The
Globalization
of Religion
Members: Apalacio, Apares, Baylosis,
Batistis, Buca, Cartilla, Campos
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
01 02
Explain how globalization Identify the various religious
affects religious practices and responses to globalization;
beliefs; and
03
Discuss the future of religion in
globalized world
Religion & Religion,
Globalism
much more than culture, has the most difficult relationship
with globalism.
First, the two are entirely contrasting belief systems.
Religion is concerned with the sacred, while globalism places
value on material wealth.
Religion follows divine commandments, while globalism
abides by human-made laws.
Religion assumes that there is "the possibilty of
communication between humans and the transcendent."
Religious People
are less concerened with wealth and all that comes
along with it. They are ascetics precisely because they
shun anything material for complete simplicity-from
their domain to the clothes they wear, to the food they
eat, and even to the manner in which they talk.
• A religious person's main duty is to live a virtuous, sin-
less life such that when he/she dies, he/she is assured of
a place in other world (i.e., heaven).
• On the other hand, globalists are less worried about
whether they will end up in heaven of hell. Their skills
are more pedestrian as they aim to seal trade deals,
raise the profits of private enterprises, improve
government revenue collections, protect the elites from
being excessively taxed by the state, and naturally,
enrich themselves
• If he/she has a strong social conscience, the globalist
sees his/her work as contributing to the general
progress of the community, the nation, and the
global economic system.
• The religious detests politics and the quest for power
for they are evidence of humanity's weakness; the
globalist values them as both means and ends to
open up further the economies of the world.
• Finally, religion and globalism clash over the fact that
religious evangelization is in itself a form of globalization.
The globalist ideal, on the other hand, is largely focused on
the realm of markets. The religious is concerned with
spreading holy ideas globally, while the globalist wishes to
spread goods and services.
• Religions regard identities associated with globalism
(citizenship, language, and race) as inferior and m narrow
because they are earthly categories.
• In contrast, membership to a religious group,
organization, or cult represents a superior affiliation that
connects humans directly to the divine and the
supernatural. Being a Christian, a Muslim, or a Buddhist
places one in a higher plane than just being a Filipino, a
Spanish speaker, or an Anglo-Saxon.
Cultures of Globalization
A MORMON MISSIONARY
01
02 03 04
These philosophical
The followers of the Dalai These isolationist justifications are These groups believe that living
differences explain why Lama established Tibet for among "non-believers" will
also used by the Rizalistas of
certain groups "flee" their this purpose, and certain distract them from their mission
Mount Banahaw, the Essenes
communities and create Buddhist monasteries are during Roman-controlled Judea or tempt them to abandon their
impenetrable sanctuaries located away from (now Israel), and for a certain faith and become sinners like
where they can practice their civilization so that hermits everyone else.
period, the Mormons of Utah.
can devote themselves to
religions without the meddling
prayer and contemplation.
and control of state
authorities.
Communities justify their opposition to government
authority on religious grounds.
Priestesses and monks led the first revolts against colonialism in Asia and
Africa, warning that these outsiders were out to destroy their people's gods
and ways of life. Similar arguments are being invoked by contemporary
versions of these millenarian movements that wish to break away from the
hold of the state or vow to overthrow the latter in the name of God.
According to Peter Berger,
That far from being secularized, the "contemporary world is....furiously
religious. In most of the world, there are veritable explosions of religious
traditions-Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and even
Confucianism-and in many places in imaginative syntheses of one or more world
religions with indigenous faith.
Religions are the foundations of modern republics.
The Malaysian government places religion at the center of the political system.
Its constitution explicitly states that "Islam is the religion of the Federation,"
and the rulers of each state was also the "Head of the religion of Islam."
Ayatollah Ruholla
Khomeini
The late Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Ruholla
Khomeini, bragged about the superiority of Islamic rule
over its secular counterparts and pointed out that "there
is no fundamental distinction among constitutional,
despotic, dictatorial, democratic, and communistic
regimes."
Nahdlatul Ulama
The moderate Muslim association Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesia has Islamic
schools (pesantren) where students are taught not only about Islam but also
about modern science, the social sciences, modern banking, civic education,
rights of women, pluralism, and democracy. In other cases, religion was the
result of a shift in state policy.
King Henry VIII
who broke away from Roman Catholicism and established his own Church
to bolster his own power. In the United States, religion and law were fused together to
help build this "modern secular society." It was observed in the early 1800s by French
historian and diplomat Alexis de Tocqueville who wrote, "not only do the Americans
practice their religion out of self-interest but they often even place in this world the
interest which they have in practicing it.
Jose Casanova
confirms this statement by noting that "historically,religion has always been at the very
center of all great political conflicts and movements of social reform. From independence to
abolition, from nativism to women's suffrage, from prohibition to the civil rights movement,
religion had always been at the center of these conflicts, but also on both sides of the political
barricades. "It remains the case until today with the power the Christian Right has on the
Republican Party.
Religion for & 01 Globalization has "freed" communities
from the "constraints of the nation-state,"
against 02 but in the process, also threatened to destroy
the cultutral system that bind them together.
Globalization 03 Religion seeks to take the place of these
broken "traditional ties" to either help
communities cope with their new situation
or organize them to oppose this major
transformation of their lives.
04 Religion is thus not the "regressive force"
that stops or slows down globalization; it is a
"pro-active force" that gives communities a
new and powerful basis of identity.
Religion for & 05 Religious fundamentalism may dislike
globalization's materialism, but it continues to use "the full range of modern means of
against communication and organization" that is associated with this economic transformation.
Globalization
06 It has tapped "fast long-distance transport and
communications, the availability of English as a
global vernacular of unparalleled power, the
know-how of modern management and
marketing" which enabled the spread of "almost
promiscuous propagation of religious forms
accross the globe in all sorts of directions."
08 The Catholic Church and its dynamic leader, Pope
Religion for & Francis, likewise condemned globalization's "throw-
away culture" that is "fatally destined to suffocate
against hope and increase risks and threats."
09
Globalization
The Lutheran World Federation 10th assembly's 292-
page declaration message included economic and
feminist critiques of globalization, sharing the voices of
members of the Church who were affected by
globalization, and contemplations on the different
"pastoral and ethical reflections" that members could
use to guide their opposition.
10 It warns that as a result of globalization: "Our world is split
asunder by forces we often do not understand, but that result in
stark contrasts between those who benefit and those who are
harmed, especially under forces of globalization. Today, there is
also a desperate need for healing from 'terrorism, its causes, and
fearful reactions to it. Relationships in this world continue to be
ruptured due to greed, injustices, and various forms of violence."
Religion for & 11 In 1998,the World Bank brought in religious leaders in its
against
discussions about global poverty, leading eventually to a
"cautious, muted, and qualified" collaboration in 2000.7
Although it only yielded insignificant results (the World
Globalization Bank agreed to support some faith-based anti-poverty
projects in Kenya and Ethiopia), it was evident enough
that institutional advocates of globalization could be
responsive to the "liberationist, moral critiques of
economic globalization" (including many writings on
"social justice") coming from the religious."
12 In Iran, the unchallenged superiority of a religious
autocracy has stifled all freedom of expressions, distorted
democratic rituals like elections, and tainted the
opposition.
Conclusion
01 02
03
It was because of "moral" arguments Finally, as explained earlier, religious
Globalists, therefore, have no
that religious people were able to leaders have used religion to wield
chpice but to accept this reality
justify their political involvement. influence in the political arena, either
that religion is here to stay/
When the Spaniards occupied lands in as outsiders criticizing the pitfalls of
the Americas and the Philippines, it pro-globalization regimes, or as
was done in the name of the Spanish integral members of coalitions who
King and of God, "for empire comes play key roles in policy decision-
from God alone." makings and the implementation of
government projects.
Thank you
for listening!
From Group 1
