Yirminci yüzyýlýn ikinci yarýsýndan itibaren hýzlý bir geliþme kaydeden bilgi ve iletiþim teknolojileri sayesinde ülkelerin siyasal ve iktisadi sýnýrlarý arasýndaki esneklik ve akýþkanlýk artmýþ; böylece dünyanýn bir ucunda yaþanan bir olayýn olumlu ya da olumsuz etkisi kýsa süre içinde diðer bölgelere de ulaþarak dünya çapýnda sonuçlar ortaya çýkarmaya baþlamýþtýr.1 Bu yeni ortamda dikkat çeken önemli geliþmeler arasýnda uydu enformasyon sistemlerinin kurulmasý, ulusal kültürlerin kendi kapalý sýnýrlarýný zorlamasý, küresel tüketim ve pazarlama kalýplarýnýn ortaya çýkmasý, kollektif yaþam tarzlarýnýn geliþmesi, Milletler Cemiyeti ve Birleþmiþ Milletler gibi küresel ölçekte siyasal sistemlerin kurulmasý, insan haklarý kavramýnýn kapsam alanýnýn geniþlemesi, ekonomilerin birbirine daha baðýmlý hale gelmesi, soðuk savaþ dönemindeki politik kutuplaþmalarýn ortadan kalkmasý ve hemen her alanda liberal eðilimlerin güçlenmesi sayýlabilir. Ayrýca, bu geliþmeler sonucunda dünyanýn adeta "büyük bir köye" dönüþtüðü pek çok kiþinin ortak kanýsý haline gelmiþtir.2 Bu dönemde dünyamýz, daha önce eþi benzeri görülmemiþ bir etkinlik ve geniþlikte köklü toplumsal deðiþimler yaþamýþ ve halen de yaþamaya devam etmektedir.

Globalization, Culture and Religion. Our world experienced, particularly in the first decadeof the 21th century, radical social changes in an unprecedented degree and still continues to beexposed to it. A conviction increasingly prevailed in all parts of society that a new world wasemerging, which was shaped by new tecnologies, new institutional structure, new culture and neweconomy. It was also at the period that the word of Globalization came to be used to refer to thisextraordinary change. So, Globalization refers to a process that economic, social, cultural andpolitical events taking place anywhere in the developed world have an influence over the people ofother parts of the world, and that the interdependence between societies gradually increases. It isstated directly or indirectly in all platforms that it is inevitable to submit to the challenges andeffects of Globalization expressed as an irresistible or irreversible power and process. In this article,the cultural and religious effects of Globalization will be dealt with in a theoretical framework.Also, the cultural dimensions will be examined in the framework of Featherstone, Barber, Ritzerand Berger's views, while its religious dimensions will be analysed on the basis of Beyer's explanationof "cultural forms of religions", and the consequences caused by Globalization over the sociopolitical and cultural appearance of world religions will be focused on