Globalization of Religion

Overview:
The construct religion is something unfathomable because of
its nature. It is something too abstract, non-tangible, beyond
man’s senses. It is something ethereal. But it is real in our
global society. It affects our system, and may control our reality.

To concretize this term, let’s see some definitions from varied

sources.
 RELIGION from Different Perspectives
RELIGION from Different Perspectives
Author or Source                                        Suggested Definition
Patrick H. "Try to define religion and you invite an argument."
McNamara
American  "Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power recognized as the creator
Heritage and governor of the universe; A particular integrated system of this
Dictionary expression; The spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognizes the
existence of a superhuman power or powers."

St. Augustine  "If you do not ask me what time is, I know; if you ask me, I do not know."
Jalalu'l-Din  "The lamps are different, but the light is the same."
Rumi
Thomas  "To say that [God] hath spoken to [someone] in a dream, is no more than to
Hobbes say he dreamed that God spake to him!"
Immanuel Kant  "Religion is the recognition of all our duties as divine commands."
Ludwig  "Religion is a dream, in which our own conceptions and emotions appear to
Feuerbach us as separate existences, being out of ourselves."
Thomas
Hobbes
 "To say that [God] hath spoken to [someone]
in a dream, is no more than to say he
dreamed that God spake to him!"
Immanuel Kant
 "Religion is the recognition of all our duties
as divine commands."
Ludwig
Feuerbach
 "Religion is a dream, in which our own
conceptions and emotions appear to us as
separate existences, being out of ourselves."
E. B. Tylor
"Belief in spiritual things“
Harriet Martineau "Religion is only the sentiment inspired by the group in its members, but
projected outside of the consciousness that experiences them, and objectified.“

Rudolph Otto Religion is "a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are
believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life."
George Bernard
Shaw  "Religion is what an individual does with his solitariness."
Harriet Martineau  "The very fact that they are so many and so different from one another is
enough to prove that the word 'religion' cannot stand for any single principle or
essence, but is rather a collective name."

Harriet  "Religion is the belief in an ever-living God, that is, in a Divine Mind
Martineau and Will ruling the Universe and holding moral relations with
mankind."
Rudolph Otto  "Religion is that which grows out of, and gives expression to,
experience of the holy in its various aspects."
George Bernard  "There is only one religion, though there are hundreds of versions of
Shaw it."
The Nature of Religion
•The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures.
Some religions emphasize belief while others emphasize practice. Some
religions focus on subjective experience of the religious individual while others
consider activities of the religious community to be most important.

•Social constructionism says that religion is a modern concept that suggests

all spiritual practice and worship follows a model similar to the Abrahamic
religions and thus religion, as a concept, has been applied inappropriately to
non-Western cultures.

•Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews

that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many
religions have narratives, symbols, traditions, and sacred histories that are
intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe.

Social constructionism is a theory of knowledge in sociology and

communication theory that examines the development of jointly-
constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for
shared assumptions about reality.
Sacred Buddhist Ritual in Nepal: Leader Jigdal Dagchen Sakya
leading the empowerment into practice at Tharlam Monastery,
Boudha, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Globalization and Religion
What is globalization? What is religion? Are they interconnected? How does the globalization
affect 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.

•The most known religions across the world are:

•Christianity: The God is Jesus, Holy Bible is their holy scriptures

•Islam: Their God is Allah, Quran is their holy book

•Hinduism: with 811 million adherents, practicing polytheism

•Buddhism: 380 million adherents , they worship Buddha

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

•Tools of uniting people all over the world on religious basis:

Printed literature such as books and pamphlets, movies/tv shows,

social media like Twitter, Youtube , commercials, and podcast

cell phone apps and much more.

 These made 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

 Small religious movements are also spreading, from the celebrities like Tom
Cruise,, Kaballah with Madonna, Britney Spears, Demi Moore, Claudia Schiffer, Red
String and Scientology following and advertising them.
Expansion of terrorism on religious basis:

•Videos and audios in the Internet of sermons read by missionaries

which contain extremist ideas, call for crimes, murders, and terrorist
attacks

The possibility of communicating with anyone across the world and

sharing ideas provoke the spread of terrorists and expansion of their
band
 
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
information and choose their own and peaceful way.
Consider this: Conflict and Compromise in Religion
Even if many theorists predicted the death of religions due to modernization of societies,
which tend to make people materialistic, religion is still an active force in our time
and place.

Conflict:
“Politics and religion are connected in most societies. The contemporary world is
rife with conflicts within and among religions. From the Middle East, where sects
of Islam battle
to control countries, to the United States where Christian sects battle in courtrooms
to make their religious beliefs the law of the land, to Europe where the role of personal
religious symbols in public life is controversial, religion’s role in modern life is contested.”
(Chirico, 2014, p.323)

Compromise:
“Science, social problems, and secularization diminished the authoritative structures of
religions providing for the possibility that many religions have pathways to truth, salvation,
and a better life. Ecumenical trends and religious tolerance emerged.
People engaged religious ideas from other traditions to reconcile their religious differences
Religions opened themselves to mutual influences, East and West.”
(Chirico, 2014, p.327)
 These terms are used to compromise:
•Secularism - the principle of separation of the state from religious institutions
e.g. secular school (not adhering to any religious doctrine); secular music (songs not
written for church)

•Ecumenism - the principle or aim of promoting unity among the world's Christian
churches e.g. Ecumenical Chapel (non-religious chapel or place of
prayers/worship);
Ecumenical Church (allows all types of Christian adherents to gather in one church)
(Asynchronous) Task#7 Globalization of Religion

Choose your partner for interview to ask his/her own understanding of Religion.
Then, change your roles. He/she will ask you same questions to answer.
1. Who is GOD?

2. What holy scriptures do you read and follow in your church, and why this book
was chosen by your religion?

3. Describe the doctrine or belief system held by your religion, such as Salvation
and Marriage.

4. Ask each other of your stand or take on compromising using secularization and
ecumenism.

Reminder:
 Write both of the outputs from your interview in one group submission.
Submit the group outputs in BB Ultra with correct filename: Grp#__ Task#__Title
of Task___

Assignment:
Review well your lesson “Globalization of Religion“ for a quiz next meeting.