, globally aware statement about how religion continues to matter in public life.