What is globalization anyway? What are
spiritually-minded people—
on all sides of the
issue—doing and saying about it?
The economic and cultural dynamic of
globalization is transforming the world at an unprecedented
pace. But what exactly is it? What are its origins? What is its
impact on our spiritual lives?
This lucid introduction surveys the
religious landscape, explaining in clear and nonjudgmental
language the beliefs that motivate spiritual leaders,
activists, theologians, academics, and others involved on all
sides of the issue. Included are the points-of-view of:
Bahá’ís •
Buddhists • Earth-based and tribal religions • Hindus
• Jews • Muslims • Protestants • Roman
Catholics
Unlike other books on this controversial
issue, this easy-to-read introduction won’t tell you what
to think; it gives you the information you need to reach your
own conclusions.
"As important as economics may be, it
is not, as the great religions stress, the full measure of
humanity. There is also connection to self, to others, to the
ingrained values that have sustained cultures for generations
and millennia, and to the belief in transcendence that gives it
all meaning. In the end, what unnerves people most about
globalization—including many in the West who may fairly
be said to be on the winning side (economically, that is) of
the process so far—is the threat it poses to that which
is most precious to a life of satisfaction: our sense of
meaning."
—from the Conclusion
"Ira Rifkin looks at a variety of
religious traditions and shows how their values, ethics, and
visions of social justice have important implications for this
hotly disputed topic. Rifkin’s informative book provides
a useful service because I do not think there is another book
quite like it."
—Michael
Cromartie, Vice President, Ethics
and Public Policy Center,
Washington, D.C.
"A book that is likely to attract the
attention of many readers who are not sufficiently informed
about the new cohabitation between religion and globalization.
It is indeed an effective and timely guided tour into this new
terrain called globalization."
—Sulayman
S. Nyang, Ph.D., Professor, Howard
University
