Economics - Globalization

Religion and Science in the Globalized World explores contemporary trends in religion, science, and globalization from a Bahá’í perspective. It is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to Bahá’í approaches to various aspects of globalization. It includes the following chapters: “Global Constitutionalism” by Graham Hassall; “Globalization—The Tangible Expression of Humanity’s Journey Towards Unity” by Sovaida Ma’ani Ewing; “Building a Just and Sustainable Global Food System: Some Guiding Principles” by Paul Hanley; “How Can We All Get Along?—A Bahá’í Perspective on Globalization” by Harold Rosen; and “Globalization Requires a Bahá’í Foundation” by Hooshmand Badee.

The book’s second part focuses on different issues within the domains of natural and social sciences. The chapters included are as follows: “A Bahá’í View of Human Rights” by Peter Smith; “Prophetic Revelation and Sociocultural Evolution: Some Scientific Perspectives” by Harry P.Massoth and Marilu Jeno; “Plato, Modern Physics, and Bahá’u’lláh” by Vahid Ranjbar; “Iterative Theology: Progressive Revelation as the String Theory of Religious Studies” by Andres Elvira Espinoza; and “The Issue of Self-Identity in Transhumanism and the Bahá’í Writings” by Mikhail Sergeev. The volume ends with two chronologies of articles and books numerous Bahá’í authors wrote on globalization and science from the second half of the twentieth century up to the present day.

Technology, tourism, politics, and law have connected human beings around the world more closely than ever before, but this closeness has, paradoxically, given rise to fear, distrust, and misunderstanding between nation-states and religions. In light of the tensions and conflicts that arise from these complex relationships, many search for ways to find peace and understanding through a “global public sphere.”

Contributors to this volume address various aspects of this challenge within the context of Bahá’í thought and practice, whose goal is to lay the foundations for a new world civilization that harmonizes the spiritual and material aspects of human existence. Bahá’í teachings view religion as a source of enduring insight that can enable humanity to repair and transcend patterns of disunity, to foster justice within the structures of society, and to advance the cause of peace. Accordingly, religion can and ought to play a role in the broader project of creating a pattern of public discourse capable of supporting humanity’s transition to the next stage in its collective development.

Economics of the Future Begins Today looks at the history of the present economic system and its destructive effect through the perspective of the Baha’i Writings on economics. Topics include divine economy, the station of man, material and spiritual civilization, and many more relevant topics.