Search

This article sketches the global ethic proposed by Hans Küng and how Pope Francis's writings on a culture of encounter help advance it. Religious nationalism impedes the development of this global ethic. Küng's global ethic resists this nationalism and Francis's approach provides guidance on whether the local or the global should take priority in concrete circumstances. The contributions of Küng and the pope are complementary and together can advance the ethic needed for greater justice and peace in a globalizing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jean-Luc Nancy's Deconstruction of Christianity views the current crisis of globalization as a mutation of our Christian culture and heritage. After outlining the basic premises of Nancy's philosophy, this article situates Jacques Derrida's critique of Nancy in his groundbreaking On Touching: whereas Nancy sees contemporary culture as a rupture (or indeed mutation) with the former Christian culture, Derrida argues that we are still dealing with the remnants and relics of precisely culture and are at best witnessing a metamorphosis of this culture. This dialogue between Nancy and Derrida allows us to assess the critique of metaphysics in both thinkers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to explore the development of Pentecostalism in Asia under the tide of globalization since the beginning of the twenty-first century. It will do so in three sections. First, it investigates megachurches and the prosperity gospel in Asian countries and regions that enjoy a greater extent of liberty and where neo-capitalism has emerged. Second, the article discusses the situation of Pentecostalism in countries ruled by totalitarian regimes. Pentecostalism cannot grow freely there, but it is relatively safe for Pentecostals to provide humanitarian relief and social services. Third, the article illustrates how migration as a major phenomenon of globalization has influenced pentecostal mission. It focuses on African Pentecostals who engage in trades in China and the Filipino/a Charismatics who are migrant workers. In the conclusion, the article discusses how the coronavirus pandemic has been reshaping globalization and Pentecostalism and offers a possible way to see the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how global spread of capitalism and increasing impact of cultural globalization intersect the "prosperity Buddhism" that have emerged in recent years in Burma/Myanmar, as of December 2018. It reports how these changes resource mainly for women to get success in business and can provide them with a way to negotiate Buddhist identity in order to acquire a sense of ontological security in urban areas.

The article discusses the popular Christmas carol Silent Night dealing with the reception history of Silent Night, accompanied by surprising twists and turns, bears the traits of a harbinger of globalization and at times drives the most colorful flowers.

This article treats change in three vernacular religious practices in a Melkite Greek Catholic village in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley: a ritual intended to bring rain during a drought; a dramatization of the Biblical story of Lazarus; and the closing rites of passage at a marriage. I argue that within the context of globalization villagers' understanding of the supernatural best explains religious change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization is an economic, political and ideological form assumed by contemporary society as a whole. In this article, these three dimensions are analyzed in a critical way, weighing various judgments about the phenomenon, and seeking to evidence its religious and inhu man substratum. Finally, it seeks to indi cate some alternative references for the construction of a more just society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the economic transition in the Balkan society. Topics discussed include the impact of globalization in the Balkan religion and culture, the tribalization in the society, and the Ceausescu's regime in Romania. Other topics include multiculturalism, separation of Church and state, and the legacy of Eastern Orthodox.

Is the Emerging Church movement (ECM) a single transnational movement? Or is it a series of parallel religious orientations framed by nationally specific contexts? Cross-national comparisons of the many manifestations of the ECM remain scarce, especially as the development of the ECM across the globe (e.g., in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) is most certainly affected by divergent histories and socioreligious landscapes. Focusing on a comparative analysis of the United Kingdom and the United States, I trace how these different cultural contexts determine variant patterns of ECM identity formation. Overall, a global perspective on the ECM calls for a theorization of the national development of religious movements and takes seriously the cultural and historical experiences that shape both its emergence in particular nations and the differentiated development of distinctive manifestations of ECM identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay proposes a theoretical reading of contemporary religious phenomena through the two concepts of "ideologization" and "psychologization." It situates contemporary religious trends within the context of a new "global" culture and analyzes some of the ways in which they break away from traditional concepts of religion while blurring the lines between the religious and the secular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bnei Baruch is the most successful Israeli new religious movement, with some 50,000 participants in its meetings in Israel and some 150,000 worldwide. It is part of the current known as "Ashlagian Kabbalah," which includes more than twenty movements claiming the heritage of the prominent 20th century kabbalist Rabbi Yehuda Ashlag. Michael Laitman, a prominent disciple of Yehuda Ashlag's son Baruch, founded Bnei Baruch ("Sons of Baruch") in 1991. It proposes a pragmatic approach to Kabbalah, opening its teaching to non-Jews and presenting Kabbalah as part of a universal wisdom rather than of a specific religion. Bnei Baruch's approach to Kabbalah has been contested in Israel by ultra-Orthodox Jews, who regard Kabbalah as a Jewish form of mysticism that should be taught to Jews only, by some academics, who criticize Laitman's interpretation of Kabbalistic texts as at odds with prevailing scholarship, and by the local anti-cult movement. This article draws on participant observation and interviews of members of Bnei Baruch in different countries. It explores life in Bnei Baruch and processes of affiliation to the movement, in an endeavor to explain why what was in 1981 a tiny band of ten disciples of Baruch Ashlag was able to transform itself in a comparatively short time into a global movements with tens of thousands of followers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the spiritual globalization of the Christian life of members in different denominations. Topics mentioned include the study on the how the religion is being lived, the experience of priest Ignatius of Loyola, and the phenomenological analysis of the spiritual motion that has entered the consciousness.

The author has discussed the global transformations of Christianity in the context of its de-Europeanization and the shift of the center of gravity of world Christianity to the countries of the Global South. Her analysis of the religiosity of "southern" Christians prompted a conclusion not only about the geographical but also profound qualitative specifics of "southern" Christianity that set it apart from Western, or "northern," Christianity. It can be defined as an emerging global reality, as the "Next Christendom" which means that "southern" Christianity is hardly compatible with traditional Christianity of the so-called Global North. This shift of the center of gravity is fraught with archaization, or decline, of traditional Christianity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Rivista di Storia del Cristianesimo is the property of Editrice Morcelliana S.p.A. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This research explores how marketplace dynamics affect religious authority in the context of Neopagan religion. Drawing on an interpretivist study of Wiccan practitioners in Italy, we reveal that engagement with the market may cause considerable, ongoing tensions, based on the inherent contradictions that are perceived to exist between spirituality and commercial gain. As a result, market success is a mixed blessing that can increase religious authority and influence, but is just as likely to decrease authority and credibility. Using an extended case study method, we propose a theoretical framework that depicts the links between our informants’ situated experiences and the macro-level factors affecting religious authority as it interacts with market-mediated dynamics at the global level. Overall, our study extends previous work in macromarketing that has looked at religious authority in the marketplace) and how the processes of globalization are affecting religion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article raises a number of theoretical and methodological issues for studying global Pentecostalism. More specifically, it examines a range of internal debates among Pentecostals about the nature of orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy, including related questions about authority and authenticity. The argument maintained in this article is that globalization and the development of global society is uneven and all religions, including Pentecostalism, are attempting to come to terms with the meaning of social change and the role of religion. This can be observed through a range of social interactions, such as those among Pentecostals about the process of social change, the nature of global society, and the role of religion. A number of cases are presented to examine these cultural debates among Pentecostals, including a discussion of the implications for Pentecostal scholarship. The article concludes with a series of methodological questions for scholars of Pentecostalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article builds on the theme of a symposium held in October 2015 for female church workers in the United Church of Zambia in Kabwe, Zambia, and devoted to the impact of globalization on mission. The article discusses the effects of globalization on missionary activities in Zambia and offers some background to both the tensions and the opportunities that arise when doing mission in an Africa that is part of a globalized world. It discusses some insights that have emerged from the symposium with specific reference to the challenges faced by women doing mission in a globalized Zambian context. It concludes that globalization is setting the agenda for how mission should be done. To be relevant to Zambians, the church should seriously engage with the challenges and opportunities presented by the current uni-directional globalization to make it into an instrument of liberation rather than a force of oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A literary criticism of the book "The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation," by Andrew Fuller is presented. It outlines the biblical and historical origin of the globalization of Christianity, as well as the term Fullerism, and the impact of the book on theological and practical revolution. Th author mentions the theological revolution in the sentiments of Fuller about sinners' duty to believe the gospel.

Globalization is a brutal phenomenon. It brings us mass displacement, wars, terrorism, unchecked financial capitalism, inequality, xenophobia, and climate change. But if globalization is capable of holding out any fundamental promise to us, any temptation to go along with its havoc, then surely that promise ought to be this: we will be more free to invent ourselves. In that country, this city, in Lahore, in New York, in London, that factory, this office, in those clothes, that occupation, in wherever it is we long for, we will be liberated to be what we choose to be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structures for mission have been under review as a result of many factors. In particular have been the widening influences of globalisation, and to a lesser degree, glocalisation. Various models of leadership praxis and structures have been proposed along the way. As Christianity moved farther away from the Christendom model of centralised control to other models of structure and leadership, other paradigms have been proposed along the way. However, one possibility, called the concept of polycentrism, has not been considered with any significant effort. In order to understand polycentrism, this research covered a literature review of seven spheres: (1) the urbanised-economic context; (2) political-ideological associations; (3) globalglocal socio-cultural situations; (4) organisational-leadership contexts; (5) missional movements; (6) the global church; and (7) the journey of the mission agency called the Wycliffe Global Alliance. The application of the concept of polycentrism to the specific context of the Wycliffe Global Alliance has enabled conclusions about the relevance of polycentrism in mission structures that are part of the missio Dei. The study concluded that polycentrism was a very helpful methodology that understood and resolved the inherent tensions and influences brought about by globalisation upon structures in God's mission. The implications shaped what leadership communities look like in terms of values and ideals because of the benefits of polycentrism. Through polycentrism, there has been a deliberate movement away from established centres of power, so that leadership occurred among and with others, while creatively learning together in community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Scientific Papers of Silesian University of Technology. Organization & Management / Zeszyty Naukowe Politechniki Slaskiej. Seria Organizacji i Zarzadzanie is the property of Silesian Technical University, Organisation & Management Faculty and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In a time of religious conflict due to globalization and increasing fundamentalism, it is useful to consider historical experiences in order to glean wisdom from those situations. This article considers a Puritan thinker, Roger Williams, who encountered the same troubles in the 'New World of America' that we experience in our modern world. Williams's thoughts on religious freedom, separation of church and state, and diversity as Christian values are as useful in the twenty-first century as they were in the seventeenth. Some of his ideas are unpacked with the view that they are still helpful in formulating a response to societal turmoil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how Pope Francis's Evangelii Gaudium, the WCC's Together towards Life, and the Third Lausanne Congress' Cape Town Commitment bring out three interrelated and overlapping dimensions of mission. When viewed in the age of migration, these include a three-fold process of denunciation, annunciation, and promotion. Evangelii Gaudium speaks of the denunciation of a globalization of indifference that has made us unresponsive to the plight of the migrant poor. Together towards Life speaks about the annunciation of the God of life through a renewed commitment to justice and peace. The Cape Town Commitment speaks about the promotion of the reign of Jesus' kingdom through love and service, especially for those like migrants who are poor and marginalized. Underneath the collective vision of these three voices, a more fundamental migration urges the churches to move from established institutional comfort zones into new territories of risk, vulnerability, and possibility. While divisions remain, new strategies are emerging to engage in a common faith, a common humanity, and a common care for those considered least and last in the human community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a speech given by Pope Francis on the topic of the family. He comments on the love that is unique to families and the role of the Catholic Church in the development and support of family relations. The impact of globalization on families is also addressed in the pope's speech.

Shinto is generally perceived as a uniquely Japanese affair, intimately connected with the Japanese nation and physical environment. In recent years, however, Shinto has been reinvented as some sort of Eastern "nature spirituality" with global significance, and acquired popularity outside Japan. Shinto shrines have been established in several countries, and communities of self-declared Shinto practitioners have become active in Facebook groups and on other social media. Meanwhile in Japan, there are several developments sug gesting an increasing "internationalization" of Shinto. This article provides an overview of the invention of Shinto as a "nature religion" and, correspondingly, its international popularization. It consists of four parts: a discussion of the emergence and development of the "Shinto environmentalist paradigm"; a short historical sketch of earlier universalistic tendencies within Shinto; an overview of existing Shinto shrines outside Japan; and an explorative discussion of certain online "Shinto" communities. The article concludes by suggesting that the international popularization of Shinto has been made possible by the reinvention of Shinto as a "nature religion", which has led to its discursive depoliticization, as well as by associations with Japanese popular culture. Thus far, "global Shinto" remains limited in scope; nevertheless, it constitutes an interesting new phenomenon, which may lead to trans formations in the tradition as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Caritas in Veritate, the first social encylical of Benedict XVI, tackles the problems of global development and progress towards the common good of all peoples. Taking its cue from the encyclical’s discussion on migration as an ‘aspect of integral human development’ (CV, 62) this article examines the experience of contemporary migrant women and the transnational family vis-à-vis Caritas in Veritate. The paper begins with an overview of Caritas in Veritate followed by a look at the effects of the global economy on women and a discussion on the effects of transnationalism to women and their families, especially with women-away transnational families. The paper then explores the points of convergence and divergence between Caritas in Veritate and the experience of migrant women and the transnational family and ends with a brief conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the reception of the European Protestant Reformation in the British Atlantic using the early Bermudan Church as a case study. It offers an alternative model for Puritan colonisation which was driven by a reformed vision for godly globalisation and evangelisation rather than flight from persecution in England. By shedding light on ecclesiastical ties between the reformed Churches on the continent and the British Atlantic, it extends the ideological foundations for the establishment of British America beyond the theories of empire and economic opportunism usually addressed by historians. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Globalisation develops at a staggering pace that envelopes and infiltrates local South African communities in various ways. Through technology a person can have access to anything today. Should the church try to keep up, or compete with such a reality? This article aims to encourage the church to develop a responsible missional character, which embraces the opportunities globalisation offers - to be a participative forum in a community comprising of more than religious people. Through re-evaluating the church's missional intent, by shifting the paradigm away from self-centred outcomes, the church should contribute to such a community's articulation of faith. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monastery research not only throws light on little-known aspects of Christianity in Africa, but also can make an important contribution to the understanding of the processes of social change and debates on globalization in African societies. The contemplative orders develop alternative economic forms, interact with their local environment, and build transnational networks or integrate into them. They emerge as local and transnational actors, change in the course of these processes, and contribute to the social change in the societies in which they participate. This interaction is the focus of the article, which is based on the analysis of a case study, a Benedictine abbey in Koubri, near the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Religion is a unified system of sacred norms, values, beliefs and objects. In any society religion plays an important role in the shaping of the people's lives, behaviour and interactions. In every aspect of life people consult with their religion and act according to the teachings of religion. At present modernization, globalization and social change are creating very drastic changes in every sphere of life. These changes have both negative and positive impacts on the society. Modernisation is also creating very serious changes in the social institution of religion. In Pakistan, modernization have very severe impact on religion and many sub-sects have been created under the religion of Islam. Each and every sect is claiming that their teachings are true. This phenomenon is crating sectarian violence in Pakistani society. Present study was conducted in the province of 'Khyber Pakhtun Khwa, Pakistan'. Pakhtun people follow religion strictly in every segment of life. They sacrifices their lives on the name of Islam. But at present due to modernization, this phenomenon has been changed. Main objective of this study was to analyze the major impacts of modernisation on the religion of Islam in 'Pakhtun' culture and society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While sociologists have long argued that higher education has a secularizing influence, recent research emphasizes the moderating role of social contexts in the relationship between social class and religion. I extend this line of research by examining sources of cross-national variation in the association between higher education and religiosity using survey data from more than 46,000 respondents in 39 nations. Multilevel models of a religiosity scale show (1) in the aggregate, higher education has a moderate, negative effect on the religiosity scale, (2) this effect varies considerably across nations, and (3) the negative effect of higher education on religiosity is most robust in relatively religious nations. These results demonstrate the importance of national contexts in moderating the effect of education on religiosity. The results also support a cultural diffusion argument that suggests that the highly educated are innovators and early adopters of secular behaviors but that low levels of religiosity then diffuse to less-educated segments of a population as secularity becomes more common. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In much of the popular literature, globalisation is frequently associated with an increasing economic integration. However, from the perspective of Muslim minorities, globalisation has led to phenomenal changes in the processes of integration and identity construction that have resulted in a flourishing of composite discourses and narratives on integration and identity. This paper explores the issues related to Muslim minorities in the context of globalisation. While examining the issues related to Muslim immigration and integration, it attempts to understand how far the policies of immigration and integration have bolstered insecurity and exclusion within the multicultural societies in the West. Furthermore, this paper analyses the emergence of multiple identities among Muslim minority groups in response to discriminatory policies and practices. Finally, in order to situate the Muslim minorities in an endless pursuit of developing an open, free and diverse political community, the paper focuses on a meaningful dialogue that attempts to promote inclusion within the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Travel and Pilgrimage to holy sites and destinations of outstanding religious heritage date back to the ancient time, though moderately subscribed. Many of the ancient religious thinkers and a number of such minds in the modern world contend that such journeys are purely religious, and should be perceived and treated as distinct from tourism. However, in contemporary times, global cultural awareness and interconnectivity systems loom large in the orthodox and emerging religious traditions of mankind. This trend join with the development of global tourism industry to arouse peoples' interest in sacred journeys, as it opens new direct and ancillary opportunities and horizons for sundry and implicit motives' fulfillment. Thus, Nigerians' increasing propensity for pilgrimage and religious tourism is the function of this phenomenon. At the outbound dimension it has become annual tradition and praxis for religious groups and government to budget and commit enormous resources to the project. Apart from the sojourners' believe that such "heavenly journeys" to Jerusalem, Mecca, etc. help to accelerate their migration to ultimate goal in life, the journeys also function as sources of social mobility, achievement in itself, and identity in society. Locally, the global impact on religious explosion and worship innovations have added to the sacred sites and monasteries of the orthodox churches, resulting in the promotion of inbound religious tourism and pilgrimage. Such destinations and activities attract foreign and local tourists. In all, Nigeria's praxis of religious tourism and pilgrimage bring the "purely" religious and sundry secular motives into synergy. This approach has also promoted the value and need to develop the tourism potentials of the indigenous religious traditions that adorn the country's cultural diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the historical development of the sociology of religions in English-speaking Canada. Topics include the networks of knowledge and the role of narrative, secularization and institutionalization of religion, as well as individualization, globalization, pluralization and religious diversity. The uses of exchange theory, economic and game theory models, and rational choice theories in the sociology of religion are also discussed.

As a result of the interaction between religions, globalization has created a new context for various theories of religious pluralism. For the sake of brevity, the beginning of the 21st century witnesses that religious pluralism is one of the most basic challenges for different theologies of various traditional religions. Thence, religious pluralism is one with which all theologies are somehow expected to face. Understanding cultural religious pluralism requires a high level of knowledge. Individuals or communities who have a sectarian mindset and believe that only their religion or denomination represent the truth have no share in this level. The Muslims, as long as they stay within the borders of Islam, can find no evidence in the Qur'an or in the other sources that supports their claim that they are possessed of the truth to the exclusion of others. Turkey, in respect of both its religious and political culture, has the experience of developing and designating the ideal of pluralism. It is a necessity for the Turkish intelligentsia in general and for the members of the theology faculties in particular to promote and maintain the ideal of religious pluralism. It is an obligation for the actors above to support and assign this notion on account of the international community and Turkey's geopolitical position. In this paper, I analyse and give a critical definition of religious pluralism in search for the possibility of religious pluralism in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since World War II, Jewish-Muslim relations have almost entirely been mired in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. One of the results of this heavy politicization has been the curtailment of any serious or fruitful dialogue between the mainstream, established Jewish and Muslim communities of the West. This article brackets out the political issues that have been a cause of mutual distrust and consternation to explore the theological, juridical and mystical affinities between two strikingly similar traditions. It was these affinities that led to the creation, in the medieval past, of a Judeo-Islamic tradition - a tradition which in the words of one scholar was "parallel to and no less real - perhaps in fact even more real - than that of the Judeo-Christian tradition." The article demonstrates how the Judeo-Islamic tradition offers some valuable resources for promoting not only dialogue but congenial relations between Jewish and Muslim communities. It ends with a brief overview of the shared (Jewish/Muslim) experience of otherness in the West by drawing on the insights of Edward Said (vis-à-vis European representations of Semites) to examine the views of Hegel, Ernest Renan and Abraham Kuenon. The shared experience or otherness offers yet another vantage point from which to approach Jewish-Muslim dialogue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global conditions, under which an increasing number of Muslims in the world currently live, do not just generate idioms of purity often adduced to global Islam, but also new and diverse forms of sociability and notions of global citizenship. This article addresses, as an example in case,Hizmet, one of the fastest growing contemporary Islamic movements.Hizmetand its founder Fethullah Gülen propagate a global Islamic doctrine with explicitly cosmopolitan underpinnings. However, there seems to be a contradiction between the cosmopolitan inclusiveness and universality of Gülen's global message, and strong internal hierarchical structures and the disciplining modes of teaching and training that are applied by the movement to teach the doctrine. I will argue that there is no contradiction between these two aspects when we focus on the central position of ‘hermeneutics of the self’ and civic responsibility in Gülen's theology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a time of religious conflict due to globalization and increasing fundamentalism, it is useful to consider historical experiences in order to glean wisdom from those situations. This article considers a Puritan thinker, Roger Williams, who encountered the same troubles in the 'New World of America' that we experience in our modern world. Williams's thoughts on religious freedom, separation of church and state, and diversity as Christian values are as useful in the twenty-first century as they were in the seventeenth. Some of his ideas are unpacked with the view that they are still helpful in formulating a response to societal turmoil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the life and leadership skills of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) to discover conflict resolution forms that may offer solutions to contemporary global problems and challenges faced by the world's nations. This essay also aims to contribute to world peace and interfaith dialogues by illustrating the exemplary character of this persona, which little is known about outside the Islamic sphere. Particular attention is paid to the key attributes a successful leader must possess and examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) are given. From the evidence available to us, it is clear that he showed great respect for other faiths, cultures, and ideas; even when he didn't agree with particular opinions, he listened with tolerance and care. He served the truth and opposed that which was untruthful and life-destroying, such as self-destructive habits, addictions, and immorality. It is concluded that one of the greatest legacies of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is his respect for people of other religions, cultures, and ethnicities and an appreciation of the dignity of all living beings irrespective of their gender, race, or societal status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glocalization process of Shin Buddhism in Brasilia is the focus of this article. The first part of this work presents a historical and sociological overview of the introduction and settlement of Shin Buddhism in Brazil, and the second part examines the specificities of the contemporary temple situation in Brasilia. This paper illustrates how external cultural inflows interact and negotiate with daily local actions and demand and thus acquire a distinctive connotation at the local level. However, due to the mixture of local cultural elements in interaction with imported ones the processes of appropriation and transformation may allow the emergence of something new and unique. In the glocalization of Shin Buddhist practices in Brasilia the work of innovation and articulation conducted by some members of the clergy has been fundamentally important Especially, the clergy have understood the demand for self-cultivation practices coming from a larger audience and incorporated meditation in the temple space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its tradition as a dominantly Christian country, Brazil is the host of the largest community of Japanese-descended people outside of Japan. This is the result of a long-lasting immigration process that started in 1908 and led to the establishment of a series of Japanese religions in the country. Although some of these groups are still restricted to the Japanese ethnic milieu, others have transcended their former ethnic boundaries and are quite successful in terms of recruiting new practitioners from a wider Brazilian audience. In order to identify the reasons for the failure or relative success of the various groups, the article starts with an overview of the historical development of Japanese religions in Brazil and summarizes the relevant results of the latest data provided by the institutions and the national census. The second part, which systematizes the strategies of transplantation of Japanese New Religions to Brazil, gives special attention to the construction of a transnational ancestor cult and the related emphasis on worldly benefits. The third part analyses in more detail the reinterpretation of ancestor worship and related rituals within Seichō-no-Ie. Finally, the fourth section refers the data to the academic discussion about the interrelated phenomena of globalization and glocalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on religion and globalization is revealing that religious responses to global dynamics have been highly varied, positioned across a broad spectrum that ranges from the defensive to the open and creative. However, attempts to engage this area of studies in the case of Japanese religions have been unexpectedly few and fragmentary; the use of frill-scale globalization theory remains underdeveloped. Sometimes an underlying conceptual obstacle is that the dominating perspective is reduced to the dimension of worldwide institutional expansion, which prevents a full engagement with the much more complex dynamics. In other cases, there may simply be resistance to the application of contemporary globalization theories to concrete case studies in religion. Possibly also some features peculiar to Japanese history have delayed the application of globalization perspectives to its religious worlds. Based on these premises the articles by Inoue Nobutaka, Ugo Dessi, Galen Amstutz, Victoria Rose Montrose, Girardo Rodriguez Plasencia, Regina Yoshie Matsue, and Rafael Shoji and Frank Usarski collected in this special issue address several examples and themes in this diversified, complex world as part of the ongoing work of addressing our existing gaps in awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With over forty thousand attendees every year, the Shinnyo-en Hawaii Lantern Floating--an adapted version of the traditional Japanese Buddhist obon ritual, tōrō nagashi- is among the largest annually held Buddhist rituals undertaken outside of Asia. One way to approach understanding of this rite is as an example of a 'glocal' Buddhist ritual. Drawing from Roland Robertson's framework of glocalization, this study examines the steps Shinnyo-en took to adapt its global message to a new local culture. While other examples of the tōrō nagashi are found in Hawaii, none have developed on the rite to the extent that Shinnyo-en has. Some innovations include: moving the date of the rite to Memorial Day, the inclusion of local cultural elements and other religious groups, and allowing the public to personalize the individual lanterns. Through examples of the ritual's various Hawaiian and global elements, I explain why the Shinnyo-en version of the lantern floating rite, over other versions of the same rite, came to reach its status as the Hawaiian Lantern Floating Ceremony. Finally this study argues for the important, often overlooked role of both ritual and new religious movements in globalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of globalization has significantly and unprecedentedly influenced the activities, teachings, and many other aspects of religions within Japan since the 1980s. While Christian groups have been establishing churches in Japan since the nineteenth century, one now also sees various other religious groups including Muslims from a broad range of countries establishing branch churches and mosques of their own in the country. Meanwhile the many domestic modern new religions that were established during the modernization process now find themselves operating alongside even newer types of religious groups including hyper-religions. When one observes the religious life of ordinary Japanese these days, on the surface little may seem to have changed from before globalization developed in earnest. However, the pop subcultures of the younger generations have demonstrated a readiness to adopt and rearrange elements from religious and folk cultures alien to Japan even as they eschew elements from traditional folk life. The ways in which these foreign folk beliefs and their more magical elements have entered and spread in the country are often unpredictable. Thanks to globalization, the boundaries that once existed among Japanese religions--both among the traditional religions in particular and more generally throughout the religious world as a whole--are gradually dissolving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization intensifies the range, intensity, and diversity of interactions among world societies, but along with phenomena of hybridization, glocalization, or creolization it is just as likely to produce counter-reactive phenomena of resistance or conservative radicalization. In the case of the major Japanese Buddhist tradition of Shin Buddhism, the interactive possibilities that could have been theoretically imagined for its modern encounter with North American society were overwhelmed by the ethno-chauvinism which became embedded in the nikkei population particularly in the context of early twentieth-century competition between the Japanese and American empires. The chauvinism took form, in Shin Buddhism as in certain other domains of nikkei life, as a pervasive, persistent pressure for an "equal but separate" structuring of nikkei relations with White society. The analysis suggests that in at least some instances--although North America is a quite major instance--issues of race consciousness and racial formation need to be given more attention in globalization studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on several streams of globalization theory and the author's previous work, this article proposes a multidimensional approach to the study of Risshō Kōseikai under globalization. The analysis shows that this Buddhism-based new religious movement is involved in global dynamics in various guises. Not only does Risshō Kōseikai contribute to global culture through its presence on the Internet, international cooperation, and other activities, but it also acts as a glocalizer by creating new religious hybrid forms at the local level, as is evident in the recent institutional interest in the environmental crisis. There are also indications that these processes, which per se denote a positive engagement with globalization, may be entangled with the defense of particularism. Reactions to the increasing global availability of religious communication and the relativization of religious values are also explored, which indicate the official endorsement of pluralism and an underlying tendency toward inclusivism. At the systemic level, Risshō Kōseikai (as part of the global religious subsystem) is shown to be engaged in border negotiations with dominant global subsystems such as politics and science, and in addressing residual problems left unsolved by these subsystems in an attempt to find legitimation for religion in global society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]