The case for contamination Report - Essay Example

The Case for Contamination In ‘The Case for Contamination’, Kwame Anthony Appiah analyses different roles of religion in the society. According to the analysis, religion plays a huge role in societal issues such as globalization. Different individuals have different views regarding the role of religion and how it would contribute towards ensuring globalization. These roles may have positive and negative effects on globalization. Religion can, therefore, be said to be a double-edged sword as for the roles it plays in globalization.

An important role of religion in globalization is to protect cultural values of the society which have been in existence for a long time and contribute to shaping the way of life of the people. Religion will act as an avenue through which individuals will be exposed to external media while they uphold their cultural values. This will ensure cultural values and traditions do not get eroded as globalization continues in the entire world. An example in the essay regarding how religion will ensure cultural values are not eroded is seen in the case of Sipho, who is a very religious person.

Sipho grew up in a very traditional society and he is deeply rooted to his cultures. He has, however, experienced the impacts of globalization which has helped him learn various aspects of the way of life of individuals who have different cultures. Sipho has watched television programs and he was greatly influenced by ‘Days of our Lives’. The program changed his perception regarding certain views. He, however, did not agree with certain aspects in the show as they were not acceptable according to his culture (Appiah, 4).

Religion is also believed to contribute negatively to globalization by eroding cultural values of individuals. Globalization will ensure individuals adopt the western cultures which are not acceptable according to traditional cultural values. The economy will also be greatly affected since globalization will bring about new goods, such as western clothes. Individuals may, therefore, abandon wearing the religion traditional attire as they prefer to wear cheap western clothing. Preservationists believe role of religion in the process of globalization is detrimental as it will cause great impact on the culture, as well as economy of a nation.

Religion plays a huge a role in forming the world views of most individuals. People attain their basic morals and values from religious teachings and this has a great influence on their ideas on what is acceptable or not acceptable within the society. Religion ensures individuals are raised with different moral ideas depending on the religion they were raised in. The importance of religion as a source of ideas about metaphysics and morality, about the society as well as about the universe at large greatly depends on the different religious groups and which has the correct claims.

Individuals, however, are not very well placed to identify the right religious traditions and the correct metaphysical view.My approach is similar to Appiah’s as I believe religion greatly affects how each individual views the world. Individuals live in a world characterized by different religious practices, therefore, every person will have different ideas regarding what they believe is right or wrong. People have to learn to accept that other individuals may have different views on some important aspects.

It is also important for individuals to understand other people’s ideas through talking to people from different religious traditions. Work CitedAppiah, Kwame Anthony. The Case for Contamination. 2006. Web. 11 September, 2012 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/01/magazine/01cosmopolitan.html