Spiritual Perspectives on Globalization (2nd Edition): Making Sense of Economic and Cultural Upheaval

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

Ira Rifkin is an award-winning journalist, author and educator specializing in religion issues, particularly relating to culture and globalization. A columnist for GetReligion.org, he is author of Spiritual Perspectives on Globalization: Making Sense of Economic and Cultural Upheaval and editor of Spiritual Leaders Who Changed the World: The Essential Handbook to the Past Century of Religion (both SkyLight Paths). He has taught at the University of Maryland, College Park; American University; and the State University of New York at New Paltz; and has lectured widely at universities, conference centers, houses of worship and elsewhere around the United States.