Globalization and Religion: Identity and Power
INAES (Institute for North American and European Studies), University of Tehran
15-16 November 2005
Abstract
Cultural and Religious Identities in era of Information and Communications Globalization
M.R Neyestani
Mr_ Neyestani@yahoo .comMohammad Reza Neyestani is a PhD student in the Lyon University. His fields of Studies are as follows: Educational Technology, Educational Planning, Political Education and Civic Education.
Today globalization has widely become as one of the most powerful forces shaping the modern world and can not be defined easily. In fact, globalization is a complex concept that involves political, economic and social-cultural orders and has created a new global belief. In fact, globalization is a multifaceted word that does not refer to a simple thought, but it can be characterized as a systematic decline in spheres of commercial, cultural, and technological. Then there are different ideas about globalization and his role.
For Giddens (1990:64) the globalization is "an intensification of world-wide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happenings are shaped by events occurring many miles away and vice versa." For Held et McGrew "globalization denotes the expanding scale, growing magnitude, speeding up and deepening impact of interregional flows and patterns of social interaction. It refers to a shift or transformation in the scale of human social organization that links distant communities and expands the reach of power relations across the world's major regions and continents. Globalization for neo-liberals is the creation of a global civil society. In this idea, globalization is process that will inevitably lead to creating a global cultural identity and developing a unique model of economic, social and political order.
Therefore first effort of neo-liberals is limited to globalization of one mode of thinking that is named liberal-capitalist modernity. For neo-liberals, universal history of mankind is in the direction of liberal democracy. Therefore when we discuss about neo-liberals, it must be mentioned to three major principals of following: individualism, rationality and secularism that today they have been become party of global belief that are followed by nations and governments. History of modernity and his cycle in the all of the world show us that modernity just follow of these principals. for finding historical foundations of modernity, we need notably search in the works of Kant, Hegel, Marx and Weber. Neo-liberals modernity was associated with the development of industrial capitalism and its distinct social forms and included of two dimensions: industrialism and capitalism. In fact for Marx and Weber, liberal-capitalist modernity may be seen as encompassing a specifically bourgeois, Protestant world-view. In fact Globalization of neo-liberals is a form of colonialism and imperialism. For example for Karl Marx mission of globalization of neo-liberals in Asia has been destructive and regenerating, entailing 'the annihilation of old Asiatic society and the laying of the material foundations of Western society in Asia.
One of the most important instruments of liberal-capitalist modernity for its globalization , information and communication revolution is that has changed people's relations and the meaning of time, space and have reduced distance and has demolished physical boundaries and has increased relations between people, governments and cultures. Television and specially Radio now have reached to whole people in the deepest rural areas of Iran, China and India. From Brazilian music in Tokyo to African films in Bangkok all has become global. Through information and communications technologies, the people on earth are exposed to foreign identities and ideas and menace of losing their national and religious identities. In fact these information and communications technologies has be considered part of processes of liberal-capitalist modernity or Westernization and involves processes of unequal power, which brings old practices and religious identities into question raising the potential for conflict.
Then Globalization of Cultures and religious Identities has become one of the most important roles of Information and communication technology. In fact as the social and political structures influence in the power relations, the information and communication technology can be freely articulated in destruction of the cultures and religious identities. The assumption of culture globalization is that if other societies want to become civilized, they must abandon their cultures and identities. In fact, Culture globalization with rise of Information and Communications Technologies(ICT) in recent years has undoubtedly accelerated the a uniform world culture that democracy and its values is proceeding strongly through various aspects of life: cultural industries, international language, music, press and media etc. In this increasingly globalized culture and modernity, south countries have little or no margin of action as they can to position themselves into the so called Global village. Therefore when we speak about culture globalization, we confront with its negative effects. The first negative role of culture globalization is cultural, religious and identical conflict in national and international level that is enforced and carried out by the information and communication technology. In fact use of information and communication technology play an important role in the appearance of such conflicts. Communication globalization has modified all political, economic, social and cultural aspects. Globalization which resulted from the use of ICT has increased the basic conflict between the old cultures and the new cultures, between secularism and religion, between the West and the East. Hence in ere of information and communication that ICT can approach cultures and civilizations, cultural and religious identities have become an increasing source of conflict among and within societies and have increased the conflicts of the present.
Thus the fundamental challenge confronting to humanistic and cultural studies and specially in this article is that how in age of information and communication globalization to reconcile the conflict and the tension between cultural and religious identities with culture and civilization that want to be special and global. In fact in this article, we want to answer to how can we avoid of this real fear that with helping Globalization of ICT, cultures and identities of world are becoming fragmented and we can even foresee that a nightmarish scenario of cultural homogenization through western values and symbols.
We try to say that in era of globalization, ICT should try to protect cultural liberty through expanding men's choices - with attention to cultures,values and identifies themselves. Then globalization of culture is universal ethics based on universal human rights and respect for the freedom, equality and dignity of all individuals, non homogenization of Western values and culture. Therefore Today's ICT must respect for the thousands of cultural and religious identities in the world, because if there are contradictions between the values of some cultural identities with democracy but there is no objective evidence for claiming that some identities and cultures are "inferior " or "superior " for human progress and the expansion of human freedoms. In fact for ICT, respecting difference and diversity cultures and identities should be an essential because cultural diversity dose not leads to conflict but it reduces all conflicts and obstacles.