Module 4: The Globalization of Religion & Mass Media

I. Globalization of Religion

Religion is an institution created by men that strengthen the laws of

the countries. It is a form of control or restrictions that fear men most. If a

person committed crimes of rape and murder, tried in court and is sentenced

guilty beyond reasonable doubt, the man will be put in prison as punishment.

Religion reinforce this, believing that the man is not only paying or serving

sentence in prison physically but when that man dies, he will go to hell

spiritually and for eternity. Religion teaches men that hell is the worst place

to go for eternity. Because of that coercive religious education, men are

terrified to commit sin. Nobody wants to go to hell!

Religion has an entirely contrasting belief system with globalism.

Religion and globalism have the worst relationship ever. Religion is much

concerned with deity, sacredness, spirituality, while globalism focuses on the

value of material wealth, achievements, honor and prestige. Religion follows

divine commandments, while globalism abides by human made laws.

Religion assumes that there is a possibility of communication between

human and the divine spiritual being. This divine spiritual being called

“Allah,” “God,” “Yahweh” defines and judges human action in the moral

sense of bad or good. The measurement of globalism is how much human

action can lead to the highest material satisfaction and succeeding wisdom

gained to achieve the new human desired status.

 Religion and globalism clash over the fact that religious evangelization

is a form of globalization. Religion is concerned with spreading the good

news of salvation or the “Word of God” globally while the globalist focuses

largely on the realm of market spreading goods and services globally.

A globalist leader of the nation-state protects the interest of the elites

from being excessively taxed, raising profits of private enterprise, improve

government revenue collection, and unsurprisingly enrich himself while in

office. He also sees his work as contributing to the general progress of the

country, the region and the world.

Here are some contrasting beliefs system between a religious person

and a globalist:

Religious Person Globalist

1. Less concerned with material 1. Less worried about whether

wealth, higher social status, they will end up in heaven or

standard of living is similar with hell.

the rest of the community.

2. Shuns anything material for 2. Skills are vicious to seal trade

complete simplicity form. deals for profit.

3. Talks a lot in parables or 3. Talks a lot about money and

allegories. business opportunities.

4. Main duty is to live a virtuous 4. Sees his work as contributing to

and sinless life to assure a the general progress

place in heaven
 5. Aspires to become a saint. 5. Trained to be shrewd

businessman

6. Detests politics and the quest 6. Values politics and power for

for power for they are they are the means and ends

evidences of human to open opportunities

weaknesses.

A. Realities and Secularization Theory

Religion being a belief system cannot be empirically proven and is

therefore, an abomination to modernization and that modernization will

erode religious practice is called the secularization theory.

According to religious people, membership to a religious group,

organization, or cults represents a superior affiliation that connects humanity

directly to the divine or to the super natural spiritual being. So, being a

Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish or Catholics places one in a higher plane than just

being a Filipino, Muslim, or Jew. It is the reason why certain religious groups

separate or isolate themselves from the mainstream society to create a

hidden sanctuary or haven. The place they can freely perform their religious

practices and beliefs system without the meddling and control of the nation-

states authorities. The Buddhist monasteries are located to the top of the

mountain or located away from civilization so that the hermits can devote

themselves to prayer and contemplation. The Rizalistas of Mount Banahaw,

the Essence in Israel, the Mormons of Utah, or the Dalai Lama in Tibet are
among them. These groups also believe that living with non-believers will

distract them or even tempt them to abandon their faith and become sinners

like everyone else. These religious communities justify their opposition to

government authorizes on religious grounds.

According to Peter Berger far from being secularized, the

contemporary world is becomingly and furiously religious. There are

evangelization and denominational activities exploded in all parts of the

world. Religions such as: 1) Catholicism, 2) Islam, 3) Judaism, 4) Hinduism,

and 5) Buddhism are respectably more active, critical, condemning, and

competing of one another. Each religion with their doctrines and practices

believe that their religion is the true religion that will lead humanity to

heavenly place.

Today, religions are considered the foundation of modern republics.

Here are some of the striking realities of religion:

1. The Malaysian government places religion at the center of the

political system. The state set up its own religion and that is Islam. In fact, it

is constitutionally stated that Islam is the religion of the Federation, and the

ruler of the each state is also the Head of the Religion of Islam.

2. The late Iranian religious leader, Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini

bragged about the superiority of the Islamic rule over its secular

counterparts and pointed out that, “there is no fundamental distinction

among constitutional, despotic, dictatorial, democratic, and communist

regimes. All secular ideologies are the same- they were flawed. The Islamic

rule is the superior form of government because it is spiritual.”

3. In the US, Americans practiced their religion out of self-interest and

they fuse religion and law together to help build this so called “modern

secular society”.

4. The Church of England was shaped by the rationality of modern,

democratic and bureaucratic culture.

5. King Henry VII broke away from Roman Catholicism and established

his own Church to bolster his power.

6. The moderate Muslim association- Nahdlatul Ulama in Indonesian

created an Islamic schools where students were taught not only about Islam

but also modern science.

B. Religious Responses to Globalization

Religious groups always go against colonization in the past and

globalization at present. They believed that it will annihilate their people’s

belief in gods and will destroy their spiritual ways of life. And with that

reasons the religious groups see globalization as a threat to destroy their

spirituality and religion that binds them together.

There are some if not a few religious movements today opposed to

globalization. They consider it blasphemous, evil, and demonic. The religious

fundamentalist oppose materialism brought by globalization. Some Muslims

view globalization as a Trojan horse with hidden supporters of Western

values like secularism, liberalism, or even communism ready to propagate

these ideas in their areas to eventually replaced Islam. The World Council of

Churches (Protestant Congregation) criticized the economic negative effects

of globalization because if they will support or advocate it, they will become

accountable to the victims of globalization. The Catholic Church and its

vigorous leader Pope Francis condemned the cultural effects of globalization

that would fatally suffocate hope and increase risks and threats. According to

the Lutheran Church, globalization has affected their contemplation on the

different pastoral and ethical reflections.

For the millenarian movements, seemingly they stayed away from the

hold of the state and vowed to overthrow globalization in the name of God.

Their Prophets believe that the state seek to either destroy their people’s

sacred beliefs or distort religion to serve non-religious goals.

 C. Religion as Facilitator of Globalization

For the Christian and Islam believers, globalization is not so much an

obstacle but more as an opportunity to expand their reach over the world.

Globalization has freed communities from the constraints of the nation-state.

Religion has connected broken traditional ties between Muslims in the Middle

East and Mindanao that helped their communities to cope with their

economic circumstances affected by uneven process of globalization.

Religion is a pro-active force that gives communities a new and powerful

basis for identity. It is an instrument with which the religious people put their

distinctive mark in reshaping this global world.

The proliferation of Born Again groups, ISIS or Islamic State in Iraq and

Syria are the result of the spread of globalization. Samuel Huntington in his

book entitled “The Clash of Civilizations”, states that civilization can be held

together by religious worldviews. It was indeed a moral argument because

religious people were able to justify their direct political involvement even at

the start of the 15th century, when the Jesuits and the Dominicans used

religion to legitimize the Spanish regime. Marx Weber also observed the

correlation between religion and capitalism leading to modern capitalism.

When the Philippines was colonized by Spain, it was in the name of the

Spanish King and God with the belief that all empires come from God. When

the Philippines was occupied by America, it was said that President William

Mc Kinley was led by God after a night of prayer and soul searching that it
was the duty of the United States to liberate or educate the Filipinos to uplift

their economic condition and to Christianize them by the grace of God.

It is quite evident that religious leaders have used religion to influence

the political arena and the processes of globalization. In fact they are

considered as the silent facilitators of creating a global world in the guise of

religion.

II. Globalization and Media

Globalization relies on media to spread global culture and ideas.

Today, television programs, social media groups, movies, books, magazines,

periodicals, and the like make it easier to reach larger audiences. Global

trade evolved with the flow of information. Territories, kingdoms, and

domains stretched across the world connect with communication. Music,

film, poetry, cuisine, fashion, and religion developed with the intermingling

of media and culture. There is a direct relationship between globalization and

media in this contemporary world. In fact, it is accompanied by new forms of

digital media that brings the possibility of new kinds of communities colliding

with each other. Via these networks new areas of political, economic, cultural

integration, identity, belongingness, and network societies maybe created.

Globalization and media are two distinct words used in the beginning

of 20th century that captured practices that have deep roots in the history of

mankind. Humans have been globalizing and communicating using media

but they have not used the word “globalization and media”.

A. Media and its Forms, Impacts, and Functions

Media is a channel of communication that conveys something. It is the

plural form of medium which means the technologies of communication such

as:

1) Print Media 2) Broadcast Media 3) Digital Media

Books Radio Internet (emails, internet

Periodicals Film sites, social media,

Magazines Television internet- based video

Newspapers and audio)

Mobile Communication

Teleconferencing

Media as a form of technology reshaped societies. Television has

brought together the visual and aural aspects of film carrier of messages. It

has turned the world into a global village. When people sit down in front of

their television sets, and watch the different stories and episodes from

across the globe, their perceptions of the world change. It has expanded the

reach of communication and also affected the communication capabilities of

their users. Television became the window to the world.

The computer is a representation of digital media, the latest significant

medium to transmit globalization. It allows instantaneous access to global

information, global trading market, global politics, and global

communication. Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, and many more are

instruments of globalization. Computers have transformed cultural life by

causing the adoption of new practices in fashion, cuisine, arts, sport, and all

areas of human endeavors. People can now talk and chat with family

members, relatives, friends, and even strangers through Skype, Google Chat,

Yahoo Messenger, and other programs. Digital media has revolutionized

daily life.

The most important consequence of communication media is that the

people of the world came to know of world economy, politics, and culture.

People now tend to create an imaginary world where they themselves are

acting in the world as part of it. The media not only physically linked the

world with cables, broadband, and wireless networks but has also linked the

world with myths, arts, stories, images, sports, and destinations.

Globalization and media have connected the world and its people from end

to end and indeed they imagine the world as one community.

B. Global Village and Cultural Imperialism

Globalization may results to a growing likeness or blending of culture

and eventually a dominant culture or American culture will become a global

culture this is called “cultural imperialism”. It simply means that the culture

of more developed nations’ invade and take over the cultures of less

developed nations. This may result to a worldwide, global, and homogenized

western culture, taking into considerations that local culture is not fixed and

static. It is continually produced and reproduced every day. Daily encounters

of mingling, transacting, and negotiating with different kinds of people while

bringing their local culture take place at any given time and space. Such

interactions between local culture and other cultures is a key to

understanding globalization. According to Manfred Steger, “cultures

converge not in the abstract but in newsrooms, cabarets, churches,

mosques, movie theaters, and living rooms- as well as in the chat rooms and

Mc Donald’s restaurants”.

C. Critiques of Cultural Imperialism

Herbert Schiller argued that not only the world was being

Americanized, but this process also led to the spread of “American” capitalist

values like consumerism. Also John Tomlinson commented that cultural

globalization is simply euphemism for “Western cultural imperialism” since it

promotes “homogenized, westernized, consumer culture”. Lewis Munford

believed that media technology is used not to better the world but to exploit

the world in pursuit of property, profit and power.

Local culture is not weak, flexible, awaiting, and panicking. It has its

strength and influence that cannot be easily eroded or evaded by a dominant

culture. Although Mc Donald continued to spread across Asia, Jollibee also

went global.

D. Brief Summary

Historically it is revealed that religions play a primary and crucial role in the

propagation of globalization. Religions are quite malleable and their

resilience or flexibility has been peculiarly extraordinary that they have

endured and outlived secular ideologies like communism. Religion goes hand

in hand with globalization in fact is considered a one of the drivers of

globalization.

Globalization and media have done phenomenal deeds and they have

prospered in bringing the world closer together. The have removed the

restraints of time and space. They generated numerous and ongoing

interactions among cultures, such as when South Korean rapper Psy’s song

and dance “Gangnam Style” was accepted by millions of listeners and

viewers globally. Media is much more than technology, more than a

conveyor of culture, more than a simple carrier of editorial cartoons or

advertisements. Media is people who composed of as the active economic,

political, and cultural agents of globalization.

Globalization and media have fulfilled Mumford’s worst fears. “They

have developed a global village with a large expansion of economic

injustices, political dominations, and cultural clashes. They have introduced

bitter and deadly discord between countries, social classes, political

affiliations, ethnic groups, religions, and fellowmen.

Media has both positive and negative effects in the globalization

processes happening today. The least that you can do is to unravel and let it

flow its course and adjust to it. The world is evolving and change is constant

just be aware and beware.

Learning Activity 4

1. Explain how globalization affects the religious practices and beliefs.

2. Analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict and global

peace. Cite Example/s.

3. Go to the web and search for the different religious practices and beliefs of

the major religions: (Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism).

4. How much time in a day you spent in social media? Compare it with the

time you spend with your family.

5. Are you affected or influenced by media? If yes, as to what extent has it

affected or influenced you?

6. Generally, how has media affected or influenced the Filipino culture today?

7. What can you say about Philippine politics today with the active

participation of social media?