Globalization

Abstract

The chapter offers an overview of the relationship between globalization and the study of religion. It highlights the particular significance of some themes that have shaped the field’s evolution. These include: the inter-disciplinary nature and institutional frameworks of the study of religion, the challenges of Orientalism, Eurocentrism and parochialism for the evolution of the field, and the failures of post-World War II secularization theory. The above have contributed to the emergence of globalization as a distinct problematic in the field of religion. The basic propositions and ideas concerning the relationship between religion and globalization are reviewed, with special emphasis on globalization’s geographical dimension and its connections with transnational religion and migration. Emergent themes for future research on religion and globalization are also presented. These include: the revitalization of the history and religion relationship, the emergence of the problematic on culture and religion, and the consolidation of global-local or glocal religion.