they are used to regulate them. In the congregations they studied, they found
that public practices like speaking in tongues must be preapproved by the
pastor to be perceived as legitimate. Inappropriate and unapproved messages
are perceived of as illegitimate (not of God) and negatively sanctioned.
In “From the Caliphate to the Shaheedim: Toward A Critical Theory of Islam,”
Lauren Langman uses the framework of critical theory of the Frankfurt School
to engage in an analysis of Islamic Fundamentalism. Like the Frankfurt School,
he integrates concepts from Marx, Nietzsche, Freud and Weber in his analy-
sis of Political Islam or Islamism. Like Weber, who attempted to explain why
the process of rationalization (i.e., the development of capitalism) did not
occur outside the West (the Occident), Langman asks this specifically in rela-
tion to the Islamic world. One of the answers that he provides is that a process
of differentiation (separation of church and state) did not occur in Islam. This
is particularly true in the area of law where Sharia (Islamic law) has been
adopted by the state. One of the Frankfurt School’s central concerns was the
rise of Fascism made possible by the authoritarian personality. Langman illu-
minates the similarities between the clerico-fascism of Islamic fundamental-
ism and classical fascism. Islamism appeals to those who have been alienated
and uprooted by the processes of modernization. It arises from feelings of
powerlessness and is the result of a ressentiment toward the West. It ideal-
izes a Golden Age from the past and projects it into the future. In his con-
clusion, Langman points out that Islamism is not a rational choice. The only
way for Islamic societies to escape the economic conditions which give rise
to Islamism is through societal rationalization.
In an article coauthored by David Gay, myself, and Anna Campbell, enti-
tled “Operationalizing the Critical Theory of Religion,” we take some of the
central ideas of a critical theory of religion articulated by Karl Marx, Max
Weber and Sigmund Freud and operationalize them using data from the GSS
(General Social Survey). We are particularly interested in the relationship
between trauma and religiosity. Consistent with rational choice theory, we
do find that people with higher church attendance report lower levels of
trauma. Nevertheless, we look at this relationship differently. Because there
is a two-way dialectical relationship between trauma and religion (religion
arises in response to trauma and helps to alleviate it), the data set is insufficient
to establish this relationship. We encourage others to set up nonrecursive
models, which could be used to establish this reciprocal dialectical relationship.
6 • Warren S. Goldstein