Introduction: Globalizing religions

Religion and globalization are intimately intertwined ¿ conceptually, historically and certainly in terms of contemporary practice. In the arena of power and politics, going back to the Crusades and earlier, globalizing empires were passionately caught up in religious concerns; and this has recently re-emerged subjectively in contemporary phrases such as the `clash of civilizations¿ and the `clash between the crescent and the cross¿.1 Religion lies not far beneath the surface of many of our globalizing practices, from globalizing warfare and the Olympic Games to internet communications and mass broadcasting