Christianity

Christianity: A New State Religion

Religion in the Italian Peninsula had a long history. The early Romans had worshipped the spirit gods of
the Etruscans, their neighbors to the north.

Later Romans adopted the gods of the Greeks as their deities. However, Roman tradition allowed people
to worship according to the dictates of their own hearts. As a result of this religious freedom, many
different religions and sects flourished in the Roman Empire.

Around 30 A.D., a new religious movement began among the Jews in the distant borders of the Roman
Empire. A group of Jews began following the teachings of a new leader by the name of Jesus Christ.
Slowly this movement expanded beyond the Jews to many other peoples in the surrounding areas, and a
new religion was born. This new religion would be known as Christianity.

After the death of Jesus, his followers continued to teach those things that he had taught them. They
taught that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and the Messiah that the Jews had been waiting for.

Many people throughout the Mediterranean accepted these teachings, and became known as
Christians. For the next 300 years, Christianity was practiced by many city dwellers in private. Roman
officials viewed Christians as a threat and often had them killed. Christians continued to establish
churches and to spread their religion, but they did so discreetly.

In 312 A.D., an important Roman general by the name of Constantine was converted to Christianity
through a spiritual experience he had on the battlefield. That same year, Constantine was made
emperor of Rome.

Constantine Converts To Christianity

Under his leadership, Constantine offered protection to Christians, allowing Christian churches to be
built throughout the empire, and allowing Christianity to spread more quickly.

By 392 A.D., Christianity had become a powerful force in Rome. It was practiced from border to border.
In this same year, the emperor Theodosius declared Christianity the state religion and outlawed all other
religious practices.

Christians began to organize their church into parishes, which were overseen by priests. Several parishes
formed what was called a diocese. Each diocese was led by a bishop.

Eventually the bishop in Rome began to claim authority over all other bishops, and gave himself the title
of €˜papa’, or Pope. The Western parishes readily accepted the authority of the Pope, however, the
Eastern churches did not. The churches in the West eventually became known as the Roman Catholic
Church, while the churches in the East joined together to form the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Islam

Islam is the second largest religion behind Christianity in Europe. Islam has the second most followers
in the world.

Islam started when Muhammad was visited by angel Gabriel. Gabriel

delivered the verses of the Qur’an to Muhammad that day. Muhammad remembered the
verses instead of writing them down because he was unable to read or write. He
claimed he was told by Gabriel to preach and convert his fellow Arabs. He wanted
them to believe in the one and only God, Allah, instead of many Arabian Gods.
After Muhammad’s wife and uncle passed away he flees Mecca for
Medina. He fled there to convert the people there to Islam. He taught the people
of Islam to pray toward the city of Jerusalem. When the people rejected him as a
prophet he changed the direction toward Mecca. In 624-28 Muhammad leads the
Muslims to war against Mecca. In 628 Mecca and Medina end the war with a peace
treaty. Muhammad then decides to redirect focus to surrounding Arab and Jewish
people. He attempts to convert them to Islam using military forces. By 630
Muslims had gained substantial power and population. Muhammad had commanded to
take out any other religions in the area he was in to have Islam be the number
one religion of the area.

The spread of Islam took off after the death of Muhammad in 632.
The Muslims aggressively expended north to gain control because of lake of
resources in their area. Originally Muhammad didn’t want people outside of Arabs
to be converted so it was a Arab-Muslim rule.

During the First Four Caliphs reigns Islam spread rapidly. The
expansion was so rapid because of the belief and faithfulness to jihad, the
concept of jihad was for Muslims to extend their faith to non-believers. The
jihad did not include aggressive warfare against non-Muslims, but a “holy war”
was sometimes waged by Muslims who felt threatened.

The Umayyad’s limited the number of conversions to Islam in

661-750. Although the Abbasid Dynasty made the conversions to Islam widely
available, this increased the number of Muslims from 40% to nearly 100% in the
area. Following the fall of the Abbasid Dynasty ended all Arab power over the
Muslims. Turks and Mongols converted themselves to Islam. This spread Islam all
trough Asia. The spread reached all the way through Asia and into
Europe.

As Islam spread through Europe through small wars, the travelers

to the new world spread it into the Americas through force to convert to the
religion.

Judaism

Abraham is born(c. 1813 BCE).

Abraham is born around 1813 BCE. According to the first five books of the Bible, God chooses Abraham
to be the father of Isaac, the founder of the Jewish people. This people will be special to God, as well as
an example of holiness to others around the world.
1713 BC
Abraham forms the first covenant with God(c. 1713 BCE).

Around 1713 BCE, Abraham circumcises himself, and this act symbolizes the covenant between God and
all his descendants. Under this covenant, God promises to make Abraham the father of a great nation,
and to give his descendants the land that later becomes Israel. This is the basis for male circumcision in
the Jewish faith.
1280

Moses leads the Jews on an exodus from Egypt(c. 1280 BCE).

For several hundred years, the Jews are enslaved in Egypt. Moses, a Jewish man raised as an Egyptian
prince, is appointed God's prophet. Around 1280 BCE he leads his people out of enslavement on a
journey to Canaan known as the Exodus. During this time, Moses presents the Israelites with the Ten
Commandments and forms a new covenant with God, which lays the foundation for the Jewish religion.
970 BC

King Solomon constructs the First Temple(c. 970 BCE).

King Solomon of Israel builds his crowning achievement, the First Temple, on Mount Moriah around 970
BCE. This temple houses the Ark of the Covenant, a holy relic that contains the Ten Commandments.
Several hundred years later, the temple is destroyed by the Babylonians.
920 BC

Israel splits into two kingdoms(c. 920 BCE).

When King Solomon dies around 920 BCE, northern tribes revolt, and the land of the Hebrews splits into
two kingdoms: the kingdom of Israel in the north, and the kingdom of Judah in the south. They remain
separate for over two hundred years, and the Hebrews begin to splinter into smaller groups.
722 BC

The Assyrians conquer Israel and launch the Jewish diaspora(c. 722 BCE).

Around 722 BCE, the Assyrians conquer the kingdom of Israel and force the ten tribes to resettle in other
parts of the empire, according to Assyrian custom. The scattering of the tribes is the beginning of the
Jewish diaspora, or living away from Israel, which characterizes much of Jewish history. Later the
Babylonians relocate the Judeans, as well.
164 BC

The Maccabees regain control of Jerusalem and purify the Temple(164 BCE).

Alexander the Great's successors launch a campaign of Hellenization in Israel, and they erect a statue of
Zeus in the second Temple of Jerusalem and outlaw Jewish observances. The Jews revolt, led by a group
known as the Maccabees, and in 164 BCE they regain control of Jerusalem and purify the Temple. This
event forms the basis of the celebration of Hannukah.
66

The Jews revolt against Roman rule(66 CE).

In 66 CE the Jews launch the Great Revolt against their Roman rulers, which becomes one of the great
tragedies of the Jewish tradition. The Jews rebel in response to years of cruelty by Roman rulers, and the
revolt culminates in a siege of Jerusalem. In 70 the Romans breach the walls of Jerusalem, destroy the
second Temple, and kill an estimated one million Jews as they reassert authority. A second revolt in 132
CE results in the Jews being banned from Jerusalem.
200

The Mishna is compiled and codified(c. 200).

Because of these tragedies, Jewish academics focus on compiling and codifying the teachings of the
Rabbis. Around 200, the Mishna, or a collection of rabbinic teachings, sayings, and interpretations, is
compiled. Soon after the Talmud, an expansion of the Mishna teachings, is compiled in Palestine and
later updated in Babylon.
1096
Europeans massacre Jews in the First Crusade.

After enjoying a golden age in European cities, the Jews' fortune reverses. In 1096 members of the First
Crusade, which attempts to purge Christian landmarks of heathens, massacre Jewish citizens of
European cities. This launches centuries of pogroms against Jews in Europe.
1698

Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov is born.

In 1698 Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov is born, and he goes on to found Hasidism, perhaps the single most
important religious movement in Jewish history. Hasidism emphasizes that by paying close attention to
the religious aspects of everything a person does, anyone can grow closer to God. However, it leads to
divisions within Judaism.
1839

Abraham Geiger promotes Reform Judaism in Europe.

Reform Judaism begins to emerge in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, as a response to
the major social and political changes happening in Europe. In 1839 Abraham Geiger joins a Breslau
Jewish community and eventually becomes one of Reform Judaism's most staunch defenders. The
movement attempts to help Jews find a balance between Jewish tradition and modern developments in
wider society.
August 29, 1897

The First Zionist Congress convenes.

Theodore Herzl convenes the First Zionist Congress on August 29, 1897, the first major interterritorial
gathering of Jews to discuss the nascent Zionist movement. This movement seeks to establish a Jewish
nation in Palestine, after centuries of Jews living away from Israel.
September 15, 1935

The Nuremberg Laws begin to rescind Jewish rights in Germany.

Germany enacts the Nuremberg Laws on September 15, 1935, the first of many anti-Jewish statutes
aiming to rescind Jewish rights. This marks the beginning of a longer period of Jewish persecution in
Germany, culminating in the Holocaust of the 1930s and 1940s. During this period, over six million Jews
are murdered systematically by the Nazis.
May 14, 1948

The state of Israel is created.

Partially in response to the tragedies of the Holocaust, the state of Israel is created on May 14, 1948,
when the United Nations partitions land between the Jews and the Arabs. The United States recognizes
the new nation immediately, and unrestricted Jewish immigration is permitted to the new land.
Between 1948 and 1951, almost 700,000 Jews immigrate to Israel.

Judaism has the third most followers in the world. Judaism is

also the oldest monotheistic religion in the world. The history of Judaism
cannot be separated from that of the Christian people. Judaism started when
Abraham was called to leave his home in Ur and travel to Palestine and Israel,
the land God promised to give Abraham’s descendants. The second covenant was
made when Moses led the Jews out of slavery in Egypt back to Israel. At Mt.
Horeb, God gave the Jewish people the 10 Commandments and the other rules they
must live by. The Torah was the book of the Jewish people, which are the first
five books of the Bible.
Judaism and Christianity had the same beginnings. The Christian people
started as Jewish people and converted to Christianity when Jesus came to Earth.
The Jewish people didn’t believe that Jesus was the chosen Messiah that was to
come to Earth and save them all. They didn’t believe that he was the promised
Messiah from God.

After the spilt with the Muslims, this lead to the demise of the
Babylonian Jewish community because of the demise the Jews in the area moved to
Spain, northwest Africa, and Egypt. With the move they took their religion with
them and were preaching the word to the people in the area. The Jewish community
flourished in Spain until the Christians engaged in a “reconquest” of Spain and
forced Jews to convert to Christianity. In their attempts to stay crypto-Jews,
many conversos, practiced
Jewish rituals in secret. The Jews were kicked out of Spain and were forced to
move to places like Italy and countries of the Ottoman Empire, spreading their
religion there to the people.

Judaism moved whenever they were forced to move out of an area. The
people never wanted war with anyone so they did what everyone wanted. The taught
the word of God when they moved from area to are.

Hinduism

The story of Hinduism is somewhat elusive.

There is no definitive starting point, no founder, no single holy text in the history of Hinduism. Even the
term “Hinduism” as we know it today is the result of the British attempt, during colonial times, to group
India’s numerous indigenous religions into a single, overarching tradition.

But though the formation of Hinduism is relatively recent, Hindu beliefs and practices derive from
ancient customs going back thousands of years. Some scholars believe Hinduism is the oldest religion in
the world.

The Formation of Hinduism

It’s difficult to trace the early history of Hinduism, but the word Hindu is from the Sanskrit word for the
Indus River, “Sindhu.” It was first used by ancient Persians to refer to the people living near the Indus
River in present-day Pakistan. Later, as Islam became a major influence in India, the word Hindu
designated anyone who was not Muslim. During colonial times, the British used “Hindu” to mean
anyone—Buddhist, Jain, Sikh included—who was not a Muslim, Christian, or Jew.

Scholars believe it was from this Indus Valley civilization that Hinduism emerged, prompted by cultural
and political changes in the region. Nomadic tribes from eastern Europe and central Asia migrated into
the valley around 1500 BC and brought with them their own social and spiritual beliefs that influenced
and mingled with the religions of the Indus Valley people.

The Vedic Period, when sacred Hindu texts called the Vedas were composed, lasted from around 1500
BC to 500 BC, up to the time of Buddha. During this era, the priestly class of Brahmins used the Vedas—a
vast collection of hymns, poems, and spiritual rituals in the ancient language of Sanskrit—to conduct
religious rituals, perform fire sacrifices to gods, and stake their claim at the top of a caste system, which
developed during Vedic times.
This social hierarchy, based on a division of labor, included priests, warriors, merchants, laborers, and
those who did not fall into any category who were later called “untouchables.” Eventually, the rules of
the caste system became entwined with the practice of Hinduism.

New Inspiration and Influences

As Vedic culture declined, new systems of belief emerged, including Buddhism and Jainism, that
challenged the Brahmin priests and their caste hierarchy. However, the Epics and the Puranas—
additional sacred Hindu texts—were probably composed during this time between 500 BC and AD 500.
Many elements recognized in Hinduism today originate from these writings, including rituals, temple
worship, festivals, and popular stories about Hindu gods. From AD 500, temple worship and devotion to
deities such as Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma became popular.

“Hinduism has now grown to become the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.”

By the seventh or eighth century AD, Islam was on the rise in northern India. Muslim armies invaded
parts of India, sometimes destroying Hindu temples and restricting Hindus from worshiping their deities.
Muslim rule in India lasted from around 1200 until the 1750s. Then, as European powers began their
scramble for colonies in Asia, the British established themselves in India in 1757.

Under British rule, the fusion of India’s myriad philosophies, beliefs, and rituals began to take shape. The
British “creation” of Hinduism was an attempt to organize the diverse, indigenous practices, and
worship of gods and goddesses throughout India. With the help of Brahmin priests, British scholars
interpreted the Vedas from Sanskrit and presented them as the uniform, authoritative texts of
Hinduism.

At first, Hindus were allowed to practice their religion without interference, but soon the British
advocated for westernizing India. This led to a rising alarm at the cultural changes taking place and set
the stage for a Hindu reformer named Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi’s belief in universal truth (all paths lead
to god) and nonviolence informed his hope for religious tolerance in India. He went on to lead a
nonviolent movement for India’s independence, which it achieved in 1947. His teachings continue to be
revered today by Hindus and non-Hindus alike.

Hinduism Today
Hinduism has now grown to become the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam. There
are an estimated 950 million followers worldwide, and almost 80 percent of India’s population is Hindu.
Hinduism is also common in Nepal and Sri Lanka and has attracted followers from Western cultures too.

One of the most famous converts was Beatles guitarist George Harrison to a branch of Hinduism called
Hare Krishna. Following his death, Harrison’s ashes were scattered on the waters of India’s sacred
Ganges river, believed to have its source at the god Vishnu’s feet. For Hindus, the scattering of ashes on
the Ganges river symbolizes the soul’s journey toward becoming one with ultimate reality. Many Hindus
travel to the banks of the sacred Ganges to await death, believing that if you die in this holy spot, your
soul is released from the cycle of reincarnation and achieves salvation.

There remains a wide gap separating deep spiritual understanding from local, superstitious practices,
but Hinduism continues to evolve in response to social and cultural changes in India. Whatever the
changes, the view that all paths lead to god persists.

Hinduism has the fourth largest number of followers in the world.

Hinduism was created through the intermixing of two different
cultures involving Aryans and the Indus Valley civilizations. The Aryans
invaded India and shared their religion ideas on the Indian natives. The Aryan
religion accepted the rituals of the natives and it eventually evolved into
Hinduism. Hinduism believes in multiple Gods and Goddesses.

Hinduism is one of the world’s oldest religions it has no identifiable

founder. Hinduism has no single founder no specific book or even a path to
follow. People who practice Hinduism are able to choose their own path of
enlightenment. Their creator is Brahma.

Most Hindus are Indians or of the Indian descent. Although as

Hinduism spread throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia, other ethnic groups
converted into Hinduism.

Hinduism stayed mostly in Asia. The religion never traveled much out of Asia.
The religions population of the world is only 13.4%.

Hinduism spread through trade because India is a major trade center in

Europe. It spread when items would go in and out of India; people spread their
beliefs with others. Every person born in India is considered to be
Hindu.

The religion did not spread much because people who do practice Hinduism
believe that you must be born into Hinduism that conversion is not a complete
acceptance into the religion.

Hinduism is all over the world but it is focused in India and Southeast
Asia.

Buddhism

Buddhism has the fifth most followers in the world.

Buddhism originated in northern India and began to spread

southward into South East Asia countries.

Siddharta was meditating under a pipal tree one day when he was
visited by Gabriel and was given the word of the God. He changed his name to
Buddha and went out to spread the word.

During Buddha’s life he traveled around in Northern India

spreading his word also setting up monastic orders. Since these monastic orders
had to beg for their living, they were normally located near settlements.
After Buddha’s death, stupas or mounds were told to hold his ashes and relics of his life.
They were told to spread the word with the people around them.
They spread the word throughout India into southern China.

Buddhism didn’t spread much. Buddhism and Hinduism are very much
alike. They are practiced in the same areas of the world. They have different
beliefs though. Buddhism doesn’t believe in reincarnation like Hinduism does.
That’s one of the major differences in the religions. Neither of the religions
spread out over a large area of land and they are practiced in the same parts of
the world. They aren’t very highly populated religions either.
As a contested term, globalization has many definitions, each worthy of merit. Generally, globalization is
first thought of “in economic and political terms, as a movement of capitalism spreading across the
globe.”[1] It calls to mind “homogenizing exports of the US” such as Nike, McDonald’s, and MTV.[2]
However, since globalization can be defined as a process of an “ever more interdependent world”[3]
where “political, economic, social, and cultural relationships are not restricted to territorial boundaries
or to state actors,” globalization has much do with its impact on cultures.[4]

As goods and finance crisscross across the globe, globalization shifts the cultural makeup of the globe
and creates a homogenized “global culture.”[5] Although not a new phenomenon, the process of
globalization has truly made the world a smaller place in which political, social, and economic events
elsewhere affect individuals anywhere.[6] As a result, individuals “search for constant time and space-
bounded identities” in a world ever changing by the day.[7] One such identity is religion.

Generally, religion is a “system of beliefs and practices.”[8] More specifically, the word comes from the
Latin “religare” which means “to bind together again that which was once bound but has since been
torn apart or broken.”[9] Indeed, with the globalization of economics and politics, individuals feel
insecure “as the life they once led is being contested and changed at the same time.”[10] Hence, “in
order for a person to maintain a sense of psychological well-being and avoid existential anxiety,”[11]
individuals turn to scripture stories and teachings that provide a vision about how they can be bound to
a “meaningful world,” a world that is quickly changing day-by-day.[12]

Nonetheless, the relationship between globalization and religion is one with new possibilities and
furthering challenges. On the one hand, while religion takes advantage of communication and
transportation technology, it is at the same time the source of globalization’s greatest resistance by
acting as a haven for those standing in opposition to its power.[13] On the other hand, because
globalization allows for daily contact, religion enters a circle of conflict in which religions become “more
self-conscious of themselves as being world religions.”[14] This essay argues that the relationship
between religion and globalization is complex, one with new possibilities and furthering challenges.
However, this essay cannot provide a comprehensive overview of religion and globalization, as the
terrain is too vast. Still, it does provide several examples to illustrate the complex relationship between
the two.

First, this essay explains how globalization engenders greater religious tolerance across areas such as
politics, economics, and society. Second, it explains that as globalization does so, it also disrupts
traditional communities, causes economic marginalization, and brings individuals mental stress, all of
which create a backlash of religious parochialism. Third, although globalization paves the way in bringing
cultures, identities, and religions in direct contact, this essay also explains that globalization brings
religions to a circle of conflicts that reinforces their specific identities. Finally, using three paradigmatic
individuals and their use of religious ideals in their human rights work, this essay provides some
suggestions on how not just religions but humanity can use existing religious principles as ways to
overlook religious and cultural differences.

Globalization Engendering Greater Religious Tolerance

Globalization brings a culture of pluralism, meaning religions “with overlapping but distinctive ethics and
interests” interact with one another.[15] Essentially, the world’s leading religious traditions—Hinduism,
Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—teach values such as human dignity, equality, freedom,
peace, and solidarity.[16] More specifically, religions maintain the Golden Rule: “what you do not wish
done to yourself, do not do to others.”[17] Therefore, through such religious values, globalization
engenders greater religious tolerance in such areas as politics, economics, and society.

In political areas, globalization has built global political forums that integrate cultural, ethnic, and
religious differences—ideologies that were once perceived as dividing the world—through a large
number of international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and the World Health
Organization (WHO), as well regional organizations like the European Union (EU), the Organization of
the Islamic Conference (OIC), or the African Union (AU). When discussing issues such as international
peace and security, health issues, poverty, and environment, these organizations generally share many
of the same basic commitments as religious traditions—mainly peace, human dignity, and human
equality, as well as conflict resolution in which they actively engage in negotiation, mediation, and
diplomacy.[18]

In addition to these political organizations, religious communities such as the Roman Catholic Church,
the World Council of Churches, and the Jewish Diaspora also take part in international affairs.[19] For
instance, they have taken part in events such the Jubilee 2000, an international effort advocating for
cancelling Third World debt by the year 2000, and the World Faiths Development Dialogue, an effort of
international faith leaders along with the World Bank to support development agendas corresponding to
the UN’s Millennium Development Goals.[20] Furthermore, religious organizations have, themselves,
been involved in interreligious dialogue. The Parliament of the World’s Religions of 1993, first conveyed
during the 1893 Chicago World Exhibit, brought the world’s diverse faith traditions—from African
indigenous religions, the major religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), to any forms of faith that
would agree to civil dialogue through mutual encounter—to use their similar values and discuss world
affairs.[21]

In terms of economics, as the economy of the major countries of the world has grown, the main
religions of each of those countries have also grown financially, providing more financial resources for
religions to spread their beliefs.[22] For example, although it may seem as an old tactic, missionary
work—especially in light of globalization—is strong in many Third World countries where religious
representatives convert the natives.[23] As a result, the major religions today have scattered across the
globe—Christianity turning “southern” and “black,” Islam turning “Asian,” and Buddhism turning
“white” and “western.”[24] Still holding on to their original territorial spaces where their shrines exist,
religions are fulfilling their general purpose of spreading their beliefs to people all over the world.[25]

Finally, religion has tremendously benefited from technological advancements. For example, websites
provide information and explanations about different religions to any person regardless of his or her
geographical location, as well as provide the opportunity to contact others worldwide and hold debates
which allow religious ideas to spread.[26] Furthermore, television allows for religious channels that
provide visual religious teachings and practices.[27] Hence, by making the leap onto the information
superhighway, which brings religious teachings into every home and monitor in a global setting,
religions have come together into one setting.[28]

In short, globalization allows for religions previously isolated from one another to now have regular and
unavoidable contact. As a result, globalization brings to the light the fact that since religions have similar
values, not one of them is “correct” and, therefore, can be changed.[29] But as the next section shows,
the same process that engenders greater religious tolerance also creates a backlash of religious
parochialism.

Globalization Creating Backlash of Religious Parochialism

Since globalization is considered as “the first truly world revolution,” “all revolutions disrupt the
traditions and customs of a people”—that is, “people’s very security, safety, and identity.”[30] As
globalization disrupts traditional communities, causes economic marginalization, and brings mental
stress, individuals feel these less desirable consequences of globalization. With religion’s power to
“convey a picture of security, stability, and simple answers” through stories and beliefs—unlike
economic plans, political programs, or legal regulations—individuals turn to religion.[31]

First, globalization breaks down traditional communities and replaces them with larger, impersonal
organizations. As globalization creates a “global village,” it dramatically alters what individuals
traditionally understood themselves by—“citizenship,” “nationality,” and “immigration.”[32] For
instance, the European Union (EU) does not call their members by country of origin but rather by their
greater title, European citizens. Moreover, such organizations set universal standards upon all members,
causing individuals to believe that they are not fairly represented. As a result, feeling that these
organizations have shattered their “protective cocoon” that has shielded them in the past, many
individuals find comfort in religion.[33]
In giving individuals a sense of belonging, religious groups help them to find themselves in modern
times. For instance, religious leaders, pointing to modern society’s loss of ethical values and increased
corruption, preach, “the only answer to the current ‘decay’ is a return to traditional values and religious
norms.”[34] Hence, religion supplies these individuals with a feeling of being a part of a group that
represents their interests and allows them to regain their traditional sense of who they are.

Second, globalization brings economic marginalization. For example, as transnational corporations

increasingly take over the role of the state’s involvement in the economic sector, the government loses
its status as a welfare provider. Moreover, increasing the gaps between those who have benefit from
the global market (generally the West) and those who have been left behind (generally the Global
South), globalization is seen as “Western imperialism,” as well as “Americanization.”[35] For instance,
globalization “encourage[es] people to buy American goods and services, which ultimately “undermines
deep-rooted communal values.”[36] Simply put, individuals are bombarded with McDonald’s, Nike, and
MTV.

By responding to individuals’ desire for welfare, as well as acting as a cultural protection against
globalization, religion plays a social role and gains more recognition from the marginalized, particularly
those in Third World countries.[37] For instance, religious organizations such as Catholic Relief Services,
World Vision International, and Islamic Relief Worldwide help serve the disadvantaged in areas such as
poverty relief, health care, the HIV/AIDs crisis, and environment problems.[38] In fact, even if only
promising prosperity and hope of economic relief, these organizations draw massive followers as, by
lacking “extensive transnational bureaucracies and chains of command,” they provide “the strength of
collective identity and the depth of ethical commitments.”[39]

Last but not least, globalization causes mental stress. Although globalization allows for crisscrossing
borders, it also leaves individuals worrying about losing work, status, or other privileges.[40] Moreover,
since globalization favors material prosperity as the aim of life over inner peace, individuals focus on
attaining some material possession such as a house, car, game, or simply any object.[41] When they
attain such item(s), however, they find themselves empty inside and, therefore, realize that inner peace
can never be achieved through material possessions.[42]

To these individuals then, religion provides them the way to inner peace and the sense of personal
fulfillment. For example, individuals who feel insecure in the globalized world, in business or personal
life, will often pray to God for his spiritual support.[43] In addition, these individuals realize that getting
involved within their communities and organizing together in social movements for a good cause brings
more satisfaction to them than do material possessions.[44] They see themselves as being part of
something important and worthwhile.

In short, in face of rapid changes in the globalized world, to regain the sense of certainty, many
individuals turn to religion for a clear explanation of what is going on in the world. With its strength as a
powerful identity that brings the message of unity and security in times of crisis, religion provides the
idea of a “home.”[45] But as the last section demonstrates, this religious identity becomes a major
ingredient that reduces the self and the other to a number of cultural religious characteristics.

Religious Identity and Globalization: Furthering Challenges

As the previous section shows, since God has set the rules and has made them difficult to challenge,
religion provides answers to questions concerning self-identity.[46] However, in providing such answers,
religion also institutes a notion of “truth,”[47] which implies an automatic exclusion of the one—called
an “abject”—who does not adhere to such “truth.”[48] In times of uncertainty like globalization,
therefore, collective identity is reduced to a number of cultural religious characteristics —“them” and
“us” and “they” and “our.”[49] In other words, the abject suddenly becomes recognized as a threat.

For example, since the 9/11 attacks, there has been a tendency of the West to link the religion of Islam
with terrorist practices while Al-Qaeda links the US as Christian or a Judeo-Christian nation.[50] On the
one hand, Al-Qaeda men who hijacked the planes on 9/11 saw the passengers and those working in the
World Trade Center and Pentagon as “abjects” of Islam.[51] On the other hand, the US-led invasion of
Afghanistan and then Iraq turned into wars of “Islamofacism” and a “crusade” to the divine in getting rid
of evil.[52] Moreover, other attacks on innocent people based on cultural religious characteristics occur
today: Muslims in the United States, Western Europe, or India, Kurds in Iraq, and Jews in France.[53] In
other words, though socially constructed, these cultural religious characteristics become a unifying force
against others not adhering to a particular truth.

Interestingly then, the idea of religious identity in this era of globalization may hold in-line with
Huntington’s thesis. According to Huntington (1990), while conflict during the Cold War occurred
between the Capitalist West and the Communist Bloc East, current and future conflicts are most likely to
occur between the world’s major civilizations, and not the states, including Western, Latin American,
Islamic, Sinic (Chinese), Hindu, Orthodox, Japanese, and the African.[54] In a broader sense, having
paved the way for religions to come in direct contacts with one another, globalization has, indeed,
brought religions to a circle of competition and conflicts. As long as religions see themselves as “world
religions” and reinforce their specific identities, the chance for religions to avoid conflict among one
another is grey.[55] Luckily, the final section brings some hope on how religions can use their existing
principles as ways to overlook their differences.

Conclusion

In a time in which globalization has yet to fully complete its process, religions must use the
communication easily available through advanced technology to focus more on the humane and
pluralistic forms of their teachings—values such as human dignity and human freedom—as means to
manage religious diversity and avoid violence. In other words, religious should be open to other
traditions and what they can teach. In fact, though having “fixed texts,” the major world religions do not
have “fixed beliefs,” “only fixed interpretations of those beliefs,”[56] meaning their beliefs can be
“rediscovered, reinvented, and reconceptualized.”[57]

As interesting examples, in their attempt to create the tradition of nonviolence from diverse religions
and cultures, three paradigmatic individuals—Leo Tolstoy, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King,
Jr.—have, indeed, “rediscovered, reinvented, and reconceptualized” the beliefs of the world’s major
religions.[58] The three individuals indicate that “it is possible for narrative diversity to generate a
shared ethic without sacrificing the diversity of particular religions.”[59]

For instance, although coming from a gentry class in Russia and receiving fame and fortune from his
novels, Tolstoy converted to Christianity in part after reading a story about how a Syrian monk named
Barlaam brought about the conversion of a young Indian prince named Josaphat, who gave up his
wealth and family to seek an answer to aging, sickness, and death.[60] Deeply indebted in Buddhism for
his conversion to Christianity, Tolstoy, attempting to live his life by the teachings of Jesus’ Sermon on
the Mount, gave away all his wealth and spent the rest of his life serving the poor.[61] Nevertheless, the
story about Barlaam and Josaphat has “worked its way into virtually all the world’s religions.”[62]

Similarly, Gandhi, when he encountered Tolstoy’s writings, drew his attention to the power of the
Sermon on the Mount.[63] In encountering Jesus’ Sermon, Gandhi became motivated to “turn the great
Hindu narrative from the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, in order to find the message of nonviolence
within his own religion and culture.”[64] By finding that Tolstoy’s understanding of the Sermon on the
Mount lacked “nonviolence as an active rather than a passive virtue . . . capable of producing an active
resistance to evil,” he found it present in the Bhagavad Gita.[65] As a result, Ghandi transformed the
Bhagavad Gita from a story that authorized killing to one of nonviolence reflected from the story of
Jacob wrestling with the stranger and Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.[66]

Lastly, Martin Luther King, Jr. also drew insight from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Judaism.[67]
For instance, connecting Gandhi with Jesus Christ, he saw Gandhi’s philosophy of nonviolence as similar
to Jesus’ suffering on the cross.[68] Therefore, King’s theological theme was the idea that “unmerited
suffering is redemptive,” meaning he constantly reminded blacks that they would experience a “season
of suffering” before they would achieve justice.[69] In general terms, King’s theology focused on values
grounded in religion—justice, love, and hope.[70] In short, as Tolstoy, Ghandi, and King illustrate,
“narrative traditions are not mutually exclusive.”[71] They are connected through themes and,
therefore, allow religions to engage in interreligious dialogue.
As this essay’s previous sections show, religions have, indeed, taken part in dialogues beforehand. As a
further example, religious leaders gathered at the UN’s Millennium Peace Summit in September 2000 to
mark the turn of the millennium.[72] A milestone in itself, as the UN is not a common ground in the
sense of a ecumenical meeting inside a church, synagogue, or mosque but rather a global common
ground, the Summit’s conversation encouraged that world’s religious communities stop fighting and
arguing amongst themselves and begin working together for peace, justice, and social harmony.[73] As
then UN Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed to the Summit, “Whatever your past, whatever your
calling, and whatever the differences among you, your presence here at the United Nations signifies
your commitment to our global mission of tolerance, development, and peace.”[74]

Moreover, as transnational corporations increasingly become actors in the international system, one
could argue that religious communities have agreed on “the emerging global ethic” which consists of
three major components: 1) corporations are prohibited from involving in bribes and corruption, 2)
corporations are prohibited from discriminating on the grounds of race, religion, ethnicity, or gender in
the conduct of business, and 3) corporations are prohibited from activities that pose a significant threat
to human life and health.[75] Simply put, these components are, in themselves, religious values used to
regulate the way transitional corporations increasingly engage in the global market.

The bottom line is that the pieces of interreligious dialogue to manage religious diversity and to avoid
violence are there, but the problem may be of globalization’s intentional and/or unintentional
consequence of making religions more conscious of themselves as “world religions,” as well as the
undesirable consequences of disrupting traditional communities, causing economic marginalization, and
bringing individuals mental stress—all reinforcing religious cultural characteristics and identities. Hence,
the relationship between religion and globalization has brought new possibilities but also furthering
challenges.

Religion and globalisation have always shared a relation of struggle and conflict. Globalisation has
generally been
linked with economic and political interdependence which ultimately has brought people closer and
effect of no event
is isolated but is felt in far-off places too. It has shifted the cultural build up of the world and led to
formation of a
‘global culture’- a common minimum which is accepted by all.
Globalisation stands for increased and daily contact while religions are becoming more self-conscious for
themselves
as being the world religions. The basic tenets of globalisation stand against religious parochialism. By
diminishing the
barriers between different cultures, globalisation lands religion in a quagmire of conflicts which
reinforce social
identities as some do not accept the new realities and turn to religion to rediscover their own identity.
Religion
provides a sense of belongingness to a group in the world. Religion has stood the complexities and
onslaught of the
modern world and is seen to be further intensified under the conditions of contemporary development.
Although some groups have made religion as a weapon to both integrate and terrorise masses, generally
people have
become more tolerant of other religious beliefs and practices and have come to associate all acts of
terror as antireligious.
In third world nations, where the vulnerable sections find themselves more marginalised by the forces
of globalisation,
religion takes a prime welfare role and acts as a cultural protector for these sections. Religion thus plays
a social role
by helping in social causes and successfully gets greater recognition. Here it presents a direct challenge
to
globalisation.
India is home to a massive rural population to whom the benefits of globalisation will take time to reach.
In this fast
pace life, religion acts as ‘home’ for personal peace and gives a message of peace in times of crisis.
Urbanisation has
attracted many rural youth and continues to bring them to cities for better life. Religion can use the new
possibilities
presented by the global forces to reach to more people and also rediscover the essence of other
religions. All religions
have fixed texts but none has fixed beliefs. Religions can come together and stand for increased peace in
the world
with mutual tolerance and respect.