Globalization and the Church

The world is more connected today than ever before, globalization is bringing the world together in several ways. Globalization is the spread of political, economic, and cultural dynamics among governments, groups, and individuals beyond the borders of any one particular country (Samuels.) One cultural effect of globalization is the spread and transfer of religion. The LDS church positively benefits from globalization by more effectively being able to expand their church through missionary work.

Missionary work has been an essential piece of the LDS church since it was first established. “In 1950 nine out of ten members lived in the United States; 40% lived in Utah. Since then, conversion outside the United States has changed the distribution dramatically. Beginning in 1997, half of all Latter- day Saints lived outside the United States and Canada.” (Global Mormonism) In 1950 there were 1,111,314 members of the LDS church, and by 1997 that number grew to 10,071,783 (Almanac.) Globalization and the spread of this religion across the world have helped increase membership in the LDS church. Spreading the gospel to the world is an important part of the LDS religion and globalization has helped make that goal easier.

Globalization has allowed the LDS church to get missionaries into various countries around the world. Governments have become more closely linked and international relations are increasing. The LDS church has been able to take advantage of transnational government participation and send missionaries to spread the gospel in over 150 countries (Facts and Statistics.)

Cultural Globalization is a very important aspect of the globalizing church. With advancing technology people are able to know what is going on in the world around them. The internet is a major cause of “global homogenizing” and people are being exposed to different cultures, seeing what other places are like. The LDS church has taken advantage of technology; they have several websites like Mormon.org and lds.org to inform people around the world about the church and its beliefs. They have used technology to broadcast general conference and other church news to members and non-members around the world. The church sends missionaries from different cultures to new countries. These missionaries are trained to learn the language of the country they are serving in. Often these missionaries come back with a piece of the culture of the country they served in, perhaps an accent, way of dress, or recipes. These missionaries also bring part of their culture to the country they are serving in. People in Brazil may be drawn to an American looking missionary because they know and most likely participate in different aspects of American culture.

The LDS church greatly benefits from globalization. Through globalization they are able to spread the gospel through missionary work, as well as run a worldwide church. We can learn from the example of the LDS church to use globalization for good. The LDS church provides welfare and aide to various countries around the world. They use the world’s connectedness to know what is going on, and are aware of how they can help out. Globalization has allowed the LDS church to spread the gospel and serve around the world.

Bibliography

Deseret News 2012 Church Almanac.

"Facts and Statistics." Www.mormonnewsroom.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2012. <http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/facts-and-stats>.

"Global Mormonism." Global Mormonism RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2012. <http://globalmormonism.byu.edu/?page_id=899>.

Samuels, David. Comparative Politics. New York: Pearson Education, 2013. Print.