There is no question that the 21st century has thus far been one of increased tensions between the West and the Middle East, former Soviet bloc nations, China, and various other nations. A number of these nations either are highly religious or are experiencing religious revivals. To the extent that clear secular trends are in place in the West,…

Fundamentalists and modernists seem, at times, to work in contrapuntal interdependency. While the fundamentalist's rhetoric markets its image as celebrating the renewal of an authentic past identity in modernity, modernists state the need for and possibility of adapting a cherished past to modern assumptions. Yet, it seems as if it is the…