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:
Bah’s 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
Om författaren
Ira Rifkin is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion issues. He is the author of Spiritual Perspectives on Globalization: Making Sense of Economic and Cultural Upheaval (Sky Light Paths), and has served as a national correspondent for Religion News Service, and news director for Beliefnet.com. He has written for the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, MSNBC.com, and numerous other publications, and has taught at American University and elsewhere.