Globalisation & God
You might be wondering, what do these two words have in common? Up until recently, I was wondering the same thing. What on earth does globalisation, a most secular topic, have to do with God, the all seeing eye of more than half of the world’s population? The answer that I have recently found, is that they are not mutually exclusive.
Globalisation is a term that is being tossed around a lot these days, from economics and politics to family life and faith. It is both a credo to many and a curse word to many others. As a curse word, it is lumped in with words such as “assimilation” and “marrying out”. I have lived with this notion for most of my life. Coming from a very tightly knit community, and suffering because of my faith for many years, I grew to be mitrustful of globalisation, and of diversity. However, a significant event occurred over the past year that not only challenged these assumptions, but shattered them to a point that they can never be returned into my conciousness.
This event was my Masters degree. I had the wonderful fortune of being in a class of 45 students, from 28 different countries. It was the first time I was truly exposed on a daily basis to other faiths, cultures, ways of life and traditions. No matter what our backgrounds, we were equals. All of us were attempting to reach the same goal: completing our masters. However, on our journey to that I have discovered something else. All of these diverse upbringings inadvertently caused us to work together even more closely in order to reach our goal. We learned from each other so much, that we began to adopt and adapt from each other. In the process, we not only lifted each other up during our climb to the pinnacle of education, but we became much more rounded individuals.
I subsequently begun to question those terms I mentioned earlier. Why should “assimilation” be such a curse word, when I have only gained from it? Is it not possible to combine your own traditions with those of others in order to make you a more rounded individual? As my masters degree progressed, the answer to that question begun to become increasingly apparent. That answer was a resounding “Yes!” it absolutely is possible.
Let me be clear here. I am absolutely not renouncing my faith, as many whom I’ve spoken to about this have said. I still believe that the Old Testament, in a language and philosophical sense, is the greatest piece of literature ever written by humanity. It introduced to the world so many things that we take for granted today, such as basic laws, justice and a day of rest. Many have claimed that a naturally born part of me will disappear as I choose globalisation; but were those parts ever actually a part of me? I never kept the traditions that were dictated by the book. The most basic traditions that I kept can most certainly be kept by members of other faiths. Again, that same question popped up in my head. Are globalisation and my belief in God mutually exclusive? No.
The world is becoming more interconnected whether we like it or not. The fact that a platform exists where I can write something like this, and that my piece can manage to reach all of you with just a click, means that it is inevitable that we are exposed to ideas that wouldn’t have otherwise crossed our paths.
It’s an incredible time to be alive. We are the first generation in which it is possible to take the positive traditions that our parents bestowed upon us, and combine them with the positive traditions of others.
Each human being has something to give to this world. Each human being has a story to tell, and a story to write. Each human being has a basis of that story that his or her parents bestowed upon him, no matter what the circumstance. We can take these bases and build upon them to become the most rounded, wisest, and most inclusive generation in human history.
This does not mean that our relationship with our faith has to take a hit in order to make this happen. Each one of us has a personal relationship with God, whatever God we believe in. Our covenant with him is not dictated by what those of the past say, rather by what we say it is. Why? Simple. When we pray, we close our eyes. When we do so, we isolate ourselves from those around us, for a moment alone with God. Even if you pray in the name of someone else, or you pray for someone else, it is still you who is doing the action, not that someone else. Therefore, you have the power to decide what your relationship with God should be.
As idealist as it may sound, I believe that all of us, from all faiths, can combine our positive traditions in order to become truly well rounded, inclusive individuals. Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews and Muslims - all humans - have more in common than they have differences. One should not be mistrustful of the other just because his beliefs are different, and one should also not find it necessary to separate a secular topic from religion. I am a proud globalist, and still a proud believer in God. It is truly possible in this day and age to have our cake and eat it.
