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LEARNING GUIDE

Week No.: __7_

TOPIC/S: The Globalization of Religion

EXPECTED COMPETENCIES:
At the end of the week, you must have:
1. explained how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs;
2. identified the various religious responses to globalization; and 3.
discussed the future of religion in a globalized world.

CONTENT/TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Religion and Globalism

Much more than culture, religion has the most difficult relationship with globalism.
The following shows the distinctive nature of the two (Claudio and Abinales, 2018).

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RELIGION GLOBALISM
Concerned with the sacred; less concerned Places value on material wealth
with wealth and all that comes along with it
Follows divine commandments Abides by human laws
Believes there is a link between human and Yardstick is how much of human action can
divine; lead to the highest material satisfaction and
“God”, “Allah”, or “Yahweh” defines and subsequent wisdom that this new status
judges human action in moral terms (good produces
vs. bad)
A religious person’s main duty is to live a Less worried about whether they will end up
virtuous, sin-less life such that when he/she in heaven or hell
dies, s/he is assured of a place in the other
world (e.g. heaven)
The religious detests politics and the quest Values both means and ends to open up
for power for they are the evidence of further the economies of the world
humanity’s weakness

Religion and globalism clash over the fact that religious evangelization is in itself a form of
globalization.

Religious evangelization (such as through “missionary works in distant places”) is

spreading holy ideas globally (ideoscape).

Globalists wish to spread goods and services and is focused on the realm of markets
(Financescape, technoscape, ideoscape).
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These philosophical distinctions explain why some religious opt to isolate themselves
from their communities. They tend to protect themselves from the dangers posed by
earthly/material things or from the distractions/temptations that will lead them from
abandoning their faith and succumb to sinfulness.

Realities

• The contemporary world is furiously religious as shown in the obvious

proliferation of major religious traditions – Christianity, Islam, Judaism,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, among others. (The author did not include
individual discussions on these because they have been exhaustively covered in
the SHS core subject The Philosophy of the Human Person. Thus, the student is
directed to review their notes on this.)
• Religions are the foundations of modern republics – To Khomeini of the
government of Iran, for example, “Islamic rule is the superior form of government
because it is spiritual”.
• Religious movements do not hesitate to appropriate secular themes and
practices – for example, the moderate Muslim association Nahdlatul Ulama in
Indonesia has Islamic schools where students are taught not only Islam but also
about modern science, the social sciences, modern banking, civic education, rights
of women, pluralism, and democracy. In the Philippines, Catholic schools have
been practicing the same since Spanish occupation.
• Most religions oppose “profane” globalization – religious fundamentalists dislike
globalization’s materialism, thoughtless consumption, hedonism, etc.

Religion for Globalization

Two of the oldest religions, Christianity and Islam, see globalization less as an obstacle and
more as an opportunity to expand their reach all over the world.

These religions, for example, are distributing materials containing religious doctrines
and ideas through products of globalization such as media and information technologies.

Now that there is a pandemic crisis, where mass gatherings are highly regulated or
prohibited, religions resorted to the use of TV, radio, social media, among others, to continue
nurturing the spirituality of their believers/members remotely.

Religion against Globalization

While religions may benefit from the processes of globalization, tensions with the
globalist ideology will not easily subside. For example, some believers of Islam view
globalization as a Trojan horse hiding Western values such as secularism, liberalism, or even
communism that may eventually displace Islam.

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas intended for
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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PROGRESS CHECK:

DFQuestions you can choose from:

Option 1. Agree or disagree: Religion is opposed to globalization. How? (5 sentences only)

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Option 2. What religion do you consider most suitable to the processes of globalization?
5 Why? (
sentences only)

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REFERENCES

Aldama, Prince Kennex. (2018). The Contemporary World. Rex Book Store, Inc.

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas intended for
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.
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Claudio, Lisandro. (2018). The Contemporary World. C&E Publishing Inc.

This module is a property of Technological University of the Philippines Visayas intended for
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY and is NOT FOR SALE NOR FOR REPRODUCTION.