To American- British- Ghanaian philosopher, Kwame Anthony Appiah, religion has a variety of roles in his idea of cosmopolitanism around the world: as a cultural artifice that is subject to adjustment, a subject that affects cultural change, and as an emulator for it. Religion to him is both a positive and negative force , however, he suspects that the progress made through cosmopolitanism will get diminished by the latter half. Globalization is a way to push the benefits of the developed world into the developing ones for Appiah’s aim to cosmopolitanism . As Appiah has stated, religion doesn’t change, but evolves with the elements of where it resides. The people of said location may accept it or not. The Christian missionaries are a prime
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Through the eyes of radical fundamentalists, religion can be the spark of a war that will accumulate the lives of millions and the eradication of the other religions. Notably, the Pentecostal missionaries in Asante are an example of this fundamentalist way of thinking on a minute scale. “But new Pentecostal messengers are challenging the churches they know and condemning the old rites as idolatrous” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, nytimes.com)., As a result of them seeing these centuries- old traditions in a negative manner, they conformed the villagers to the Pentecostal ways. On the other hand, we have witnessed how far someone’s devotion to being right can affect those who are in harm’s way. The French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the first Bishop’s war of 1639, had the Protestants pitted against the religions that were vastly more predominant at that time. In more recent years, we are fighting against radical Islamists who use Allah as the excuse for their acts of annihilation. According to Olivier Roy, a French political scientist, “ The radical neo fundamentalists who want to turn jihad, interpreted as literal warfare against the West, into the sixth pillar of Islam.” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, …show more content…
Due to the westernization of developing countries, the people now have necessities that are essential to live that couldn’t be obtained beforehand. “More of them have access to effective medicine.. Access to clean drinking water and schools” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, nytimes.com). Because of the developments made in the West which include, advancements in medicine, ways to clean and contain cleaning water for sanitation, and chances to improve the education of the locals, being placed in areas that are less fortunate; it allows the present lives survive and thrive but also the future generations have a better chance of living well
Through the eyes of radical fundamentalists, religion can be the spark of a war that will accumulate the lives of millions and the eradication of the other religions. Notably, the Pentecostal missionaries in Asante are an example of this fundamentalist way of thinking on a minute scale. “But new Pentecostal messengers are challenging the churches they know and condemning the old rites as idolatrous” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, nytimes.com)., As a result of them seeing these centuries- old traditions in a negative manner, they conformed the villagers to the Pentecostal ways. On the other hand, we have witnessed how far someone’s devotion to being right can affect those who are in harm’s way. The French Wars of Religion, the Thirty Years’ War, and the first Bishop’s war of 1639, had the Protestants pitted against the religions that were vastly more predominant at that time. In more recent years, we are fighting against radical Islamists who use Allah as the excuse for their acts of annihilation. According to Olivier Roy, a French political scientist, “ The radical neo fundamentalists who want to turn jihad, interpreted as literal warfare against the West, into the sixth pillar of Islam.” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, …show more content…
Due to the westernization of developing countries, the people now have necessities that are essential to live that couldn’t be obtained beforehand. “More of them have access to effective medicine.. Access to clean drinking water and schools” (Appiah, Kwame Anthony, The Case for Contamination, Jan 1, 2006, nytimes.com). Because of the developments made in the West which include, advancements in medicine, ways to clean and contain cleaning water for sanitation, and chances to improve the education of the locals, being placed in areas that are less fortunate; it allows the present lives survive and thrive but also the future generations have a better chance of living well