Assignment 4a

1. Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.
 Globalization, being the increase of interconnections globally, it has resulted in the

spread of cultures, ideas and religions for the past few centuries. As we have connected
with peoples around the world previously inaccessible to us, religion has been spread
along with the other goods and knowledge. Globalization has spread religions, to places
that it wasn’t before while simultaneously creating uniformity in how those religions are
practiced by different distinct groups. There is a benefit, in that peoples around the world
can further unify around a shared religion with common practices. The basic tenets of
globalization stand against religious parochialism. By diminishing the barriers between
different cultures, globalization lands religion in a quagmire of conflicts which reinforce
social identities as some do not accept the new realities and turn to religion to rediscover
their own identity. Religion provides a sense of belongingness to a group in the world.
Religion has stood the complexities and onslaught of the modern world and is seen to be
further intensified under the conditions of contemporary development. Religion takes a
prime welfare role and acts as a cultural protector for these sections. Religion thus plays a
social role by helping in social causes and successfully gets greater recognition. Here it
presents a direct challenge to globalization.
2. Analyze the relationship between religion, global conflict, and global peace. Cite example/s to
elucidate your analysis.
 Religion makes people feel like their religious in-group is better than all others. Religious
extremists often describe their actions as saving the world from evil out-groups. For
example, Islamic terrorists view the world as having two regions: Dar al-Islam (Muslim
countries) and Dar al-Harb (War countries, or non-Muslim countries) and they are
fighting to ensure the victory of Islam over all other religions. Religion also causes
conflict because of the way in which it provides people solutions through alternatives, not
answers. Religious extremists often describe their actions as saving the world from evil
out-groups. People who use religion to create conflict simply multiply this belief in their
own superiority tenfold. The reason religious superiority leads to conflict is because it
provides extremists a motivation for it.
Religion, however, can play an important role in peace-making and conflict prevention and
resolution. Religion connects with peace in four major ways: The ideas of human dignity and
the common humanity of all, derived from the notion that all are created in the image of the
Divine, are foundational to true peace.
3. Go to the web and search for the different religious practices and beliefs of the major religions:
(Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism).
 Judaism
- Beliefs and Practices
 Jewish people believe there’s only one God who has established a
covenant or special agreement with them. Their God communicates to
believers through prophets and rewards good deeds while also punishing
evil.
 Most Jews believe that their Messiah hasn’t yet come but will one day
 Jewish people worship in holy places known as synagogues, and their
spiritual leaders are called rabbis. The six-pointed Star of David is the
symbol of Judaism.
 Islam
 Profession of Faith (shahada) the belief that "There is no god but God, and
Muhammad is the Messenger of God" is central to Islam.
 Prayer (salat) Muslims pray facing Mecca five times a day: at dawn, noon, mid-
afternoon, sunset, and after dark. Prayer includes a recitation of the opening
chapter (sura) of the Qur'an, and is sometimes performed on a small rug or mat
used expressly for this purpose
 Alms (zakat) In accordance with Islamic law, Muslims donate a fixed portion of
their income to community members in need. Many rulers and wealthy Muslims
build mosques, drinking fountains, hospitals, schools, and other institutions both as
a religious duty and to secure the blessings associated with charity.
 Fasting (sawm). During the daylight hours of Ramadan, the ninth month of the
Islamic calendar, all healthy adult Muslims are required to abstain from food and
drink. Through this temporary deprivation, they renew their awareness of and
gratitude for everything God has provided in their lives—including the Qur'an,
 Pilgrimage (hajj). Muslims believe that it is the house Abraham (Ibrahim in
Arabic) built for God, and face in its direction when they pray. Since the time of
the Prophet Muhammad, believers from all over the world have gathered around
the Ka'ba in Mecca on the eighth and twelfth days of the final month of the Islamic
calendar.
 Buddhism
 Meditation
 observance of moral precepts
 monasticism
 taking refuge in the Buddha
 the Dharma and the Sangha
 the cultivation of the Paramitas (perfections, or virtues)
 way of showing devotion to the Buddha through ceremonies
 Catholicism
 Catholics share with other Christians a belief in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the
son of God made man who came to earth to redeem humanity's sins through His
death and resurrection. They follow His teachings as set out in the New
Testament and place their trust in God's promise of eternal life with Him
 Catholics believe that there are three distinct Persons to this one God and that
these three Persons form a unity. This belief is called the doctrine of the Trinity:
God the Father - the creator and sustainer of all things. God the Son - the
incarnation of God as a human being, Jesus Christ, on Earth.
 Attend Mass on all Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation.
 Fast and abstain on appointed days.
 Confess sins once a year.
 Receive Holy Communion at Easter.
 Contribute to the support of the church.
 Observe the laws of the church concerning marriage.
 Hinduism
 Hindu practices include rituals such as puja (worship) and recitations, japa,
meditation (dhyāna), family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals, and
occasional pilgrimages.
 truth is eternal. Hindus pursue knowledge and understanding of the Truth: the
very essence of the universe and the only Reality. According to the Vedas,
Truth is One, but the wise express it in a variety of ways.
 Brahman is Truth and Reality. Hindus believe in Brahman as the one true
God who is formless, limitless, all-inclusive, and eternal. Brahman is not an
abstract concept; it is a real entity that encompasses everything (seen and
unseen) in the universe.
 The Vedas are the ultimate authority. The Vedas are Hindu scriptures that
contain revelations received by ancient saints and sages. Hindus believe that the
Vedas are without beginning and without end; when everything else in the
universe is destroyed (at the end of a cycle of time), the Vedas remain.
 Everyone should strive to achieve dharma. Understanding the concept of
dharma helps you understand the Hindu faith. Unfortunately, no single English
word adequately covers its meaning. Dharma can be described as right conduct,
righteousness, moral law, and duty. Anyone who makes dharma central to one’s
life strives to do the right thing, according to one’s duty and abilities, at all
times.
 Individual souls are immortal. A Hindu believes that the individual
soul (atman) is neither created nor destroyed; it has been, it is, and it will be.
Actions of the soul while residing in a body require that it reap the
consequences of those actions in the next life — the same soul in a different
body.
 The goal of the individual soul is moksha. Moksha is liberation: the soul’s
release from the cycle of death and rebirth. It occurs when the soul unites with
Brahman by realizing its true nature. Several paths can lead to this realization
and unity: the path of duty, the path of knowledge, and the path of devotion
(unconditional surrender to God).

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1. Explain how globalization affects religious practices and beliefs.

 Globalization, being the increase of interconnections globally, it has resulted in the

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