University Of Makati
College Of Governance and Public Policy
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Course GECW:
In The Contemporary World
1st Semester Academic Year 2021-2022
Written Report in Module 8
‘’GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION’’
Submitted by:
Elyza Marie, Alagao N.
Cayabyab, Andrea E.
Clacio, Cyril Joy
Submitted to:
Dr. Bernardo Miranda
October 2021
As we are to discuss the topic for today, here are some of the key questions that would help
us unlock another lesson for today.
1. What is Globalization?
- As we all know being familiar with this concept, globalization means innovation and
development. Especially for the countries that are starting to get competitive in any other terms
such us economic, industrialization, trade, commerce and technology that makes a certain
country more into a civilized and modern world that we are living as of now. - - the process of
interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments worldwide.
Globalization has accelerated since the 18th century due to advances in transportation and
communication technology. This increase in global interactions has caused a growth in
international trade and the exchange of ideas, beliefs, and culture. Globalization is primarily an
economic process of interaction and integration that is associated with social and cultural
aspects.
2. What is Religion?
- In the Philippines specifically, Filipinos are sure known as a religious people. Varieties
of religion does exist here in the country but Christianity is the largest in the scale. Religion is a
faith or belief wherein there are various taught, ideas, beliefs, practices and ideologies that
manifest in a certain group of a religion. - a social-cultural system of designated behaviors and
practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or
organizations, that relates humanity to supernatural, transcendental, and spiritual elements.
3. Are these two interconnected?
- These 2 are for sure interrelated or connected. But most of the reasons why they do
unfortunately is an advantage. For example, in a country being religious it would be very hard to
embrace the changes being brought by the globalization. That is why many religious and
government leaders sometimes do collide exchanging arguments regarding their different stance
based on their respective preferences. –
4. How does Globalization affects Religion and vice versa?
- Based on our topic, we are to discuss each of these 2 effects that affects them 2. To start
with:
• Peter Berger believed and arfues the Contemporary World is furiously religious which
is far from being recularized.
• He also claims that Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism are the most
popular religions across the globe.
"Religion is for and against Globalization.
" PRO ACTIVE - The old-world religions (Christianity and Islam) sees Globalization
more as an opportunity and less as an obstacle to expand their reach all over the world.
CATHOLIC CHURCH - - Communities has been freed by the Globalization from the
constraints of the nation state and it also threatened to ruin the cultural system which binds them
together. IN 1980’S:
* Religion is thus not "regressive force" but it is a "proactive force" .
* Religious fundamentalism may dislike globalization's materialism, but it continues to
use "the full range of modern means of communication and organization" that is associated with
this economic transformation.
* Some Muslim view "globalization" as a Trojan horse hiding supporters of Western
values like secularism, liberalism, or even communism ready to spread these ideas in their areas
to eventually displace Islam.
* The World bank brought in religious leaders in its discussions about global poverty,
leading eventually to a "cautious, muted, and qualified" collaboration in 2000.
* what catholics call "the preferencial option for the poor" - is a powerful message of
mobilization but lacks substance when it comes to working out replacement system that can
change the poor's condition in concrete ways.
* The terrorism of isis is unlikely to create a "caliphate" governed by justice and stability.
* The world council of churches - an association of different protesting congregations
has criticized economics globalization's negative effect.
* the catholic church and its dynamic leader, pope francis, likewise condemned
globalization's 'throw away culture' that is fatally destined to suffocate hope and increase risks
and threats.
The Religion and Globalization: New Possibilities, Furthering Challenges
-The impact of globalization on cultures is significant. As goods and capital travel to
other countries, globalization changes the world's cultural framework. Individuals are uneasy
when the globalization of economy and politics creates "competitions and changes the life they
previously led." To maintain a sense of psychological well-being, people resort to stories and
teachings that provide a picture of how they can be connected to a "meaningful world."
According to this essay, the link between religion and globalization is complex, with new
opportunities and problems.
Globalization Engendering Greater Religious Tolerance
Globalization Engendering Greater Religious Tolerance
-Greater religious tolerance is promoted by globalization in sectors such as politics,
economics, and society. Globalization has created worldwide political platforms that combine
cultural, ethnic, and religious diversity. The 1993 Parliament of the World's Religions brought
together representatives from various faith traditions to discuss global issues. Religions have
grown financially as economies have grown, providing more financial resources to spread their
beliefs. Today, the world's major faiths have spread around the globe, with their original
territorial regions where their shrines still stand.
Globalization Creating Backlash of Religious Parochialism
Individuals experience these less desired impacts of globalization when it disrupts
traditional societies, creates economic marginalization, and generates mental stress. Individuals
respond to religion because of its capacity to "present an image of security, stability, and simple
answers" through tales and beliefs. Religion has a societal function through reacting to people's
need for well-being and acting as a cultural barrier against globalization. Religious groups like
Catholic Alleviation Services, World Vision International, and Islamic Relief Worldwide assist
the poor in areas including poverty relief and the HIV/AIDS crisis.
Religious Identity and Globalization: Furthering Challenges
-Religion provides answers to questions about self-identity because God has established
the rules. Religion, in providing such answers, also establishes a concept of "truth," which
implies an automatic exclusion of those who do not adhere to such a truth. In times of
uncertainty, such as globalization, collective identity is reduced to a collection of cultural and
religious characteristics.
Conclusion
-Religions must focus more on the humanistic and pluralistic aspects of their teachings in
the digital era. They "rediscovered, recreated, and reconceptualized" the main faiths' beliefs.
Martin Luther King Jr. compared Gandhi's pacifism to Jesus' crucifixion. King's theology was
based on religious principles such as justice, love, and hope. "Narrative traditions are not
mutually incompatible," demonstrate Tolstoy, Gandhi, and King.
Globally, the connection between religion and globalization has created new opportunities while
also posing new problems. One might claim that religious communities have agreed on "the
developing global ethic," which is made up of three parts. These elements are religious principles
in and of themselves, and they are utilized to govern how transnational businesses operate in the
global market.
In Catholic social teaching, Pope Francis has introduced the concept of "globalization of
indifference." “People who close their hearts to the needs of others, who close their eyes to what
is going on around them, who turn away to avoid facing other people's problems,” he says.
Indifference has gone beyond personal indifference to take on greater dimensions, which is
frequently represented in structural sin that undermines human dignity. This essay is divided into
three pieces that build on each other. It first outlines Pope Francis' globalization of indifference
and the challenge it poses to the call to discipleship and solidarity.
Second, it elucidates the virtue of solidarity in all of its forms. Finally, it looks at the
theological grounds of solidarity, which are based on God's and God's Christ's biblical
identification with the poor, as well as the Christian moral need to combat the globalization of
indifference.
PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING (compiled by Fr Paul Devitt)
PRINCIPLE 1 DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON
Belief in the inherent dignity of the human person is the foundation of all Catholic social
teaching. Human life is sacred, and the dignity of the human person is the starting point for a
moral vision for society. This principle is grounded in the idea that the person is made in the
image of God. The person is the clearest reflection of God among us. PRINCIPLE 2 COMMON
GOOD AND COMMUNITY The human person is both sacred and social. We realise our dignity
and rights in relationship with others, in community. Human beings grow and achieve fulfilment
in community. Human dignity can only be realized and protected in the context of relationships
with the wider society. How we organize our society — in economics and politics, in law and
policy — directly affects human dignity and the capacity of individuals to grow in community.
The obligation to “love our neighbour” has an individual dimension, but it also requires a
broader social commitment. Everyone has a responsibility to contribute to the good of the whole
society, to the common good. PRINCIPLE 3 PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR
AND VULNERABLE The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members.
The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to
look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor. The “option for the poor,” is
not an adversarial slogan that pits one group or class against another. Rather it states that the
deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community. The option for the
poor is an essential part of society’s effort to achieve the common good. A healthy community
can be achieved only if its members give special attention to those with special needs, to those
who are poor and on the margins of society. PRINCIPLE 4 RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Human dignity can be protected and a healthy community can be achieved only if human rights
are protected and responsibilities are met. Every person has a fundamental right to life and a
right to those things required for human decency – starting with food, shelter and clothing,
employment, health care, and education. Corresponding to these rights are duties and
responsibilities — to one another, to our families and to the larger society. PRINCIPLE 5 ROLE
OF GOVERNMENT AND SUBSIDIARITY The state has a positive moral function. It is an
instrument to promote human dignity, protect human rights and build the common good. All
people have a right and a responsibility to participate in political institutions so that government
can achieve its proper goals. The principle of subsidiarity holds that the functions of government
should be performed at the lowest level possible, as long as they can be performed adequately.
When the needs in question cannot adequately be met at the lower level, then it is not only
necessary, but imperative that higher levels of government intervene. PRINCIPLE 6
ECONOMIC JUSTICE The economy must serve people, not the other way around. All workers
have a right to productive work, to decent and fair wages and to safe working conditions. They
also have a fundamental right to organize and join unions. People have a right to economic
initiative and private property, but these rights have limits. No one is allowed to amass excessive
wealth when others lack the basic necessities of life. Catholic teaching opposes collectivist and
statist economic approaches. But it also rejects the notion that a free market automatically
produces justice. Distributive justice, for example, cannot be achieved by relying entirely on free
market forces. Competition and free markets are useful elements of economic systems. However,
markets must be kept within limits, because there are many needs and goods that cannot be
satisfied by the market system. It is the task of the state and of all society to intervene and ensure
that these needs are met. PRINCIPLE 7 STEWARDSHIP OF GOD’S CREATION The goods of
the earth are gifts from God, and they are intended by God for the benefit of everyone. There is a
“social mortgage” that guides our use of the world’s goods, and we have a responsibility to care
for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. How we treat the
environment is a measure of our stewardship, a sign of our respect for the Creator. PRINCIPLE 8
PROMOTION OF PEACE AND DISARMAMENT Catholic teaching promotes peace as a
positive, action-oriented concept. In the words of Pope John Paul II, “Peace is not just the
absence of war. It involves mutual respect and confidence between peoples and nations. It
involves collaboration and binding agreements.” There is a close relationship in Catholic
teaching between peace and justice. Peace is the fruit of justice and is dependent upon right order
among human beings. PRINCIPLE 9 PARTICIPATION All people have a right to participate in
the economic, political, and cultural life of society. It is a fundamental demand of justice and a
requirement for human dignity that all people be assured a minimum level of participation in the
community. It is wrong for a person, or a group, to be excluded unfairly or to be unable to
participate in society. PRINCIPLE 10 GLOBAL SOLIDARITY AND DEVELOPMENT We are
one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and
ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice. Authentic development must
be full human development. It must respect and promote personal, social, economic, and political
rights, including the rights of nations and of peoples. It must avoid the extremists of
underdevelopment on the one hand, and “super development” on the other. Accumulating
material goods and technical resources will be unsatisfactory and debasing if there is no respect
for the moral, cultural and spiritual dimensions of the person.
The Catholic social teaching principle of solidarity is about recognising others as our
brothers and sisters and actively working for their good. In our connected humanity, we are
invited to build relationships - whakawhanaungatanga - to understand what life is like for others
who are different from us.
Walking Together Being in solidarity is recognising others as our brothers and sisters and
actively working for their good. From the food we eat and the clothes we buy, to the news we
read and the websites we browse, we are connected to people and places all over the world. In
our connected humanity, we are invited to build relationships – whakawhanaungatanga – to
understand what life is like for others who are different from us; to help us understand what life
is like for the poorest, most vulnerable, most overlooked, wherever they are in the world. As a
human family we commit to work together for the well-being of all to ensure everyone has what
they need to live with dignity
Searching the Scriptures... Social Justice teaching is founded on firm scriptural
foundations. 'There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer
male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.' Galatians 3:28 'If one member suffers, all
suffer with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.’ 1 Corinthians 12:26
‘Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me
welcomes not me but the one who sent me.’ Mark 9:37 ...And in the light of Catholic social
teaching. ‘While modern society places more importance on one’s own interests regardless of or
even to the detriment of others…[true Christians] ban individualism in order to encourage
sharing and solidarity.’ Pope Francis, General Audience, June 26, 2019 ‘I prefer a Church which
is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is
unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security...More than by a fear of
going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by fear of remaining within structures that give
us a false sense of security...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of
saying to us: ‘Give them something to eat’ (Mk 6:37)’ Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium,
paragraph 49, 2013. ‘Respecting human dignity is important in any profession … because even
behind the simple account of an event there are sentiments, emotions, and ultimately, people's
lives.’ Pope Francis, Audience with National Council Order of Journalists, 2016 ‘‘Solidarity is
also an authentic moral virtue, not a ‘feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the
misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering
determination to commit oneself to the common good. That is to say to the good of all and of
each individual, because we are all really responsible for all.’ St John Paul II, as quoted in the
Compendium of Catholic Social Teaching, paragraph 193
• Religion - is a spiritual aspect
• Globalization - is a social aspect
Religious Harmony: A Fresh Concept in the Age of Globalization - It is important to
build and promote the new concept of religious harmony so as to meet the challenges posed by
religious diversity in a globalized world. On the basis of recognizing religious diversity and
differences, all religions should enhance mutual understanding and empathy through dialogue,
shoulder the common responsibility of upholding peace and justice through cooperation, and
foster intra- and inter-religious harmony and harmony between the religious community and the
larger society.
To Promote Religious H a r m o n y :
o We need to advocate the idea of harmony without uniformity
o We should shoulder social responsibilities together
o We need to guard against religious extremism
o We must learn to respect each other
o We need to oppose any use of religion for ill purposes
