Religious Radicalisations and a Crisis of Culture

Instead of attributing religious radicalisations to a clash of cultures, Professor Olivier Roy argues that current tensions stem more from a crisis of culture, or deculturation, affecting both Islam and Western societies. Young people have joined radical movements by reconstructing an abstract form of religion, detached from the cultural practices of their parents, which they no longer know or identify with. The call for Jihad, therefore, emerges as a response to the collapse of the traditional concept of Islamic culture.

However, the rallying cry around ‘European’ or ‘Christian’ culture as a countermeasure to the perceived threat reflects a comparable disconnect between religion and culture. European culture is no longer synonymous with Christian culture. When Europe positions itself against Islam, it is unclear whether it opposes Islamic values with Christian religious principles—many of which overlap with Muslim conservative views on issues like gender and marriage—or with the liberal values of feminism and sexual freedom, which have evolved in opposition to traditional Christian norms. Most populist parties claim to defend a Christian identity while promoting secular (and even pagan) patterns of social behaviours. As Europeans no longer implicitly share common values concerning family, gender, and freedom, what does “European culture” mean?

About the speakers

Olivier Roy is presently a Professor at the European University Institute (Florence). He has been a Senior Researcher at the French National Center for Scientific Research (since 1985), professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (since 2003), and visiting professor at Berkeley University (2008/2009). He is the author, among other books, of Globalized Islam (Columbia University Press, 2004) and Holy Ignorance (Oxford UP, 2010). His latest book is Crisis of Culture (C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2024).

Gerard Wiegers is Professor of History and Comparative Studies of Religion in the Department of History, European Studies and Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam. His research focuses on religious diversity in Europe and the Muslim West, Islam, religious majority-minority relations and theory and method in the comparative study of religions.

Gulnaz Sibgatullina (moderator) is an Assistant Professor for Illiberal Regimes in the Department of History, European Studies, and Religious Studies at the University of Amsterdam. Her research focuses on Islam in Europe, contemporary Islamic thought, state-church relations, and minority issues in Russia.