Because the final stages of globalisation have been defined by the combined vision of ‘modernization’ and ‘secularization’, religion has often been neglected in the contemporary history of globalisation. For many historians, globalisation has been driven by economic factors since the turn of the 19th century, and above all by the expansive dynamics of capitalism. More recently, however, new work in the study of global Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and the international reach of Buddhism and Hinduism, have forced historians to rethink these conceptual models, and to recognise that religion also contributed importantly to turn the world into a “single place”.
This panel will draw together historians from different countries to explore these themes and deepen our understanding of the relationships between globalisation and religion. It will include contributions on global Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and the interfaith movement.