REL 3165 - Religion and Globalization

In this class we will analyze intersections between religion and globalization by focusing on recent ethnographic accounts. Beginning with a preliminary definition of globalization as the increasing flows of people, money, technology, media and services across borders, we will deepen our understanding of this complex phenomenon by studying how global forces influence the formulation of religious subjectivities, communities, and practices. In order to gain a contextualized perspective on how macro-level processes impact the everyday lives of people and communities, we will emphasize the work of ethnographers who base their studies on long-term engagements and qualitative research techniques. Through these means, we will gain a set of grounded insights into the historical and cultural determinants of why and how certain religious individuals or religious groups support, resist, or become swept up in globalizing trends and the long and short term effects these dynamics bring to their moral, communal, and spiritual senses of self. This course satisfies WMU Essential Studies Level 3: Connections – Global Perspectives Category.

Credits: 3 hours

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