Religion in the age of globalization: Emerging trends, indonesian examples

Abstract

Religion has been integral to human societies throughout the ages and continues to be so. As the world we live in changes, however, our experience of life changes with it. New forms of experience create demand for religions commensurate with contemporary life. Max Weber famously charted the commensurate features of modern life and modern religion in the early 20th century but the world and its political economy have changed again since. In this paper I discuss new popular forms of religiosity that reflect our contemporary experience of life in a late-modern context of economic globalisation and accelerated inter-cultural exchange. These trends (revitalisation, new age spirituality and fundamentalism) will be illustrated by reference to case material from my research in Bali and other parts of Indonesia over the last two decades, while emphasizing that similar trends can be observed worldwide.