Myth-Making and Religious Extremism and Their Roots in Crises

Book excerpt: According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, we do not live in a world of solid fact but in a world permeated by culture, constructed by humans through communication with each other. Myth-making shapes our lives, beliefs and behavior. Collective myths become plausible explanations for events past and future as each new generation constructs reality anew to make sense of the human condition. Providing a sociological and multicultural analysis, this book examines myth-making in the today's world amid religious extremism and terrorism. The authors discuss the imperative of myth in comprehending illness, sexuality, death and human relationships to the environment and other animals.