Mission and Globalization Ed

MISSION ANDGLOBALIZATION MISSION Mission and Globalization ed. by Tiziano Tosolini Mission and Globalization Driven by remarkable innovations in both information technology and transportation, globalization has reshaped our perceptions of time and space infl uencing the way we experience the world. As a result, the new global village the world has turned out to be appears, or is made to appear, as if in a sort of perpetual vortex, rapidly revolving on itself at breath-taking speeds. Such a hectic move- Tosolini Tiziano ment hardly hides economic profi t as the understated aim of globalization’s dynamism. Globalization is a dimension of our age which we cannot escape from or avoid: it is a time of great changes and quests, of great hopes and of dramatic threats to life. Globalization is the new context of mission; a time in which we are called to live enlightened by the gospel, searching for a word, an action, a spirituality truly responding to our Christian faith. Th is latest publication of the Asian Study Centre wishes to explore what challenges globalization is raising for the mission of the Church in Asia today. It has done so describing how globalization has gained its foothold in each of the countries under study— Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan—and the kind of infl uence it has exerted on society, religions in general and Christianity in particular. Asian Study Centre Study Asian tudy S C n en ia t s r e A Xaverian Missionaries – Japan mission and globalization Asian Study Centre Series FABRIZIO TOSOLINI. Esperienza Missionaria in Paolo. 2002. Sergio Targa, Fabrizio Tosolini, Tiziano Tosolini. To What Needs are Our Cultures Responding? 2003. Sergio Targa, Fabrizio Tosolini, Tiziano Tosolini. Culture and Alterity. 2004. Sergio Targa, Fabrizio Tosolini, Tiziano Tosolini. Experiences of Conversion. 2005. Fabrizio Tosolini. The Letter to the Romans and St. Paul’s Grace and Apostleship:Towards a New Interpretation. In collaboration with Fu Jen Catholic University Press, Taipei, Taiwan. 2005. Tiziano Tosolini. Controstorie dal Giappone. 2006. Sergio Targa, Fabrizio Tosolini, Tiziano Tosolini. Faith and Money. 2006. Tiziano Tosolini ed., Women in Context. 2007. Published by Asian Study Centre Ichiba Higashi 1–103–1 598–0005 Izumisano (Osaka), Japan Private edition, 2009 Printed in Taipei (Taiwan roc) Mission and Globalization edited by Tiziano Tosolini tudy S C n en ia t s r e A Xaverian Missionaries – Japan Contents Introduction 3 Globalization and Society Bangladesh – Sergio Targa 7 Indonesia – Matteo Rebecchi 20 Japan – Tiziano Tosolini 30 Taiwan – Fabrizio Tosolini 38 Globalization and Religions Bangladesh – Sergio Targa 49 Indonesia – Matteo Rebecchi 59 Japan – Tiziano Tosolini 73 Taiwan – Fabrizio Tosolini 80 Globalization and Christianity Bangladesh – Sergio Targa 91 Indonesia – Matteo Rebecchi 101 Japan – Tiziano Tosolini 119 Taiwan – Fabrizio Tosolini 126 Conclusion 137 Cumulative Index 143 Introduction S. Targa, E. Pulcini lobalization, one of the new jargons of the post- modern world, is virtually on everybody’s lips. For some a curse, for others a blessing, global- izationG is taken as a buzzword to explain away most, if not all, of the modern world’s phenomena. Its etymological simplicity contrasts strongly with a notional complexity which is structur- ally multidimensional in nature. The attempts at defining it in a comprehensive yet synthetic way have been many and often have fallen short of the mark. Beyond and above terminological and notional disquisitions, globalization is indeed a phenomenon which, like it or not, is moulding our present reality. A new world order is taking shape under our very eyes, affecting all dimensions of our lives. Driven by stunning innovations in both information technology and transportation, globalization has reshaped our perceptions of time and space and thus influencing the way we experience the world. As a result, the new global village the world has turned out to be appears, or is made to appear, as if in a sort of perpetual vortex, rapidly revolving on itself at | Mission and Globalization breath-taking speeds and flying to soaring heights without however having clearly set its destination. Such a hectic movement hardly hides economic profit as the understated aim of globalization’s frantic dynamism. Globalization in short is a dimension of our times which we cannot escape from or avoid. This is a time of great changes and quests, a time of great hopes and of dramatic threats to life. Globalization is in fact the new context of mission; a time in which we are called to live enlightened by the gospel, searching for a word, an action, a spirituality truly responding to our Christian faith. This latest publication of the Asian Study Centre wishes to explore what challenges globalization is raising for the mission of the Church in Asia today. It has done so describing for each of the four countries under study—Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan—how globalization has gained its foothold in each of the countries and the kind of influence it has exerted on society, religions in general and Christianity in particular. Actually globalization, although being a relatively new phenomenon, does maintain a sort of continuity with earlier stages of humankind’s history. This however does not forecast analogous developments in the actual deployment of globalization in each of the countries. Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan react differently to globalization depending on the kind of perceived economic benefits occurring to their respective soci- eties. Their reaction is similar when globalization threatens instead cultural and religious identities. However, while Japan and Taiwan in their globalizing role appear to guide or attempt to guide globalization, and thus try to correct its possibly nefarious outcomes, Indonesia and particularly Bangladesh appear instead in a more passive role, mere objects and not subjects of globalizing forces. Globalization in as much as it promotes a secularist, materialistic and consumerist culture is generally frowned upon by all religious traditions well aware that such influ- ences could fracture their very traditions and ways of life. Religious radicalism or defen- sive counter-universalism may be an outcome of their resistance to these forces. Generally speaking the book shows that the attitude of Christianity, despite variations related to the cultures of each country, is more open to globalization and to the oppor- tunities of great importance it offers for that Church which prides herself on the name Catholic. As believers we are called to think of globalization not only economically but also ethically and particularly theologically so to draw a figure, a model of Church able to dwell in this “global era” in a wise, prophetic, courageous and missionary way. In line with this, the present publication hopes to contribute insights to missionary activity here and now so that the challenge of globalized reality may be met without fear and be humanised according to the divine plan of Salvation. The authors wish to thank several friends (John Fagan sx, Steve McKend sx, Jim Heisig, Alberto Bertozzi, Brian Reynolds and Gerardette Philips rscj) who in different countries have helped by correcting and editing the material. We further wish to thank Xaverian Missionaries in our mission countries, particularly those working in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan and Taiwan. They have been our inspiration throughout this work. Globalization and Society Bangladesh Sergio Targa t has become fashionable nowadays to talk of globalization. The term has become a sort of buzzword used Iand misused to justify and explain a great number of processes or events which characterise the present modernity, or postmodernity. While universities and academics strive to analyse its dynamics, anchormen, religious leaders, politicians, human rights activists etc. use it either as a sort of wonder cure for the evils of today’s world or point at it as to the mother of all evils. Even in Bangladesh, the term globalization is well known not only to the enlightened and educated elites of Dhaka, the capital city, but also to the less educated and, supposedly, less enlightened people of the countryside. Whereas for many terms of modern parlance Bengalis use and like to use English words, the term globalization is used directly in Bengali: bisshayon. This, as such, does not mean much. However, as a matter of specula- tion I take this usage as a sign of the kind of impact globalization processes are having on Bangladeshi society, a society which, by | Mission and Globalization all measurements, is quite peripheral to the political, economic or cultural interests of today’s world. The present paper wishes, therefore, to assess the impacts of globalization on Bangladeshi society, particularly in its socio-economic gains and costs. A brief theoretical introduction will set the context for such an assessment. It is said that there are as many definitions of globalization as the number of people who wrote about it. This, once again, points at the slippery and ambiguous nature of the term and of what it signifies. For the limited purpose of this paper I propose the follow- ing working definition of what globalization is: globalization “speaks… to the complex mobilities and interconnections that characterize the globe today. The picture is that of an increasingly interconnected world... a world where borders and boundaries have become increasingly porous, allowing more and more peoples and cultures to be cast into intense and immediate contact with each other.”1 More specifically, it is the constant mobility or flow of “capital, people, commodities, images and ideologies through which the spaces of the globe are becoming increasingly intertwined.”2 This all happened because of tremendous technological advances and innovations in both the fields of transportation and telecommunications. Modern information tech- nologies have literally shortened time and its perception while new forms of transport have likewise shrunk distances.

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