Blog 10

Blog 10: Globalization and the Church

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is worldwide church that continues to grow more and more each year. Being that it is a global church, what affects does globalization have on the church and what affect does the church have on globalization? The church is spreading into new countries and cultures every year. The spreading of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its teachings has a positive effect of globalization upon the church and world.

Globalization is “the spread of political, economic, and cultural dynamics among governments, groups, and individuals beyond the borders of any one particular country” (Samuels pg. 346). Samuels categorizes globalization into three categories: political, economic and cultural. As the church spreads throughout the world, people of different cultures become members of the church. The church takes into account the cultural history of these individuals and the celebrations in which they have and encourages them to share their cultures with those around them. The spreading of religion among groups, individuals and beyond state borders can also be considered part of cultural globalization.

Missionary efforts have been a part of the church since its beginnings in the 1800’s. In its beginning stages, most members of the church lived within the United States where it began. However, “beginning in 1997, half of Latter-day Saints lived outside of the United States and Canada” (Global Mormonism). This shows how the church is spreading throughout the world. “The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the fourth largest Christian church in the world and of its 14 million members, over half of them live outside of the United States” (Mormonism 101). This shows how globalization has positively affected the church. It also shows how the church itself is becoming more accepted across the world; this is another sign of positive globalization. The fact that the church is able to send missionaries into countries throughout the world is also a positive sign of globalization. Countries are becoming more open to the thought of having the church in their countries. This is significant because that means they are open to allowing the “culture” of the church within their own country. Also, in Minnesota, the church has sacrament meetings in English, Spanish, Hmong and Korean. This shows how globalization has affected the church within the United States.

Another way that they church is affectively using globalization to spread the gospel is through the media, specifically, the Internet. Recently, the church has launched a large add campaign on the Mormon.org website that features different individuals from around the world. Often times these individuals talk about their specific culture or where they are from and how gospel has greatly blessed their life despite the different circumstances.

Globalization can occur in many different ways. Globalization affects the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many ways. Globalization has had a positive affect on the church and the church has had a positive affect on globalization. Globalization has played a key role in the spreading of the church and its teachings and will continue to have a positive affect on the world.

Sources

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

Mormonism 101. The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, n.d. Web. 4 Dec. 2012. <http://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/mormonism-101>.

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