Role Name Affiliation

National Coordinator

Subject Coordinator Prof Sujata Patel Dept. Of Sociology,

University of Hyderabad

Paper Coordinator Prof. Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social
Systems

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Content Writer Rupali Sehgal Research Scholar

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Content Reviewer Prof.Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social

Systems

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Language Editor Prof.Edward Rodrigues Centre for the Study of Social

Systems

Jawaharlal Nehru University

Technical Conversion

Module Structure

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact

Globalization and Religion of changes in the religious domain brought

about by globalization. This includes rapid
changes in the moral beliefs, value system of
people and emergence of new religious
networks.

Description of the Module

Items Description of the Module

Subject Name Sociology

Paper Name Religion and Society

Module Name/Title Globalization and Religion

Module Id Module no. 32

Pre Requisites To understand the impact of globalization upon

religion and vice versa.

To understand different debates on globalization

Objectives To understand and investigate a complex
relationship between religion, globalization, sate
and modernity in the era of high stage capitalism.

Key words Globalization, religion, commercialization of the

sacred, global culture

Religion and Society

Module 32: Globalization and Religion

Globalization has been outlined by David Harvey (1990) as space – time
compression. Arguing in the same line Meera Nanda (2009) says:
“Globalization can be understood as the sum total of processes that have brought
about this space – time compression to the point when, at least in principle, anyone,
from any place on earth, can instantaneously communicate with anyone, anywhere on
this planet.” (pp. 15)

Although we may associate the growth of globalization with the development of

modern communication technology, but Turner (2006) and other scholars believe that
this compression of time and space started from the end of the nineteenth century
when colonialism was at its peak. He argues that from a cultural or civilizational
perspective globalization can be seen to have much older roots and that creation of
trans – planetary communication networks (Nanda, 2009) since 1970s with the
introduction of neoliberalism and financial deregulation is something radically new.
He cites examples for ancient forms of cultural globalization – Buddhist missionary
activity in Asia and beyond, the spread of Sanskrit in Asia, the Olympic Games, the
spread of the western calendar, the global adoption of firearms, the expansion of Sufi
brotherhoods or the adoption of printing.

This module is divided into four sections. In the first section, we look at how
globalization has been defined by scholars, more specifically in relationship with the
category of religion. In section two, we look at what globalization has done to
religion in contemporary times. In section three, we look at the rise of the spiritual
market under globalization. Finally, in section four, we look at the impact of
globalization upon diasporic religious communities.

Section-I

Defining the globalization-religion relationship

T.K Oomen (2003) on the other hand traces the globalization of culture from
geographical explorations of the sixteenth century and colonialism which followed it.
Before that people were in contact but this contact was confined to the immediate
regions. Whereas with colonialism and colonial construction of culture the world
came to be recognized in an all together different way, the cultural discourse of
colonialism also created a division between the culture of the old world and the new
modern world. The people from ‘old and traditional’ societies were constructed as
‘others’ by the colonialists. Oomen call these constructs of culture as ‘savage other’,
the ‘black other’ and the ‘oriental other’ (2003).

But the question arises how globalization is different from other forms of conquest
and colonization? David Lehmann (2004) summarizes the phenomenon of
contemporary globalization as distinct from early forms of colonization in a very
concrete manner:
“Unlike the empires of the past, we have here a model in which all manner of
frontiers (political, economic, cultural, religious) are apparently breached and even
reduced to nothing in the creation of a seamless web of market relations and of the
legal and humanitarian institutions of capitalist democracy and global rules of
governance. In a globalized world of democratic capitalism, all authority is expected
to be rational and impersonal, all economic agents to be optimizing automata, and
religion a matter of private personal choice experienced in an institutional setting
governed by the same democratic principles as the state itself.” (pp. 409)

Religion, he says in spite of being a personal affair is influenced by the transmitted

ideas of a globalized world. Religion, being an important component of culture, needs
to be discussed in the light of cultural globalization. Religion drives culture and social
forms which is also evident from the definitions given by some eminent sociologists
like Durkheim (1912) or Clifford Geertz (1965). Religion is a unified system of
beliefs and practices or it is a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful,
pervasive and long lasting moods and motivations in men.

Religion and globalization can, in various manifestations, be seen as partners. History

pays testimony to the fact that the growth and influence of Christianity was a result of
a link between its own global ambitions and the expansion of various political and
economic regimes. Elements of similar historical pattern can be found in Buddhism,
Islam, and other faiths as well. (Introduction in Hedgehog review titled religion and
globalization, Vol 4 (2). 2000)

Section-II

Globalization and Religion in the contemporary world

Globalization has led to massive social changes in the world. Undoubtedly, religion is
not immune from these changes and their burgeoning effects brought about by
globalization. This also includes rapid changes in the moral beliefs and value system
of people. New religious networks are emerging which are transnational in character.
As globalization disembeds religions from their historic homelands and scatters them
around the world we can clearly observe how social processes try to globalize a
particular religion. For instance, the way Hindu temples and ashrams are becoming
increasingly transnational and how African and Korean churches are booming in
Europe and North America (Nanda, 2009) is relatively a new phenomenon. John
Zavos (2012) refers to three organizations: the National Council for Hindu Temples
(NCHT), the Hindu Council UK (HCUK) and the Hindu Forum of Britain (HFB).
Together these three organizations purporting to represent Hindus have developed a
public profile in the UK over a period of 30 years. They have a significant role to play
in the public representation of Hindu – ness. It is also surprising to see how in most of
Europe, including in France where the age of enlightenment originated, beliefs in
occult powers and reincarnation (Johnson, 2007) have gained firm grounds.
Therefore, we can say that globalization has played a tremendous role in the
revivalism and resurgence of some religions as they are today not relegated to the few
countries where their roots began (Azzouzi, 2013). As Jan Aart Scholte (2005) makes
clear:
“accelerated globalization of recent times has enabled co-religionists across the
planet to have greater direct contact with one another. Global communications, global
organizations, global finance and the like have allowed ideas of the transworld
Umma of Muslims and the universal Christian church to be given concrete shape as
never before.” (pp. 245)

It is here, that Appadurai’s idea of mediascape and technoscape (1996) needs to be

mentioned. When we see growing number of T.V. channels, radio stations and print
media founded solely for advocating religious values, the role of media in the
globalization process becomes observable. For instance, we see how India’s
devotional channels like Aastha, Sanskar, MH1 Shraddha, Bhakti TV and God Asia
are gaining popularity. Taking Islam as an example, we find T.V channels like Iqrae,
Ennass, Majd, El Houda, Erahma, etc. which are purely religious channels created for
the purpose of strengthening and the fortification of Islam (Azzouzi, 2013). Besides,
as the technology grew under globalization, improvements in the transportation
means contributed considerably to the emergence, revivalism and fortification of
religion. In this respect, Bryan Turner (2007) states that:
“Islamic revivalism in Asia is related to the improvement in transportation that has
allowed many Muslims to travel to Mecca, and return with reformist ideas” (pp 163)

When people move across the borders they also carry with themselves their ideas,
values and belief systems. They constitute a landscape (In Appadurai’s language an
‘ethnoscape’) and together they appear to affect the politics of nations. For instance,
Punjabi Sikhs settled in Canada enjoy a larger say in their government. This was
evident from the 42nd Canadian federal elections where 18 Punjabis were elected
as members of the House of Commons (Parliament) of Canada. Vertovec (2000) also
records that the patterns of migration and settlement creates social conditions that
encourage caste and regionally defined groups to invest in the institutionalization of
religious practices. That is why, by 1983, NCHT listed 32 temples across Britain as
members, rising to 88 at the current time (Zavos, 2012). Another example of
ethnoscape can be seen with the early Buddhists who travelled from Northern India to
China and Japan and spread stories of the Buddha and his teachings wherever they
went. Although digital technology now allows religious ideas to be communicated
quickly through websites and video, personal interaction remained the most effective
means of dissemination at that time. Christian Pentecostalism spread successfully in
the 20th century from North and South America to Africa and Asia chiefly as a result
of travelling missionaries who brought their Gospel message to new communities.
Similarly, religious values and ideas being central to people’s culture also have an
influence over the ideologies of other people. Ideas travel at a much faster rate in the
globalised world which alter and get altered by other’s views. In the process of
borrowing, transmitting and exchanging cultural products, very often an ideology is
also transmitted, which can be understood as Ideoscape (Appadurai, 1996). Oomen
(2003) also argues that though material culture has a high propensity to spread but
non – material or symbolic dimension of the culture gradually follows. So much so
that that the idea of cultural lag as propounded by Ogburn (1964) do exist in
sociology. Hence, religious values and norms of a particular region can travel across
the borders and help not others remain intact from the external influence.

Although it is doubtful whether we can confidently propose an idea of ‘global

religion’ in the present times because a global religion would have to presuppose a
global community where people must share common beliefs, experiences and
sentiments. Turner (2006) argues that unfortunately global networks are too thin and
fragile to serve as the social carriers of a shared set of symbols and practices.
Therefore, he says that it would be misleading to talk about religion as a
homogeneous phenomenon. Even David Lehmann (2009) argues on the similar lines
that a universal region is hard to establish:
“When religion crosses frontiers or breaks through barriers, even when it does so in
the most violent manner, the outcome cannot be the abolition of one set of religious
beliefs and practices by another, just as attempts to promote a universal God
encompassing all religions never make headway, however tolerant and inclusive that
vision may be.” (pp. 410)

On the contrary, globalization may bring about the unpacking of local cultural
complexes. It may also create multifarious local identities so much so that diversity is
seen in local spaces. To illustrate with examples, Caribbean Pentecostal Churches,
Nigerian ‘Aladura’ Churches or branches of the
Zimbabwe Assemblies of God Africa in Britain and Ghanaian Pentecostal churches
are so different from any British religious institution (Lehmann, 2004).
Turner (2006) further argues that in the globalized world, local (or mass religion) and
the elite religion interact to result in religious glocalisation which means “the
simultaneity --- the co-presence --- of both universalizing and particularizing
tendencies” (Robertson, 1992). For instance, Vale Do Amanhecer is a rapidly
expanding Brazilian religion where elements of Christianity, Brazilian indigenous
beliefs and European spiritism appear merged together with Afro – Brazilian
traditions.
Oomen (2003) argues that there is no possibility of a global culture as there are four
interrelated processes involved in its creation: homogenization, pluralization,
traditionalization and hybridization. Homogenization refers to popularization and
diffusion of cultural symbols to reduce cultural diversity (Jennings, 2010). The
homogenization thesis proclaims that global culture is becoming standardized around
a Western or American pattern. Rapid communication and constant flow of products
across the borders often give us the impression of homogenization. For instance,
popularity of blue jeans or pop music or democratic ideas can be seen as part of
homogenizational process. It is important to remember here, that homogenization can
often lead to hegemonization i.e. assimilation of the minority and weaker groups into
the mainstream. From the religious perspective, it can be seen that the attempts of
extreme Hindu right, the Sangh Parivar in India is believed to impose its
homogenizing fascism on the lines of Brahmanic ethos. There have been repeated
attempts by such Hindutva groups to bring homogeneity by forced conversions and
communal tensions. Increasing incidences of violence against Muslims, Christians
and Dalits especially in the decade of 1980s were conducted by different
organizations like BJP, VHP, Bajrang Dal, Hindu Jagran Manch and Hindu Munnani
for the specific agenda of homogenization of Hindutva politics (Puniyani, 2000).

T.N Madan (1993) on the contrary says that Hinduism which is demographically
dominant and even hegemonic is nothing but a federation of faiths. It has both
horizontal and vertical distribution rather than a single homogenous religion. In this
line, we can say that pluralism and not homogeneity is inherent in Hinduism because
it comprises many regional cultural groups. Pluralization implies existence and
practice of more than one forms of culture simultaneously.

A reactive process to the phenomenon of homogenization and hegemonization by the

weaker culture results in revivalism leading to traditionalization. It stresses a return to
traditional values of hard work, craftsmanship, local culture, tribal or clan orientation,
and non-material values in response to an excess of materialism, consumerism and
technology. For instance, Paganists are often seen to stress a return to old cultural
values that predated the existence of the state system or Gandhi’s romanticisation of
village life over industrial cities can be seen as traditionalism.

And lastly, if in the process of adaptation we retain some of the traditional aspects
and intertwine them with some modern aspects this is a process usually referred to as
hybridization. For instance, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar who has built a global spirituality
programme conduct ‘rock satsangs’ in his Bangalore ashram almost every evening
where people sing along and dance to his devotional songs. It is one of the clearest
manifestations of hybridization where rock music is blended with traditional and
devotional touch to cater to the needs of Indian masses. Following Arjun Appadurai
(1996), we can call such global markets for religion as the ‘religioscape of modernity’

Bryan turner (2006) argues that glocalisation has also somewhat blurred the
distinction between what Weber (1996) calls virtuoso and mass religion. He
differentiates between the two as this: the religion of the elite satisfies the moral and
intellectual needs of religious virtuosi and the religion of the masses caters to the
thaumaturgical interests of the disprivileged. Accessibility to ancient religious texts
by people from all rungs of Indian society can be seen as an apt example of
glocalisation. The way Sanskritic texts like Upanishads and Vedas are now open to
the mass interpretation were kept reserved for the elite Brahmnins in India.

Lehmann (2004) says that the interaction of religion and globalization seems to
change boundaries in two ways: one, which he calls cosmopolitan, brings old
practices to new groups in new settings – a variant of disembedding. For instance,
reshaping of Eastern religion outside Asia in the form of transcendental mediation,
yogic breathing practices, etc. The other variant, which he calls global, extends and
intensifies transnational links among groups similar in their practices and creates
tightly knit communities of people. For example, Pentecostals, the pietist Muslim
revival movement Tablighi Jama’at and ultra-Orthodox Jewish sects and cultures.

Section-III

The rise of spiritual market

However, we cannot ignore the observable changes in the spiritual market with the
coming up of globalized economy and rise of mass consumer markets. As a
consequence of global communication we now witness a spiritual market place of
popular kitsch religiosity. Nanda writes:
“Old and new god – men and gurus are doing thriving business in India’s spiritual
supermarket. They offer a theology of prosperity which combines fashionable new
age spirituality with discourses on the Bhagwad Gita and Vedanta, all suitably
reinterpreted as successful management tools.” (pp 107)

The neo – Hindu cults driven by a new concept of guru who is leader of a spiritual
movement or organization now focus on this – worldly concerns derived from
modern western technologies of self healing, highlighting transcendental meditation
and yoga rather reincarnation and karma in South Asian religious cultures. New
rituals and new gods are being invented in the market where spiritualism is mixed
with capitalism and consumerism. Examples are plenty to illustrate the process of
commodification of religion. The Gayatri Parivar’s novel and scientific interpretation
of the Gayatri Mantra and the horse yajna invented a whole new way of explaining
the significance of a ritual. Nanda (2009) notes that apart from popularizing the
Gayatri Mantra and yajnas, the Parivar also offers courses in moral upliftment and
stress management to the government and private sector professionals. Besides, the
local gods and goddesses which were until recently associated with the more plebeian
masses, are finding new homes in swanky new suburbs with malls and multiplexes.
Globalization if on the one hand has led to the commodification of religion; it also
created a religious surge among the masses, as is evident from a boom in pilgrimage
and invention of new and more ostentatious rituals (Nanda, 2009). According to a
recent study by the NCAER (www.ibef.org), ‘religious trips account for more 50
percent of all packages tours, much higher than leisure tour packages at 28 percent.’
The most recent figures show that in 2004, more than 23 million people visited the
Balaji temple at Tirupati, while 17.25 million trekked to the mountain shrine of
Vaishno Devi (Nanda, 2009). The statistics conform to the global pattern propounded
by Lehmann (mentioned above) where globalization has created strong transnational
ties of belonging and similarity by visiting religious places and pilgrimages. They
accentuate transnational homogeneity. This can even apply to Political Islam, to the
innumerable evangelical and Charismatic churches, sects and tendencies descended
from the Protestant tradition and associated with names such as the Assemblies of
God as well as with the Prosperity Gospel or Gospel of Health and Wealth (Lehmann,
2009).

How globalization has encouraged Hinduism: The case of India

The phenomenon of globalization buttresses the neo – liberal ideology too. The core
of neo – liberalism is the belief that unconstrained market forces will bring prosperity,
democracy and peace to all people in all societies. The underlying principle is that the
borderless markets should lead without the government intervention (Nanda, 2009).
While privatization, disinvestment and deregulation are the pillars of neo – liberalism
the state is not made entirely irrelevant. The state’s topmost priority under the regime
of neo – liberal globalization is to facilitate the smooth running of the markets. Much
of the contemporary critique of neoliberalism can be traced to the works of Karl
Polanyi (1944). He argues that the laissez – faire system came into existence with the
help of the state. Expansion of the free market and the self protective reaction against
it by the state and the society is called ‘double movement’ (D. Hall, 2007). Polanyi’s
hope lay with society and the nation-state but today they have been rendered less
powerful with the rise of globalization (Ritzer, 2011). On the contrary, what is
emerging is that neo liberalism is changing the texture of democracy: the
accumulation of private profit has become the highest social good that the
government promotes (Nanda, 2009). For instance, Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra
Pradesh chief minister who wanted to turn Hyderabad into Cyberabad was aided by
the World Bank to commercialize the agriculture in 1997- 2005 during the time
period when neo – liberalism was the reigning ideology of the state government.
Meera Nanda (2009) writes that when government becomes more like a for-profit
corporation, the citizens are rendered to the position of consumers. Their relationship
with the state changes from that of citizens to that of clients of government services.
This model of market place is encouraged by the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund where the better off and more educated ‘customers – citizens’ manage
to get more choices while the poor are bypassed. With the fall in public investment
and growth of the commercialized agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, as noted above,
many poor farmers and indebted laborers committed suicide. John Harris (2008)
exemplifies this point by showing that how participation in civil society institutions is
heavily skewed towards only those with higher incomes and higher levels of
education. What we are witnessing today is not the government’s control over the
problems of free market (something which Polanyi had hoped for) but profit –
seeking approach of the state.

A triangular relationship that has emerged between the state, the corporate and the
Hindu leaders in India which Meera Nanda (2009) calls a ‘state – temple – corporate
complex’ has created new institutional spaces where maximization of profits through
Hinduism is renewing itself. She further writes that Indian state and its functionaries
operate on the unstated assumption that Hinduism is not merely one religion among
other religions of the Indian people, but rather the national ethos, or the way of life,
that all Indians must learn to appreciate, if not actually live by. She writes:
“Having grown up on a steady diet of religious, media, and other cultural discourses
that constantly package Hindu signs and symbols as the essence of Indian culture, it
has become almost second nature for educated Indians to conflate the two. Now that
India is becoming an important player in the global market, many are beginning to
ascribe the country’s success to the superiority of Hindu values” (pp. 106)

There are two broad areas where an outright influence of globalization can be seen
upon Hinduism in India: education and tourism (Nanda, 2009). With the
commercialization of higher education in India new priest training schools and
deemed universities are mushrooming. Meera Nanda records how such universities
produce English – speaking, computer – using pujaris, astrologers, vaastu shastris and
other providers of religious services. She argues that under the previous BJP
administration, the UGC had approved BA and even MA and Ph.D level courses in
subjects like Vedic astrology and had pushed for courses in vastu shastra and
karmakanda. Privatization has not just turned higher education into a business; it has
opened it to the business of God and God men as well. Gurus and swamis are entering
into the business of conferring degrees in priestcraft and astrology and even setting up
modern institutions with a traditionalist bent. The best example could be Sri Sri
University set up by the spiritual leader Shri Shri Ravi Shankar in 2009 which boasts
its tag line as ‘Holistic modern education combined with ancient Indian values’.
Besides, Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (SVYAS) in Bangalore
and Bihar Yoga Bharati in Fort Munger in Bihar offer advanced degrees all the way
to Ph.Ds in yogic sciences. Further, the Sandipani Pratishthan established in 1987, an
autonomous organization of the Ministry of Human Resource Development funds
gurukuls all across the country and serves as their accrediting body.
Another sector where the corporate and even the state are making a common cause
with Hinduism is the religious tourism. It is quite common to see how temple
management departments are actively trying to turn some remote temple into a
pilgrimage spot by inventing a history behind it. For instance, the newly invented
rituals like gold car in temples of Tamil Nadu or the reenactment of the Shiva and
Parvati wedding. Another example to show government’s involvement in propagating
religious tourism can be seen in the fact that how Devaswom board of the Sabarimala
temple in Kerala in full complicity with the government’s electricity board was
involved in the fraud of lighting the ‘divine light’ also called Makaravilakku for
which millions of pilgrims turn out every year (‘Makaravilakku is lit by hand: Tantri’
in The Hindu, May 28, 2008). Writing in 1982, Franklin Presler described how Tamil
Nadu’s HRCE tried to turn many temples in the state into pilgrimage centers by
publicizing them. Likewise, in James Preston’s study of 1985 of the Chandi temple in
Cuttack, Orissa, he found that the temple priests, local business men and the state
government worked together to maximize the profit from the tourists by publicizing
the temple’s prestige.

Section-IV

Impact of globalization upon diasporic religious communities

The internet and other means of mass communication holds the diasporic community
together as it provides an obvious method for dialogue within and between diasporic
groups but at the same time, Turner (2006) notes, that the unintended consequence of
globalization is often that the diasporic politics and their intellectual elites come to
depart radically from tradition, building up their own internal notions of authority,
authenticity and continuity. Perhaps the most useful discussion of the diaspora and
the information superhighway is to be found in Peter Mandaville's Transnational
Muslim Politics (2001). He records how many young Muslims learn about Islam from
pamphlets and sources in English, for example, The Muslim News and QjNews.
Because internet access is often too expensive in the Middle East and Asia, Muslim
students in Western universities accessing the net for religious and political
communication are the principal audience of global Islam. Turner (2006) argues that
the internet tends to promote rational argument in a context where the traditional
gatekeepers of Muslim orthodoxy are bypassed and everybody can, in principle,
check the religious sources for themselves. In conclusion, Mandaville (2001) argues
that the internet is an important technology for creating an imagined community for
individuals and groups that are separated from their homeland and residing in alien
(often secular) cultures that are hostile to Islam.

The globalization of religion in the twentieth century has strong connections with the
evolution of a global business ethic and global corporations. One aspect of the
Appadurai’s global religioscape is the adoption and adaptation of religions to the
social needs of new middle classes. For instance, in the Welsh countryside of Great
Britain, Turkish migrants have brought their 'whirling dervishes' to village life, where
the local inhabitants are made to believe that whirling is psychologically good for
them. Yoga practices from Hinduism have been widely adopted in the West where
practice is stripped of its spiritual significance and developed merely as a meditation
technique. Such flows of religious beliefs in the globalized world also threaten to
denude them of their authentic meaning and significance.

Conclusion

Peter Berger (2003) says that virtually all religious communities are today, if not
globalizing, reaching across the borders of their traditional territories. But they differ
in their intention or capacity to create new forms of modernity. For instance, we
discussed Oomen’s take on homogenization, traditionalization, pluralization and
hybridization. Globalization has not only disembedded religions from their historic
homelands but also led to the resurgence of spiritual market. Next, we also saw how
with the advent of globalization and neoliberalism Hindu religiosity is facilitated by
the Indian state and corporate interests. Meera Nanda (2009) argues that new
religiosity of middle class Indians which has been aggravated by globalization is
openly ritualistic, ostentatious and nationalistic. Globalization also opened the
avenues for private education which is today surreptitiously bringing religion into the
school and college instruction. The Indian state entered into partnership with the
corporate in order to accumulate capital has opened new institutional spaces where
Hinduism can renew itself. The effect of globalized economy can also be seen on
diasporic communities who negotiate with their religion in different forms.

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