WEEK 3: GLOBALIZATION OF RELIGION AND MEDIA

A. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN “GLOBALIZATION”

AND “RELIGION”:

1. Religion is concerned with the sacred, b. Ayotallah Ruholla Khomeini,

globalism places value on material “there is no fundamental
wealth. distinction among
2. Religion: “the possibility of constitutional, despotic,
communication between humans and dictatorial, democratic, and
the transcendent”; Globalism: highest communistic.”
material satisfaction and subsequent c. King Henry VIII, the Church of
wisdom that this new status produces. England: “shaped by the
3. Religious: saint; globalist: shrewd rationality of modern
businessperson. democratic (and bureaucratic)
4. Religious evangelization; globalist ideal: culture.
markets. d. United States, “modern secular
5. Religions disregard identities associated society”.
with globalism (citizenship, language,
C. RELIGION FOR AND AGAINST GLOBALIZATION
and race) as inferior and narrow,
membership to a religious group, 1. Christianity and Islam: “freed”
organization, or cult represents superior communities from the “constraints of
affiliation. nation-state”.
6. Isolationist: living among “non-on 2. It provides “moral codes” to answer
believers” will distract them for their problem.
mission or tempt them to abandon their 3. Globalization is a pro-active force: full
faith and become sinners. range of modern means of
7. Opposition to government authority on communication and organization,
religious grounds: outsider were out to English as a global vernacular, modern
destroy their people’s gods and way of management and marketing.
life; or break away from the hold of the 4. Example: Born-Again groups and ISIS
state or overthrow the government in
the name of God.

B. REALITIES:

1. Peter Berger: “contemporary world… is

furiously religious”
2. Religions are the foundations of modern
republics:
a. Malaysian Constitution, “Islam is
the religion of the Federation”
and the rulers of each state was
also the “Head of the religion of
Islam”.
A. MEDIA AND ITS FUNCTIONS

Media: “a means of conveying

something, such as a channel of
communication”.
1. Media: mass communication.
2. Marshall McLuhan: “shapes social
behavior of users and reorient family
behavior”.
a. It simulates and amputates
human senses.

B. THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AND CULTURAL

IMPERIALISM

1. “Global village”: same stories

2. “Cultural imperialism”: “homogenized,
Westernized, consumer culture”.

C. CRITIQUES OF CULTURAL IMPERIALISM

1. Viewers
2. Asian Culture in media
3. Telenovelas
4. Jollibee

C. SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE CREATION OF CYBER

GHETTOES:

1. Democratic potential of social media

2. “Splinternet” and “cyberbalkanization”:
bubbles people place themselves when
they are online—echo chamber.
3. Trolls and Memes
4. Disinformation
5. Alternative Facts