Religion and Globalization

GE TCW
[ The Contemporary World ]
 Introduction
• Culture (defined as the sum total of a group’s customs and
traditions) shapes one’s attitude, which is a person’s self
disposition

• Religion shapes culture and the way how one relates to

another

• It is necessary to consider the study of religion as it is

inextricably linked with cultures and attitudes of people
 Introduction
• This lesson looks at the impact of religion on globalization
and vice versa

– Religious communities and traditions have constantly shifted and

interacted over and beyond political and cultural boundaries

• It also deals with the cultural factors or components

 Learning Outcomes
• At the end of this lesson, learners are expected to:

1. Define different cultural components;

2. Discuss how these cultural components, particularly religion,
shape one’s preferences and practices in life;
3. Enumerate local religious groups that went global;
4. Assess many impacts of religion to globalization and vice versa;
and
5. Explain Christianism, Buddhism, and Islamism as globalization
phenomena
 Cultural Components
• Cultural components/elements include:

– Attitude – state of mind, behavior or conduct

– Behavior – conduct, demeanor, or deportment
– Character – qualities distinguishing any person
– Personality – what distinguishes or characterizes a person
– Belief – acceptance of something as true or actual
 Defining Religion
• Religion – belief, system of faith

• According to sociologist Emile Durkheim, it views the world

as divided into things that are considered sacred and
profane, as defined by a group

– Sacred – mysterious, extraordinary, absolute

– Profane – ordinary, routine
 Case Study 1.
Multiple Religions
There may exist multiple religions in a
particular geographic location or
territory such as the case of:
– India - Hindus, Muslims, and
Buddhists
– Israel - Jews, Muslims and
Christians
– China - Islam, Christians,
Buddhist, Confucians, Taoists
among others
– Egypt - Muslims and Coptic
Christians
– Indonesia - Muslims, Christians,
and Hindus
 Defining Religion
• Elements of religion:

A. Organizational structure
B. Belief system
C. Rituals and symbols
 Defining Religion
A. Organizational Structure – could either be:

1. Cult
2. Denomination
3. Ecclessiae
4. Sect
 Defining Religion
1. Cult

• Type of religion in which practices and beliefs differ

substantially from other religions
• Usually headed by a charismatic figure
• The following of members is an expression of their figurative
blindness that blocks their vision from life’s realities
• Usually short-lived
 Defining Religion
2. Denomination

• Well-entrenched religious organization in which a considerable

number of population are members
• Examples: Baptist and Presbyterian Churches
• Arguably a bureaucracy run by well-trained officials
 Defining Religion
3. Ecclessiae

• Church of the state, an official religion

• Example: States with Islam as official state religion
• In the Philippines, the Constitution protects freedom of
religion and provides the separation between the Church and
the State
 Defining Religion
3. Ecclessiae

• The separation, which means that “no law respecting

an establishment of religion”, implies that:

1. The state shall have no official religion;

2. The state cannot set up a church, whether or not
supported by public funds, nor aid one or all religions, or
prefer on religion over another;
3. Every person is free to profess belief or disbelief in any
religion;
 Defining Religion
3. Ecclessiae

4. Every religious minister is free to practice his calling; and

5. The state cannot punish a person for entertaining or
professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs
 Defining Religion
4. Sect

• Type of religious organizational structure whose manner of

worship is typically expressive of expressive celebration
associated with passion and tremendous emotion
• Relatively small group, with dogmatic members about their
beliefs
• Examples: Jehovah’s Witnesses
 Defining Religion
B. Belief System – may be classified into:

1. Animism
2. Ethicalism
3. Theism
 Defining Religion
1. Animism

• Subsystems: Shamanism; and Totemism

• Shamanism – communication of the spirits to the group’s
astral representative, the shaman
• Shamans – believed to have the ability to foretell the future
and cure illnesses
• Common in small rural societies of the Americas and Nothern
Asia
 Defining Religion
1. Animism

• Totemism – is where a totem, like the shaman, is believed to

have supernatural abilities and serves as watcher or
protector of the group
• Totem – believed to be inviolable and untouchable, treated
with respect
• Practiced in some parts of Australia
 Defining Religion
2. Theism

• Belief in one or many gods

• Monotheism – in one god (e.g. Christianity, Islam, Judaism);
while polytheism – in many gods (e.g. Hinduism,
Confucianism, Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism)
 Defining Religion
3. Ethicalism

• Promotes the belief that sacred qualities are the basis of

moral principles
• Ethical religious principles are anchored on truth as the
essential foundation of its doctrines and teachings
• Examples: Shintoism, Confucianism, Taoism
 Defining Religion
C. Rituals and Symbols

– Ritual – execution of religious prayer for purpose of

communicating with almighty
– Sacred symbols – used in the rituals to create an atmosphere of
austerity and solemnity
– Christianity – liturgical vestments have symbolisms; Buddhism –
monastic vestments signify an entrance in a new state of life
 Globalization of Religion
A. Christianity

– Missionary work as agent of the globalization of religion

– Example: St. Paul – within the Roman Empire; Christian
Missionaries from Europe to Asia, to South America, and to
Africa
– In the Philippines, Augustinian order accompanied the
expeditionary voyage of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi
– Globalization entered our shores during the Spanish colonization
which introduced Christianity
 Case Study 2.
Christianity in the Philippines
The Voyage Around the World by
Antonio Pigafetta chronicles the
arrival of the Spanish navigation in
the Philippine islands. It narrates
their encounter with the natives, the
conversion of villages to Christianity,
and even the reluctance of Lapu-
Lapu and his men to pay homage to
the King of Spain, which resulted in
the historic Battle of Mactan.
 Globalization of Religion
B. Islam

– Spread was through conquest, pilgrimage and missionary work,

and trade and commerce
– Merged with local cultures, affecting people’s way of thinking
and living
– Arguably, the Philippines experienced globalization at the
moment Islam was brought to its shores, even earlier than the
dawn of Spanish colonization
 Globalization of Religion
C. Buddhism

– Buddha traveled and spread dharma all over North India

– Among those he converted was Emperor Ashoka, whose
empire included present day India, and who deployed
missionary diplomats to present day Syria, Egypt, Greece,
and Sri Lanka
– In the Philippines, recent archeological discoveries point
to the existence of the religion from the 19th century
onwards, during which time the Philippines traded with
the Srivijaya Empire
 Globalization of Religion
• Local religions going global

– Philippines’ local religious groups make waves outside

the country, ‘exporting faiths’, and converting peoples
around the world
– Apollo Quiboloy’s Kingdom of God, Felix Manalo’s Iglesia
Ni Cristo, Elisio Soriano’s Dating Daan (The Old Path)
 Contemporary Globalization and Religion
• The advancement of technology and communication as
agent of the globalization of religion

– Technology has accelerated the spread of religion and

religious awareness through the internet, blogs,
podcasts, social media (Cyber religion)

– Through technology people became aware of religious

beliefs and practices
Contemporary Globalization and Religion
– As religious awareness increases, it results in: religious
pluralism and/or conservatism, competition

– Pluralism - leads to religious dialogues and collaboration

of religions

– Example: John Paul II and Pope Francis and ecumenical

movements
Contemporary Globalization and Religion
– Competition and religious conservatism – leads to
suppression, or tight regulation at the very least, of
other religions

– Examples: Countries with religion; Saudi Arabia remains

to regulate other religions
 Contemporary Globalization and Religion
• How does globalization and religion influence each
other?

– Will religions erode and disappear?

– Will they be irrelevant in the age of globalization?
– We are seeing increase of atheists, agnostics, deists,
individuals with no religion
• Empty churches and cathedrals, especially in Europe