Lesson 2: The Globalization of Religion

a. Effects of Globalization to Religion

b. Types of Religious Organization
c. Five Major World Religion

Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this topic/chapter, you must be able to:
1. Examine how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs
2. Discuss the characteristics of each type of religious organization
3. Describe the relationship of globalization with the world’s major religions

Lesson 2: The Globalization of Religion

Globalization refers to the historical process by which all the world's people
increasingly come to live in a single social unit. It implicates religion and religions in several
ways. From religious or theological perspectives, globalization calls forth religious response
and interpretation. Yet religion and religions have also played important roles in bringing
about and characterizing globalization. Among the consequences of this implication for
religion have been that globalization encourages religious pluralism. Religions identify
themselves in relation to one another, and they become less rooted in particular places
because of diasporas and transnational ties. Globalization further provides fertile ground for
a variety of noninstitutionalized religious manifestations and for the development of religion
as a political and cultural resource.

Globalization has played a tremendous role in providing a context for the

current considerable revival and the resurgence of religion. Today, most religions are
not relegated to the few countries where they began. Religions have, in fact, spread
and scattered on a global scale.

There are three paradigms regarding the role of religion in the globalization process:

A. Effects of Globalization To Religion

Many of the religions have crossed many boundaries, having been spread by
immigrants, refugees, aggressors, or by the founders of this country. Finally, cultural
differences have changed religious beliefs and traditions within religious practices
(Blanco., et.al,2006).
Meknes – Religion and globalization persistently engage in a flexible relationship in
which the former relies on the latter in order to thrive and flourish while at the same time
challenging its (globalization’s) hybridizing effects. In order to emerge and spread, therefore,
religions make good use of the technologies of globalization since. Though religion is
strengthened and fortified by globalization, it represents a challenge to its (globalization’s)
hybridizing effects. Religion seeks to assert its identity in the light of globalization. As a
result, different religious identities come to the fore and assert themselves.
As Turner, S. Bryan explains, globalization transforms the generic ‘religion’
into a world-system of competing and conflicting religions. This process of
institutional specialization has transformed local, diverse and fragmented cultural
practices into recognizable systems of religion. Globalization has therefore had the
paradoxical effect of making religions (via their religious leaders and clites) more
self-conscious of themselves as being ‘world religion.
Such conflicts among the world religions exhibit a solid proof confirming the
erosion and the failure of hybridity. Globalization, as stated in the above excerpt,
makes religions more conscious of themselves as being ‘world religions’ reinforcing
their respective specific identities. These identities get strengthened by globalization
and cannot in any way intermingle or hybridize.
Such religions tend, as a result, to be more inclined towards clashes and competition.
Since globalization is said to bring the world cultures, identities, and religions in direct
contacts with each other and make everything hybrid, the competition and conflicts of
religions that it gives rise to constitute a challenge to it and its hybridizing effects.
The challenges of globalization to religion link automatically to the challenges of religion
to globalization. To put it in other words, while religion takes caution against the norms and the
values related to globalization, it challenges the latter since it (religion) does not approve its
hybridizing effects (El Azzouzi, 2013).

B. Types of Religious Organization

Many types of religious organizations exist in modern societies. Sociologists
usually group them according to their size and influence. Categorized this way, three
types of religious organizations exist: church, sect, and cult (Emerson, Monahan, &
Mirola, 2011). A church further has two subtypes: the ecclesia and denomination.
• Church is a large, bureaucratically organized religious organization that is
closely integrated into the larger society.

• Ecclesia, a large, bureaucratic religious organization that is a formal part of

the state and has most or all of a state’s citizens as its members. As such, the
ecclesia is the national or state religion. People ordinarily do not join an
ecclesia; instead they automatically become members when they are born. A
few ecclesiae exist in the world today, including Islam in Saudi Arabia and
some other Middle Eastern nations, the Catholic Church in Spain, the
Lutheran Church in Sweden, and the Anglican Church in England.

• Denomination, a large, bureaucratic religious organization that is closely

integrated into the larger society but is not a formal part of the state. In
modern pluralistic nations, several denominations coexist. Most people are
members of a specific denomination because their parents were members.
They are born into a denomination and generally consider themselves
members of it the rest of their lives, whether or not they actively practice their
faith, unless they convert to another denomination or abandon religion
altogether.
• Sect, a relatively small religious organization that is not closely integrated into
the larger society and that often conflicts with at least some of its norms and values.
Typically a sect has broken away from a larger denomination in an effort to restore
what members of the sect regard as the original views of the denomination. Because
sects are relatively small, they usually lack the bureaucracy of denominations and
ecclesiae and often also lack clergy who have received official training. Members of
many sects typically proselytize and try to recruit new members into the sect.

• Cult, a small religious organization that is at great odds with the norms and values
of the larger society. Cults are similar to sects but differ in at least three respects.
First, they generally have not broken away from a larger denomination and instead
originate outside the mainstream religious tradition. Second, they are often secretive
and do not proselytize as much. Third, they are at least somewhat more likely than
sects to rely on charismatic leadership based on the extraordinary personal qualities
of the cult’s leader.

C. Five Major World Religion

Globalization brings a culture of pluralism, meaning religions “with overlapping but
distinctive ethics and interests” interact with one another. Essentially, the world’s leading
religious traditions— Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism —teach values
such as human dignity, equality, freedom, peace, and solidarity. More than 70 percent of
the world's population identify with one of these five religions around the world. All of these
religions have their own religious books and believe in life after death.

Christianity is the world's biggest religion, with over 2.1 billion followers
worldwide. Christians follow the teachings of Jesus Christ in the Bible, and Christian holy
days include Easter and Christmas. The religion played an important role in the
development of Western civilization, and the three largest branches are the Catholic
Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and Protestantism.
Islam, the second largest religion, with over 1.5 billion followers. The Islamic religion
is based on the teachings of the prophet of Muhammad in their holy book the Quran.
Followers of Islam are based primarily in the Asia Pacific region and in the Middle East.
Hinduism is considered the oldest religion in the world and is the world's third
largest religion, boasting almost one billion followers. The Vedas, Upanishads and
Bhagavad Gita are its most important religious scriptures.
Buddhism has more than 350 million followers worldwide, and its followers
believe attaining nirvana is the ultimate goal.
Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions, and the religion's texts have
influenced Christianity and Islam.