CULTURALIZATION OF RELIGION IN THE EAST AS A MARKER OF CIVILIZATIONAL IDENTITY IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

Abstract

The article provides a cultural studies analysis of the phenomenon of the culturalization of religion in contemporary Eastern societies as a mechanism for constructing civilizational identity under the conditions of globalization and multiple modernities. The key theoretical concept is “culturalized religion” (A. Astor, D. Mayrl), which describes forms of religious identification, discourse, and practice that are predominantly cultural rather than doctrinal in nature. The transformation of classical secularization theory is examined through the works of Peter Berger and José Casanova, alongside the concept of public religion, the theory of multiple modernities developed by Shmuel Eisenstadt, and the post-secular perspective of Jürgen Habermas. Special attention is given to the postcolonial dimension of the issue in the context of the ideas of Edward Said The culturalization of religion is interpreted as a systemic response of postcolonial and non-Western societies to the challenges of late modernity: not a rejection of religion, but its functional reconfiguration, involving a shift from doctrinal frameworks to the sphere of cultural symbolism and identity resources. It is argued that in Eastern countries religion increasingly performs not only doctrinal, but also symbolic, identificatory, and cultural-political functions. The article examines specific manifestations of the culturalization of religion through examples from Turkey, India, Japan, China, and the Arab world. Culturalization is expressed in the symbolization of ritual practices, the transformation of religious heritage into an element of national branding, and the integration of religious motifs into state policy and cultural diplomacy. The study concludes that the culturalization of religion represents a form of adaptation of religious heritage to the conditions of global cultural change