Globalization and Religion Reaction Paper
In a world that is seemingly moving too fast and unpredictably, it is safe to conclude that globalization has sunk her teeth into the roots of the earth. Technology has managed to transform the four corners of the earth into one global village. One is now able to get into an aircraft at Heathrow airport and within 12 hours be deep in the heart of Africa. All this is making life and everyone seems like they are accessible, it all depends on money. These should be enough to make men think that they are finally able to live without God or a superior being, but on the contrary, this has drawn men even much closer to religion.
Religion and globalization can be said to be brothers, if one is to observe today’s Christians, they will realize that they are amongst the richest people in the world. Once one follows their religion, belief and tradition, they see themselves excelling. The lines of religious borders are being broken. A good example is an international church, brotherhood and sisterhood is formed on a religious basis. All this is as a result of migration. People live their homeland to go and try to make a living in a foreign land as well as other reasons; with time, they get to accept each other as brothers because they are in a foreign land and have to relate with each other and support one another.
The blending of cultures that result from globalization is enabling people to relate to each other on a religious basis. Over the past few decades, an environment of increased religious intolerance has been developed. When one person moves, they often take with them their personality, culture, lifestyle, and religious beliefs along with their belongings.
The development of an increasingly integrated global economy that is marked by a free flow of capital, doctors without borders, free trade and influx of cheaper foreign labor markets has a great effect and impact on religion. A case of doctors without borders—this organization was formed to break barriers so that doctors travel as easily as possible to aid patients. Along this organization came civilization and the spread of religion.
Most doctors have a belief. For a doctor to be able to have faith that they will be able to heal a patient, they have to believe in God or another supernatural power being able to watch over them and guide them. As the doctors and nurses administer treatment to a patient, they strike up conversations to make the patient relax. Where the medicine known to man has failed, they often ask a patient if they believe that God will be able to heal them. Globalization has lost to religion and if anything, it is clearly helping the world become more religious.
At one point, religions were strictly separated by geographical borders and money. Over time, the religious landscape has drastically changed. With countries introducing visas and the American dollar recognized as the formal and most important currency for trade, the world map is now broken into a globalized map. It is now possible to travel as well as trade almost everywhere in the world. Religious people take their beliefs with them spreading them wherever they go.
During global expansion, companies feel the need to outsource. In most cases, employees are trained in the homeland and then transferred to the new centers all over the world. This is one of the grand effects of globalization. When moving, humans feel the need to take along with them their culture, lifestyle and religious.
Globalization over the last half of the century has given birth to globalization of religions and their resulting encounter with each other. People find it easy to come out with their HIV status and their sex life in a world that is now open minded and accepts change. Due to a group of people that have adapted to the effects of globalization (provisions of ARVs and condoms) religions find themselves taking care after the orphans and the patients suffering from cancer and HIV/AIDS.
God has won over the fight against atheist and non-believers. The natural disasters and the incurable diseases that mankind is suffering from are all a sign that man cannot live without God and in order to be prosperous, one has to find it within, to hold on to a belief. (Shah and Toft)“If people are wealthier, more educated, and enjoy freedom, one might assume they would also have become more secular. They haven’t. In fact, the period in which economic and political modernization has been most intense—the last 30 to 40 years—has witnessed a jump in religious vitality around the world.” The article goes on to describe how God has won people to him over the years.
From the last half of the nineteenth century to the twentieth, the religion of the world became truly united and global in the global distribution of their adherents thus began to rub of each other and influence each other’s adherents in new ways.
Buddhism and Hinduism spread like a wild fire in the West and for the first time since formation it spurred its fangs into the Parliament and world politics. The first meeting of the Parliament of the World Religions in Chicago in the year 1893 laid a foundation for religion to be spread in the 1900s.
Looking further into this issue, globalization and religion have not always been good together. One seeks to gain the upper hand over the other. Adolf Hitler introduced the Holocaust as a means of eradicating the Jews in the 1940s and even though he managed to execute mass massacres, he encouraged other Jews to stand up globally and unite in order to protect each other as a family.
From their inception, Christianity and Islamic traditions became prominent as they spread globally and gave people solace and something to grasp to amidst their sorrows. Judaism was brought more into light after the Holocaust. Worldwide attention shifted towards this religion as a means of undoing the hurt and damage that had been caused by the Holocaust. Side by side, these religions have since built each other up. Where there is a Muslim group, Christians or Hindus will feel the need to have their own center, as this is unraveled, with time it helps to grow religion into an even bigger net. A truly global presence of each religion, the accompanying growth of understanding leads to a deeper appreciation of alternate traditions in present day society.
“The Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions”, was the Dogmatic Constitution decreed by the Vatican State in the years 1963-1965. The Vatican II and the Roman Catholic leaders from various states took part of this creed. Today the world’s largest organized religious tradition is in Nostre Aetate and has over a billion adherents and has more power over the happenings of the world than some presidents in their own countries. (VI)
In all the unsettlement and fighting and wars, the religious leaders stand up firm for the people. In as recent as the 1970s-1994 apartheid of South Africa, the church was seen to intervene and helped the country out of the situation. Leaders like the Archbishop Desmond Tutu rose up against the leaders of apartheid and gave solace for to the people. (Shah and Toft) Globalization of religions took a bigger form and shape there and then because this developed in Africa and got the attention of the whole world. The other believers globally were encouraged by these activities and through the use of the media; the news was carried out to the whole world.
In a world where it is now possible to have a full conversation with a person who is over 500 000 miles away as if they are right next to you, the spread and growth of religious groups seems to be thriving. VoIP use and Skype calls are all part and parcel of the tools that everyone is using to communicate easily. Thus the religious leaders also need to be educated enough to teach their followers, denominations and subjects that it is highly possible to form new branches over the telecommunication and teleportation systems.
With groups and organization like “One Goal” and the USAID, it is easy for denominations to conquer the world and spread their beliefs. One goal makes it possible for everyone to get and education and when educated, mankind has the ability to choose what to believe and chose to follow. This is often in favor of religious groups. USAID helps fund systems and an environment that is open to discuss the killer diseases and how to conquer them.
The relationship between mankind and God is one complex relationship that science is not able to understand or explain. Globalization breaks the once existing borders and makes it possible for Christians and non-Christians t fellowship together. As a result of this relationship, religion is promoted and deposited to all the four corners of the earth. The Muslims and Christians share a profound and deep belief of God being the omnipotence and unequaled creator, this makes their relationship even more solid.
In industrialization, production, growth and expansion, people are seen to be taking their belief with them in trying to make a living and actually capitalizing. It is no surprise to find others turning to the Bible (the standard basic living instructions for Christians). (moneynews.com) The investor Sean Hayman is set on investing wisely following the instructions that he gets from reading the Bible.
However, religion and self-identity can be said to be deteriorating as multinational corporations, outsourcing, and immigration are replacing traditional values at an alarming rate. With one of the largest currencies being used as the general trading currency, Europe and the world at large are clearly affected by globalization as well as counter affecting globalization.
In general, this phenomenon whereby different parts of the globe are unified through social, cultural, political, economic and religious traits is dissolving people’s identity and religion. When one gets out sourced, they cannot carry all their belongings fully. As a result, people lose their religion and belief with the big move.
Anti-globalization groups are in a bid to fight against local cultures being swallowed up during this crossover between multiple cultures. Local communities within the Eurozone are promoting localized goods over foreign products in an effort to protect their religion. With NGO’s outsourcing cheaper foreign labor, religion is destroyed alongside culture. Many at times, someone who has lived and travelled a lot has an identity crisis whereby they do not know which religion they belong to.
Asides from industries being all in favor of globalization, it does not take a genius to note that prominently traditional countries and regions tend to be affected by globalization in a negative way. This is a highly controversial topic because on the other hand, globalization can be attributed the award of spreading religions to non-believing nations.
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