The spiritual element that is of global significance, and which is discussed in this course, is the resurgence of religious fundamentalism through out the world, mainly as a backlash against the forces of modernization and globalization. Religious groups in various societies have been able to form global networks to support their causes which have dubious support not only from people of the same faith, but from other faiths as well. It has stabilized in some countries but not in others. Cultural and economic factors explain in part the inability of some countries to bring down their growth rate. Yet, if this problem is not adequately addressed, it has economic, political and environmental consequences.
Education of women is a central element in any strategy to bring down population growth rate.
However, cultural and economic factors prevent many women in many parts of the world in getting education. Christianity and Islam have been associated with the opposition to some forms of birth control. Unchecked population wreaks havoc on the environment forcing people to cut down forests to find wood for cooking or to find land to grow some food on. The fundamental premise of this course is that many problems that the world faces today are global in nature, and can be addressed adequately only when countries and people coordinate their activities and work together. This course also argues that the orientation that each country can and must solve its own problems by itself is outmoded and extremely limited.