Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University

The Contemporary World (GEC 3)

TOPIC VIII – THE GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION

Learning Objectives

After studying this topic, the student will be able to:

1. Explain how globalization religious practices.

2. Analyze the relationship between religion and global conflict and conversely, global peace.
3. Identify the various religious responses to globalization.
4. Discuss the future of religion in a globalized world.
5. Enumerate and differentiate the popular religions around the world.

Meknes – Religion and globalization persistently engage in a flexible relationship in

which the former relies on the latter in order to thrive and flourish while at the same time
challenging its hybridizing effects.

Globalization due to the advent of communication and transportation technology and the
roles played by the media – has contributed to the reterritorialization and the blurring of
geographical spaces and boundaries. This has resulted apparently in making the world a small
village where people, cultures, and identities come in a daily face-to-face contact with each
other.

Undoubtedly, religion is not immune from these changes and their burgeoning effects
brought about by globalization. However, religions still have their respective homes in specific
territorial spaces when they originally appeared and where their respective shrines exist.

The inner nature of religions and the purpose to be embraced and practiced by people all
over the world prompts it to spread throughout all the world’s geographical spaces. In order to
emerged and spread, therefore, religions make good use of the technologies of globalization.
Having geographical boundaries and frontiers blurred and dissolved, religions find it easy to
spread and reach every part of the world.

Since globalization, according to many scholars, is aimed at the hybridization of the

world cultures around the pattern of the Western culture; and since it entails liberal values and
norms, religion constitutes a challenge to it. This is because Islam’s norms and values are
incompatible with the liberal values of globalization.
 Globalization has played a tremendous rile in providing a context for the current
considerable revival and the resurgence of religion. Today, most religions are not relegated to the
few countries where they began. Religions have, in fact, spread and scattered on a global scale.
Thanks to globalization, religions have found a fertile milieu to spread and thrive.

Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University
The Contemporary World (GEC 3)

The Globalization of Religion

Religion – is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and world views that establishes
symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values.

Religion has entered the “information age and has globalized at accelerating rates, in the methods
religions use for teaching and in belief systems.

The world religion is derived from Latin “religio” (what attaches or retains, moral bond, anxiety
of self-consciousness, scruple) used by the Romans, before Jesus Christ, to indicate the worship
of the demons.

The origin of “religio” is debated since antiquity. Cicero said it comes from “relegere” (to read
again, to re-examine carefully, to gather) in the meaning “to carefully consider the things related
to the worship of gods.”
Later, Lucretius, Lactancius and Tertullianus see its origin in “religare” (to connect) to refer to
“the bond of piety that binds to God.” Initially used for Christianity, the use of the word religion
gradually extended to all the forms of social demonstration in connection with sacred.

Three (3) great characteristics of a religion:

• Believers and religious practices
• The religious feeling i.e. faith
• Unity in a community of those who share the same faith: the church. It is what
differentiates religion from magi.

12 Most Popular World Religions and Sects

1. Christianity (General) – 2.4 Billion Followers

2. Islam (General) – 1.226 Billion Followers
3. Catholicism – 1.142 Billion Followers
4. Hinduism (General) – 828 Million Followers
5. Agnosticism – 639 Million Followers
6. Buddhism (General) – 367 Million Followers
7. Atheism – 150 Million Followers
8. Anglicanism – 85.4 Million Followers
9. Sikhism – 23.8 Million Followers
10. Seventh-Day Adventists – 16 Million Followers
11. Latter Day Saint Movement (Mormonism) – 15 Million Followers
12. Judaism – 14.5 Million Followers

Eight Elements of Religions

1. Belief System or Worldview

2. Community
3. Central Stories/Myths
4. Rituals
5. Ethics
6. Characteristic Emotional Experiences
7. Material Expression
8. Sacredness
Many beliefs that fit together in a system to make sense of the universe and our place in it.
2. Community
The belief system is shared, and its ideals are practiced by a group.
3. Central Stories/Myths
Stories that help explain the beliefs of a group; these are told over and over again and sometimes
performed by members of the group. They may or may not be factual.
4. Rituals
Beliefs are explained, taught, and made real through ceremonies.
5. Ethics
Rules about how to behave; these rules are often thought to have come from a deity or
supernatural place, but they might also be seen as guidelines created by the group over time.
6. Characteristic Emotional Experiences
Most religions share emotions such as awe, mystery, guilt, joy, devotion, conversion, inner
peace, etc.
7. Material Expression
Religions use things to perform rituals or to express or represent beliefs, such as: statues,
paintings, music, flowers, incense, clothes, architecture, and specific sacred locations.
8. Sacredness
Religions see some things are sacred and some not sacred (or profane). Some objects, actions,
people and places may share in the sacredness or express it.
Historical Events Caused by Religion

1. Self-Immolation of a Buddhist Monk in Vietnam

-self-immolation, or killing of oneself as a form of sacrifice, originally referred to as the act of
setting oneself on fire. But now it refers to as much wider range of suicidal choices such as
leaping of a cliff, starvation, or ritual removing of the guts (also known as seppuku). It is used as
a form of political protest of martyrdom.
2. Widows Burning Among the Hindus in India
-Sati, or the practice of self-immolation of a widow on her husband’s funeral pyre, is said to have
originated 77 years ago in India, when the Rajput women burnt themselves to death after their
men were defeated in battles to avoid being taken by conquerors.
3. The Inquisition
-Refers to the Roman Catholic Church groups charged subduing heresy from around 1184, which
includes the Episcopal Inquisition (1184-1230’s) and the papal inquisition (1230’s). The
inquisition was a response to large popular movements in Europe considered heretical or profane
to Christianity, particularly Catharism (a Christian dualist, movement which espoused the idea of
two gods, one being good and the other evil).
4. The Godhra Train Incident in 2002
-in February 2002, a train was set of fire in which 59 people, including 25 women and 15 were
killed. The fire happened inside the Sabarmati Express train near the Godhra railway station in
the Indian state of Gujarat. Those who died inside the train were mostly Hindu pilgrims and
activists returning from the holy city of Ajodhya after a religious ceremony at the disputed Bagri
Masjid site.

The most known religions across the world are:

1. Christianity
-began in Judea (modern day Israel)
-this area was controlled by the Romans.
Their religion at the time was Pagan, a polytheistic religion.
-the Jewish people felt strong dislike towards the Romans that they lived under.

Christianity’s Evolution
Christianity would split up into major sects and into even smaller denominations
throughout the years.

1054 – there is the East-West Schism, which splits Christianity into Eastern Orthodox and
Roman Catholic.
1500’s – there is the protestant movement, which splits the church into Catholics and Protestant.
Christianity Today
-2.4 billion followers (about 32%)
-3 main branches, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox
-the main city for Catholic Christians is Vatican City, located in Italy. This is the smallest
independent state in the world.

Distribution of Christian Population by Region

Europe – 565, 560, 000

Americas – 804, 070, 000
Asia Pacific – 285, 120, 000
Middle East-North Africa – 12, 840, 000
Sub-Saharan Africa – 516, 470, 000

2. Islam
-one of the three major Abrahamic religions of
the world.
-it was founded in Arabia by the Prophet
Muhammad in 610 AD.
-comes from an Arabic root word meaning
“peace” and “surrender to Allah”, the Islamic
God.
-the same Arabic root word gives us “Salaam
alykum,” (“Peace be with you”), the universal
Muslim greeting.

ISLAM teaches that one can only find peace in one’s life by submitting to Almighty God (Allah)
in heart, soul and deed.

MUSLIM
-a person who believes in and consciously follows Islam is called a Muslim, also from the same
root word. So, the religion is called “Islam,” and a person who believes in and follows it is a
“Muslim.”

Origin
-Arabia (Mecca & Medina)
-7th century
-Pre-Islamic Religious Life
-Muhammad the Prophet
-born about 570 CE in Mecca. Died 632.
-member of the Quraysh tribe
-messenger of God: About 610 CE receives visit from angel Gabriel and begins recitation
(the Quran)
Quran
-bible of Islam
-means “recitation” in Arabic.
-the sacred text of Islam and the highest authority in both religious and legal matters.
-word of God
-One God
-ethical monotheism: God as just judging
-oral and written
-most authoritative source of Islamic doctrine and practice
-consist of 114 Chapters (suras) of different lengths, with a total of 6236 ayat (verses) -
it provides detailed guidelines on the day-to-day living of a Muslim.

Pillars of Islam

1. Shahada (Faith)
The profession of faith, which is summed up in the formula:
“There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah”.
2. Salat (Prayer)
Praying five times a day facing Mecca. The times for prayer are at daybreak, noon, mid-
afternoon, after sunset, and early part of the night.
3. Zakat (Charity)
Giving alms to the poor. These alms are called zakah.
4. Sawm (Fasting)
Fasting during the month of Ramadan, the 9th month of Arabic calendar.

21 days of prayer and fasting

Ramadan

The dos and don’ts for everyone taking part

X No eating or drinking while

fasting
X No smoking
X No swearing or lying
X No arguing or fighting
X No physical intimacy
/ Focus on doing something positive
/ Pray all 5 daily prayers, and on
time
/ Recite and learn the Quran
/ Make lot of Dua (supplication)
/ Give to charity and help the poor

5. Hajj (Pilgrimage)
Pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy City of Islam. Only those Muslims who had performed this
pilgrimage can assume the title Hadji.

Six Articles of Islamic Faith

-six articles of Islamic Faith (for the Sunni majority)
-in addition to Five Pillars of Islamic Practice
-together, make up Aqidah (“creed”)
-Sunni/Shia’s beliefs differ
-having Iman (“to fully observe one’s faith”)
-belief in the heart
-profession by the tongue
-performance of the deeds
-without the articles of faith, there is no context for the pillars of practice

Six Articles of Islamic Faith

1. To believe in God (Allah)

-Monotheism (tahwid = “divine unity”)
-God is absolute, a single inseparable unity
-one God-same God for Jews, Christians, Muslims
-Allah: not a proper name, but the Arabic word for “God”
- “99 names of God”: found throughout the Quran
-God has no “associate or partner”
-Muslim reject the Christian concept of “Trinity”
-God cannot become human; humans cannot be God
-consider Jesus a great prophet, but not divine
2. To believe in Unseen
-Angels
-God’s messenger; reveal messages to Prophets
Ex: Angel Gabriel revealed the Quran to Muhammad
-no free will; sole purpose is serving God
-accompany, guide, and protect people at all times
-Spirits (Jinn)
-spiritual beings, with free will
-thus can be good or evil
-root of English word/concept: “genie”
3. To believe in Prophet hood
-Prophets (nabi) and Messengers (rasul)
-Prophets speak God’s words to people orally
-messengers record God’s words in book form
-so, not all prophets are messengers, but all messengers are also prophets.
-Muslims believe in 1000’s of Prophets
- “Chain of Prophets”: Adam was first, Muhammad was last
 -all transcript same basic message throughout history
4. To believe in revelation
-Holy Books
-revealed scriptures; messages from God
-different languages, different cultures, different eras
-but same basic message, culminating in the Quran
-Progressive Revelation
-books of Moses, Psalms of David, Gospels of Jesus
-ultimately the Quran, revealed thru Muhammad
5. To believe in day of judgement
-Resurrection of the Dead
-at the end of time, all people will be raised
-everyone is held accountable for his/her own deeds
-Judgement / Afterlife
-everyone is judged based on one’s life/actions on earth
-if good deeds outweigh bad deeds: eternal life with God in heaven/paradise/garden
-if bad deeds outweigh good deeds: in everlasting fires of hell
6. To believe in divine decree -Human Nature/Free Will
-everyone has knowledge and ability to choose between right and wrong, and so is held
responsible
-yet God has correct fore-knowledge of everyone’s path
-Destiny/Fate/Predestination
-God wrote down our destiny in the “Preserved Tablet”
-God knows what our nature will cause us to do
-a person’s actions are not caused by what God has written -
but God is omniscient (God is advance)
 Dress Code
-Islam requires that they wear proper, decent, modest, and clean clothes. Muslims women also
are instructed by Allah in the Quran to wear Hijab.
-the most prominent traditional wear is the malong, a large colorful woven cloth wrapped around
the body. One common way women wear it is around the waist with its folds draped over the left
arm. Men wrap it around the waist like a skirt.

Courtship
-Muslim Filipinos observe traditional courtship and marriage practices just like other Filipino
groups.
-because marriage is considered an alliance of families, relatives, on both sides have a say on the
union.
-major Moro groups expect the man to court and marry a woman who comes from the same
status of his family.
Marriage

Arrange Marriage
-is mainly due to prestige and parent’s wish to enable their children to enjoy a better social and
economic life.

Dowry
-a bride-gift is an essential part of any proposed union. It meant to compensate the bride’s family
for the loss of a woman and to reimburse the cost of upbringing.

Polygamy
- “Marry of the women that please you, two, three, or four, but if you fear that you will not be
able to deal justly with them, then only one.” – Allah
-polygamy was permitted as long as his wealth was sufficient to provide for more than one. -
they believe that such arrangement is beneficial, for it means that there are extra hands for house
and field works.

Divorce
-is allowed in Islam but not encourage nor to be taken lightly.
-is also possible on the grounds of incompatibility, sterility, and infidelity. An unfaithful wife
caught in the act may be simply killed on the spot or the bride price is returned.
-is not allowed for the women to force her husband to divorce without any misdeed or corruption
on his part.

Inheritance
-Islam gave women the right to own property and inherit from relatives, which was a
revolutionary concept in the seventh century. Whether a woman is a wife, mother, sister, or
daughter, she receives a certain share of her deceased relative’s property.
-this share depends on her degree of relationship to the deceased and the number of heirs. While
many societies around the word denied women inheritance, Islam assured women this right,
illustrating the universal justice of Islam’s divine law.

Financial Responsibilities
-in Islam, women are not obligated to earn or spend any money on housing, food, or general
expenses. If a woman is married, her husband must fully support her financially and if she’s not
married, that responsibility belongs to her closest male relative.
-she also has the right to work and spend the money she earns as she wishes. She has no
obligation to share her money with her husband or any other family members, although she may
choose to do so out of good will.

3. Hinduism
-the oldest major world religion
-it is 5000 years old and is the 3rd largest
-it is the traditional religion of India, originated in the Indus Valley.
-the religion is based on God-given truths or laws, and is a way of life based on universal
principles -a collection of religious beliefs that developed slowly over a long period of time.

Faith Spreads Beyond India

-about 1000 years ago, the faith was carried along trade routes to lands to the east. -
Hindu influences remain in Thailand, Malaysia and Bali, in Indonesia

The World’s Oldest Living Faith

-it has no founder therefore it is not based on the teachings of a person or group of people; most
likely the Indus Valley people
-Archeologists have found many statues of female figure in the homes of Indus Valley people.
-A collection of beliefs and practices developed over thousands of years -
Hinduism is a polytheistic religion

The Arrival of the Aryans

-As the Hindus Valley cities declined, the Aryans came to India and settled along the Ganges
river. -The Aryans religious hymns, called the Rig Veda, were adopted by the Hindus and are the
most sacred writings of Hinduism.
-In early days’ animal sacrifice to the gods was an important part of their religion but soon lost
its popularity as the feeling grew that animals should not be killed for sacrifices.

Wisdom – Vedas: The Holy Writings

-Vedas are a collection of Hindu writings
-Considered to be the world’s oldest writings
-Word “Veda” means “to know”
-Vedas are believed to be divinely given (god given) or revealed knowledge
-Holy writings
-Vedas are divided into 4 scriptures: The Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda, Atharva Veda
-each Veda has 4 parts
1. “Mantras” - prayer and hymns
2. Brahmans “priests” – provide information and explain the rituals, ceremonies and
importance of saying prayers
3. Aranyakas “the forest books” – written for hermits and saints who lived simple
lives isolated in the forest
-contain meditations and asceticism
4. Upanishads “sitting down near” – writings about the origins of the universe,
characteristics of God and the presence of the atman or soul in all living beings
-are religious conversations between holy men that ordinary people could listen to

The Vedas (1700-500BC) and the Upanishads (750-550BC) are a collection of writings that
describe all the fundamental teachings that are central to Hinduism – including the concepts of
‘karma’ (action), ‘samsara’ (reincarnation), ‘moksha’ (nirvana)

Rug Veda
-the oldest and most important section of the Vedas.
-the Rig Veda tell of 33 gods, all of whom are born of one creator, Brahman. -
the 3 gods, Brahman, Vishnu and Shiva from the Hindu trinity.

WORSHIP
A. How do Hindus Worship?
-believe in one supreme being, whom they call Brahman
-worship that one God in various forms, according to the different functions they believe He
performs.
-believe that God is omnipresent (always present) everywhere in all living things. -
they believe that the deity may be represented in masculine and feminine ways.

How do Hindus understand God?

-some Hindus says that the three letters of the word G-O-D relate to the deities’ three main
functions

1. G: Generator – this represent God’s ability to create things

2. O: Operator – this represents God’s ability to preserve things and keep them going
3. D: Destroyer – this represents God’s ability to destroy things.
-Hindus believe that these three roles are fulfilled in the Hindu Trinity.

Worship in the Home

-have a small shrine that contains an image of the family’s chosen god, and objects associated
with them.
-The shrine in the house contains a Puja tray
-has flowers, jewelry and other decorations to show that the god is honored and special.
-Items on the Puja tray symbolize different things
1. Bell: rung to let the deity know that worship is about to start
2. Dish containing sandalwood paste: used to mark the worshiper’s forehead as a symbol of
devotion, blessing and protection of God
3. Food: offerings of rice, nuts, sweets, fruit that symbolizes an exchange of love between the
worshipper and deity
4. Holy Water: used for purification and cleansing. Sometimes water is from the River Ganges.
5. Incense Stick: lit to purify the air
6. Lamp: represents the elements of the Universe: earth, air, fire, water, ether
-perform activities such as prayer, Meditation, recite mantras and study sacred writings.
-Images are washed regularly.
-Puja is the name given to the ritualistic worship
Hindu Gods
There are hundreds of different Hindu gods, and not all Hindus worship all the gods. Sometime
families have a certain favorite god they worship, or regions in India have favorite gods.

B. The Hindu Trinity

Hindus believe the spirit of the universe takes the form of three main gods. Hindus can choose to
pray to all of these forms, some of them, or none.
-The Hindu Trinity is composed of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva
-Hindus believe in more than one god or deity. They are polytheistic.
-Worshipers will devote themselves to one god, their personal deity -
Household shrines feature pictures and statues of the chosen gods

BRAHMA: The Creator

-supreme presence, or God
-all other gods originate from Brahma.

VISHNU: The Preserver of the universe -

maintains balance between god and evil.
-appears in 10 different forms or avatars
SHIVA: The Destroyer
-Worshipped as the destroyer or reproducer
-fire represents cycle of birth and death
-Crushes dwarf to symbolize ignorance
-holds the flame of destruction, purification, and renewal -
His hands symbolize blessing and protection.
-snakes symbolizes his power over evil forces.
C. Worship in the Mandir
-The Hindu place of worship is called a mandir or temple.
-The mandir is considered to be the “the home of God”
-each mandir is dedicated to a god or deity

Four (4) Basic Hindu Beliefs

1. Dharma
-is the moral balance of all things
-is played out in all aspects of life: religious, social, family

2. Karma
-the concept that if you do good deeds, good things will happen in your life. If you do bad deeds,
bad things will happen to you in life.
-if you live a good life (doing good deeds, being a spiritual follower of Hinduism), you will be
reincarnated into a higher form, if you live a bad life, you will be reincarnated into a lower form.
-is the belief that a person experiences the effects of his or her actions-that every act or thought
has consequences.
3. Samsara
-This is the concept that the soul is immortal, and all life forms are reborn into a new entity after
death. The key word is entity: you do not have a guarantee of being reborn as a human being.
-the soul travels from one body to next.
-Reincarnation “samsara” – represents the cycle of life, death and rebirth in which a person
carries his or her own karma
-a person may experience effects of past lives and worldly status depends upon actions in a past
life.
-good thoughts and actions can liberate a person.

4. Moksha
-is when your soul becomes free from the cycle of rebirth, and is no longer reincarnated. This
happens after you reach the highest level of rebirth, and you can’t be born into a higher from.
When you reach Moksha, it means you have had all life’s experiences, learned all of life’s
lessons, and reached a perfect understanding of the universe. Instead of being reincarnated, your
souls become one with god.
-like heaven for the Christians, Hindus strive to reach moksha or a state of changeless bliss. This
is achieved by living a life of religious devotion or moral integrity. The ultimate reward is a
release from samsara and union with God.

Four (4) Goals of Life in Hinduism

1. Dharma: be good, virtuous, moral person.
2. Artha: earn material prosperity: money. (this allows you and your family to live a secure life).
3. Kama: seek happiness, pleasure, emotional fulfillment (love, friendship, community).
4. Moksha: seek freedom from ignorance, spirituality, and self-knowledge.
D. The Caste System

-The Caste System is a system where people are born into certain social classes, and they
CANNOT change their social class. Your social class is determined by Karma: if you are a good
person you will be born into a higher social class in your next life.
-Under the Caste System, who you can marry, what jobs you can have, and where you can live

are restricted by your social class.

-The caste system is the basis for social divisions in Hinduism -Each Hindu is born into a caste
group -Whether one is born into a high or low cast depends on the cycle of rebirth and depends
on the deeds of one’s previous life

The Classes – Caste System

1. Brahmins belong to the highest caste. They are priests and scholars 2. Kshatriyas are soldiers
and warriors
3. Vaisyas are merchants and
professionals
4. Sudras are the lowest caste. They are laborers and servants
5. Pariah “Harijans” are the untouchables or polluted. They do all the dirtiest jobs.

Hindu Diet
Hindus do not eat beef because cows are considered a holy animal in the religion. Cows are
sacred because they are so important to agriculture: they help plow the fields, they carry heavy
loads, they provide dairy products, and their poop is used as fertilizer.
Most Hindus are vegetarian, meaning they do not eat meat, fish, poultry or eggs.
 4. Buddhism
The Buddha was not a god or a legend. He was
an amazing person that went out to seek the truth.
He was an amazing person that went out to seek
the truth. He travelled all over finding help from
others like him, almost starved to death and slept
on beds of thorns. But all he had to do was close
his eyes, and look within himself.
-Siddhartha Gautama founded Buddhism
-was born 2500 years ago
-was son of the king in northern India
-had a wonderful and luxurious childhood
-wanted to know how the rest of the world lived
-went to a nearby village and found poor, and sick people
-he was horrified, could not enjoy castle life any longer

Buddhist Worship and Rituals

The Buddhist people have many elaborate rituals and worship traditions., including those
for everyday worship., birth, death, and many more. Monks and nuns carry these traditions by
practicing the religion, and there are many rituals in which worshippers thank them for doing so.
Through temples and monasteries and rituals, the Buddhist people keep their religion living.

Regular Worship
-in most Buddhist house, has a special room in the house for a shrine. A Buddha statue, candles,
incense.
-many Buddhist meditate. Allows mind to settle and helps to achieve calmness and clarity. -
can worship at home or at Buddhist temple.

Various Rituals

Birth
-can take baby to monastery
-request name with special meaning
Blessings for: protection, health, happiness, and noble qualities

Death
-believed to be natural result of being born
-kept in house for 3-7 days
-body is buried to let the spirit escape
-before death, Buddhist will be blessed by a nun or monk.

Monks
-lived in monasteries with few possessions

Full Moon
-celebrate important events in Buddha’s life
-offering brought for monks
-monks chant blessings
Initiation (entering monk community, called Sangha)
-can enter at young age
-receive a new Buddhist name
-head is shaved
-bound to code of rules called ‘Vinaya’
Buddhist Beliefs

The Buddhist people are very devoted to their religion. They believe that the world is imperfect
and that they can fix it by achieving Nirvana (the end of imperfectness). They also believe in
many other things such as the philosophy of Duhka and Karma.

Beliefs: Words

Anatta – the belief that there is nothing called a soul.

Anicca – impermanence, the belief that nothing lasts
Duhka – suffering and everything that is unsatisfactory
Karma – actions that effect future lives

Beliefs: Main beliefs

-they do not believe in god
-they believe that by following the teachings of the Buddha they will find peace
-the Buddha found ways to overcome the imperfectness
-they believe that the Buddha was human
Beliefs: Noble truths
-first noble truth: Duhka happens everywhere at all times
-second noble truth: Duhka is caused by greed and selfishness
-third noble truth: greed and selfishness can be stopped
-fourth noble truth: the way to stop selfishness is to follow the noble Eightfold path

Religion epitomizes the definition of globalization due to fact that it can be spread more
efficiently than ever before through the use of different technological tools.

Tools of uniting people all over the world on religious basis

-books
-movies
-cell phone apps
-social networks
-charity funds
-special internet sites
-religious schools

Through the use of magazines, the media, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, commercials, podcasts,
cell phone apps and much more, it is now possible for any religion to spread beyond national
borders, allowing even small new religious movements to engage in overseas activities and
leading to new unseen religious developments.
SUMMARY
 For a phenomenon that “is about everything,” it is odd that globalization is seen to have
very little to do with religion. As Pater Bayer and Lori Beaman observed, “Religion, it seems, is
somehow ‘outside’ looking at globalization as problem or potential.” One reason for this
perspective is the association of globalization with modernization, which is a concept of progress
that is based on science, technology, reason, and the law. With reason, one will have “to look
elsewhere than to moral discourse for fruitful thinking about economic globalization and
religion.” Religion, being a belief system that cannot be empirically proven is, therefore,
anathema to modernization. The thesis that modernization will erode religious practice is often
called secularization theory.

Historians, political scientists, and philosophers have now debunked much of

secularization theory. Samuel Huntington, one of the strongest defenders of globalization, admits
in his book, The Clash of Civilizations, that civilizations can be held together by religious
worldviews. This belief is hardly new. As far back as the 15 th century, Jesuits and Dominicans
used religion as an “ideological armature” to legitimize the Spanish empire. Finally, one of the
greatest sociologists of all time, Max Weber, also observed the correlation between religion and
capitalism as an economic system. Calvinism, a branch of Protestantism believed that God had
already decided who would and would not be saved. Calvinists, therefore, made it their mission
to search for clue as to their fate, and in their pursuit, they redefined the meaning of profit and its
acquisition. This “inner-worldly asceticism”-as Weber referred to this Protestant ethic-
contributed to the rise of modern capitalism.

Globalization has a great impact on religion. As people and cultures move across the
globe, as ideas are mobilized and transported by media technology, the religious globalization
will go on and on. It has its pro and cons. People should cope with the flow of info and choose
their own and peaceful way.

Republic of the Philippines

President Ramon Magsaysay State University The
Contemporary World (GEC 3)
Quiz #2 (Final Term)

Name : Score : /50

Course, Year & Sec .: Date :

I. Identification. Read the statement carefully and write the correct answer on the space
provided.

Religion 1. It is a collection of cultural system, belief systems, and world

views that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and to moral values.
Christianity 2. A religion began in Judea.
 Islam 3. A religion founded in Arabia by the Prophet Muhammad in 610
AD.
Muhammad the Prophet 4. He is the messenger of God and in 610 CE he receives visit from
angel Gabriel and begins recitation.
Muslim 5. A person who believes in and consciously follows Islam.
Quran 6. The sacred text of Islam and the highest authority in both religious and legal
matters.
Shahada (Faith) 7. It is one of the pillars of Islam where in it is the profession of faith, which is
summed up in the formula: “There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah”.
Zakat (Charity) 8. It is one of the pillars of Islam which gives alms to the poor. These Alms are
called zakah.
Salat (Prayer) 9. It is one of the pillars of Islam where in you have to pray five times a day
facing Mecca.
Sawm (Fasting) 10. It is one of the pillars of Islam where fasting is observed during the month of
Ramadan, the 9th month of Arabic calendar.

II. The DOs and DON’Ts to observe during Ramadan. Carefully read the statement. Write X if
the statement is DONTs and / if it’s DOs.
1. Recite and learn the Quran. /
2. Give to charity and help the poor. /
3. Eating or drinking while fasting X
4. Physical intimacy X
5. Focus on doing something positive /
6. Smoking X
7. Swearing or lying X
8. Arguing or fighting X
9. Pray all five daily prayers, and on time /
10. Make a lot of dua /

III. True or False. Write T if the statement is correct and F if it’s incorrect.
1. Muslim women are instructed by Allah in the Quran to wear Jihab. T
2. Muslim Filipinos observe traditional courtship and marriage practices just like other
Filipino groups. T
3. Arrange marriage in Islam is mainly due to prestige and parent’s wish to enable their
children to enjoy a better social and economic life. T
4. Dowry means to compensate the bride’s family for the loss of a woman and to reimburse
the cost of upbringing. T
5. In Islam, polygamy is permitted as long as his wealth is sufficient to provide for more than
one. T
6. Divorce is not allowed in Islam but encourage nor to be taken lightly. F
7. Islam gave women the right to own property and inherit from relatives, which was a
revolutionary concept in the seventh century. T
8. In Islam, women are obliged to earn or spend any money on housing, food, or general
expenses. T
9. Hinduism is 5000 years old and is the 2nd largest religion. F
10. Only Muslims who had performed the Hajj can assume the title Hadji. T
IV. Enumeration. Enumerate the following.
1-8. elements of religion
 Belief System or Worldview
 Community
 Central Stories/Myths
 Rituals
 Ethics
 Characteristic Emotional Experiences
 Material Expression
 Sacredness
9-11. main branches of Christianity
 Catholic
 Protestant and
 Orthodox
12-15. scriptures of Veda
 The Rig Veda,
 Yajur Veda,
 Sama Veda,
 Atharva Veda
16-18. Hindu trinity
 Brahma,
 Vishnu and
 Shiva
19 & 20. Most popular world religion