Globalization and the Consequent Religious and National Challenges

"Globalization", as a Meta concept, can be considered as one of the most common terms in recent decades, which has also come to affect the understanding of many other concepts. For one, globalization has confronted the realm of religion with many new questions and given rise to the emergence of different outlooks. Concurrent with the process of globalization and the development of intercultural and inter-religious communications, the world has also witnessed the growth of nationalist, ethnic and religious movements coupled with increase in violent conflicts and civil wars. These new political and social developments have led in turn to other developments in the international scene. The present article tries to have an analytical look into the possible relationship between globalization and the re-introduction of religion into political, social, and international realms on the one hand and the emergence of new challenges on the other. The article will raise a major question: will a new challenge between globalization and religion similar to the challenge between religion and modernity in 18th and 19th centuries emerge and develop? The article’s main hypothesis is that while globalization will facilitate the growth and expansion of intercultural and inter-religious communications, it will also foster new challenges within and among societies.