The Concept of Globalisation - Assignment Example

ASSIGNMENT: SOCIOLOGY Name Institution Course Tutor Date Assignment: Sociology Question 1: Secularisation Secularisation can be described as the process through which a country transforms and different religions emerge, thereby the country cannot be defined by one religion. Ormerod (2010) defines secularization of a country as the process by which a country becomes characterised by multiple religious beliefs. Secularisation comes from the word “secular” and “secularism”. Secular describes the situation where a country is not defined by a common religion. Secularism implies that religion should be private personal, and voluntary; religion should not be imposed upon others who do not believe. However, Charles Taylor gives different perspectives of viewing secularisation. According to him, the first possible meaning of secularisation is the complete removal of the belief that God exist. This perspective implies that a country or state can only be conclude as secularised state only if God is no longer existing in people’s beliefs. The second perspective describes secularisation as a situation where religion exists but in a reduced level of beliefs and practices. According to Ormerod (2010), this secularisation is the kind that dominates the contemporary societies of most nations. It is characterised by people who believe in religion matters and other who do not completely. For instance, United Kingdom (UK) has a significant portion of its population that do not belief in religious aspect of life despite the churches in the country, such as Church of England. The third perspective of secularisation describes a situation where a country has major interaction with religion, including the people who do not have religion. However, the country does not endorse one religion to the exclusion of other beliefs or points of view (The Conversation 2015). Australia is a country dominated by Christians. The country has also been evidently showing the impacts of globalization on religion matters. With the increased level and rate of interaction between people across the world, the Australian society has been evolving over the past decades. The contemporary society of Australia is characterised by people of different beliefs and points of view as far as religion is concerned. Australia considered a demographically secularised country. However, Australia being a secularised state does not imply that religion has been forgotten. Neither does it mean that people do not believe in God. It takes the third form of secularisation as Taylor explains. Australia believes in and interacts with religion as a state. However, citizens are allowed freedom of choosing their own religion, or not to believe at all. The constitution of Australia, section 16, prohibits the emergence of any law or rule for establishing any religion. People are free to choose their own religion. Therefore, Australia is a secularised state. Question 2: Globalisation The concept of globalisation has been widely applied in many aspects. In most cases, people think of the globalisation in terms of the world economy. Globalisation has brought the entire world closes in many aspects, such as politics, business, technology, medicine, education, and even social aspects, amongst others. Through globalisation, the rate of development of most economies has been alarming over the past years (Riethmuller 2006). Through globalisation, people can obtain their education from different schools of the world. International education is the current trend in most international schools in different countries. People also share business ideas through the capabilities of communication across countries. Generally, globalisation is the description of the on-going trends around the world, involving interaction of people in different fields and through different ways. Globalisation has also had its impacts on the Australian society. Through globalisation, there have been emergence of different ideas and different people form almost all parts of the world. With the advanced information and communication technology, people of Australia have been able to interact with the outside world in different perspectives. Consequently, these interactions have resulted in both negative and positive impacts on the Australian society. Through globalisation, understanding and unity among people have is considerable. People interact and adopt new ways and styles of life. This interaction has resulted in unity among people of different cultural and social backgrounds. However, globalisation is also becoming a potential threat to the Australian cultures. As people adopt and adapt to the new ways of life, they tend to native cultural practices through which their societies are identified (Pickering n.d.). For instance, the westernisation has become a trending culture in Australia. People are adopting the American and other Western cultures. Globalisation has also enabled new ways of businesses. Through social media and other communication and information technologies, Australian people can connect and conduct businesses internationally. The current trend is digitalised marketplace, where business makes transactions online. Furthermore, through globalisation, these businesses are facilitated by increased manpower that is readily available from all over the world. However, it has also resulted in increased inequalities amongst people. Only few individuals can conduct their businesses internationally. This implies that development due to globalisation is for selected people, and not everyone is benefiting from the new forms and ways of businesses. This situation has caused division of people into different social and income classes (Conley n.d.). Therefore, globalisation has resulted in development and exposure of the Australians to the new development opportunities that are trending across the globe, but it has also interfered with the structure and features of the society. Question 3: Masculinity and Femininity Masculinity and femininity of a person’s gender are viewed in different perspectives in different societies. The two terms describe the degree to which people see themselves as masculine or feminine, with respect of being a man or a woman in the society. In most cases, the construction of masculinity and femininity are based on the social perspective rather than the biological one; masculinity and femininity describe a person’s gender, and not a person’s sex (Paechter 2003). In most societies, men always claim to be masculine whilst females claim to be feminine. However, these definitions are based on the societal members’ decisions. The social construction of masculinity and femininity is dependent on culture stereotypes. For instance, the western culture describes men as aggressive, competitive, and instrumentally oriented. On the same perspective, women are described as passive, cooperative, and expressive in nature (Stets and Burke n.d.). However, this perspective of differentiating gender is based on the underlying differences inn traits and characteristics of males and females. The development of masculinity and femininity is mostly explained in three major social theories; the psychoanalytic theory, cognitive-development theory, and learning theories. These three development theories describe two major parts of masculinity and femininity, the gender identification and the roles associated with being a female or a male in the society (Paechter 2003). For example, the learning theories consider the environment of a person to take the active role in gender identification. Whilst a child is growing, the immediate environment plays significant role in his or her social life. The child gets to learn from the parents and teacher, what gender is. In his manner, the parents and the teachers instructs the child directly on masculinity and femininity through assigned roles, reward types, and types of punishments that the child is given while growing up (Stets and Burke n.d.). These instructions may include what to wear, what to play with, who to play with, and how to behave. Generally, learning construction and development of masculinity and femininity involve the appearance of a person amongst others in the society. Through these instructions, children learn the mode of appearance and behaviour. Therefore, people define themselves through interactions with others; social interactions. For instance, boys who think of themselves to the similar way most girl would also think of themselves are most likely to engage in gender inappropriate behaviour that boys with gender-appropriate identities (Paechter 2003). Therefore, masculinity and femininity is constructed through social interactions in the society. Reference List Conley, T, n.d. Globalisation and rising inequality in Australia: Is increasing inequality inevitable in Australia? Griffith University. Ormerold, N, 2010. Secularisation and the “Rise” of Atheism. Australian e-Journal of Theology, Vol. 17. Paechter, C, 2003. Masculinity and femininity as communities of practice. Women’s Studies International Forum, Vol. 26, No. 1: 69-77. Pickering, J, n.d. Globalisation: A threat to Australian culture. Rithemuller, P, 2006. Globalisation and its impacts on Australian agri-food system. Paper presented to seminar at Kasesart University, Thailand. Stent, E.J. and Burke, P, n.d. Femininity/Masculinity, in Edgar F. Borgatta and Rhonda J. V. Montogomery (Eds.), Encyclopaedia of Sociology, Revised Edition, New York: Macmillan. The Conversation, 2015. Is Australia a secular country? It depends on what you mean. Available from http://theconversation.com/is-australia-a-secular-country-it-depends-what-you-mean-38222 [2017] Read More