Global Capitalism and Religion

Max Weber provided one definition of the relationship between capitalism and religion in seeing the way religion provides the social values that conduce or are resistant to capitalist practices. But global capitalism raises new questions about the dynamics between the two. In the global era, religions pose alternative views and regulatory norms for dominant economic structures and, in so doing, contribute to the local diversity of capitalist economic structures.

Global capitalism is the prime force that drives other processes of globalization, including cultural and political globalization. According to Manuel Castells, among others, its main characteristics are a constant flow of money seeking maximum profit; differentiated, global production networks; and flexibility of the workforce. The new types of production and consumption can have serious consequences for society ...