LESSON 6:

THE GLOBALIZATION OF
RELIGION
Definition:
• Globalism→the operation or planning
of economic and foreign policy on a
global basis.

• Religion→the belief in and a worship of

a superhuman controlling power,
especially a personal God or gods.
 The Religious and the Globalist
• Religion and Globalism are two entirely
contrasting belief systems.
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE GLOBALIST PERSPECTIVE

Sacred Material wealth

Divine Commandments Human-made laws

To live according to the moral To achieve highest material
terms of God satisfaction
RELIGIOUS PERSPECTIVE GLOBALIST PERSPECTIVE

To live a virtuous and sin-less To seal trades, to raise profits

life and improve revenue

Aspiring to be a saint Trains to be a wise

businessperson

"Thirst for power is an Power is necessary for further

evidence of weakness" economic opportunities

Spreading of holy ideas Spread goods and services

• Religions regard identities associated with
globalism(citizenship, language and race) as
inferior and narrow because these are
EARTHLY categories.
• Being a member of a religious group
represents superiority as it connects human to
the divine and the supernatural.
• In other words, religious perspective says that
being a Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist, is
higher than just being a Filipino, a Spanish
speaker, or an American.
• These philosophical differences explain whw
certain groups "flee" their communities and
create impenetratable sanctuaries. These
groups believe that living among "non-
believers"will distract them from their mission.

EXAMPLES:
a. Followers of Dalai Lama
b. Rizalistas of Mt. Banahaw
c. Essenes during Roman control in Israel
d. Mormons of Utah
The Followers of Dalai Lama
THE RIZALISTAS
The Essenes of Israel
 MORMONS
(Latter Day Saints)
REALITIES
• Peter Berger- an Austrian sociologist. Said
that "far from being secularized, the
contemporary world is furiously religious."
EXAMPLE:
In Malaysia, the government places religion
at the center of the political system.
In Iran, the religious leader Khomeini set the
IslaIsl rule as the superior form of government
because it was spiritual.
 RELIGION FOR AND AGAINST
GLOBALIZATION

FOR GLOBALIZATION:
• Two of the world's oldest religions(Christianity and
Islam) see globalization less as an obstacle and
more as an opportunity to expand their reach all
over the world.
• Religion is thus, not the "regressive force" that
stops globalization. It is a pro-active force" that
gives communities a new and powerful basis of
identity.
 FOR GLOBALIZATION:
• Religious fundamentalism may dislike
globalization's materialism, but it continues
to use "the full range of modern means of
communication and organization" that is
associated with this economic
transformation.
 AGAINST GLOBALIZATION:
• While religions may benefit from the
processes of globalization, this does not
mean that its tension with globalist ideology
will subside.

EXAMPLES:
a. Pope Francis condemned globalization's
"throw-away culture"that is "fatally
destined to suffocate hope and increse
risks and threats."
b. The Lutheran World Federation warns
that as a result of globalization: "Our world is
split under by forces we often do not
understand, but that result in stark contrasts
between those who benefit and those who are
harmed, especially under forces of
globalization.

c. In Iran, the unchallenged superiority of a

religious autocracy has stifled all freedom of
expressions, distorted democratic rituals like
elections, and tainted the opposition.
Conclusion
"Religion, it seems, is somehow 'outside'
looking at globalization as problem or potential."
-Peter Bayer and Lori Beaman

One reason for this perspective is the association

of globalization with modernization, which is a
concept of progress that is based on science,
technology, reason, and the law.
• Religion, being a belief system that cannot
be empirically proven is, therfore, anathema
to modernization.

• Religion are quite malleable, they have

extraordinary resilience that outlasted
secular ideologies. Globalists, therefore,
have no choice but to accept this reality that
religion is here to stay.