Introduction to "East Asian Religiosities in the EU" (original) (raw)
2024, East Asian Religiosities in the European Union
This volume aims to provide an overview of East Asian religiosities in the European Union, with the aim of shedding light on their increasingly significant presence, revolving around the informal or structured practices of several million Europeans and East Asians (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese people) living in Europe. In this introductory chapter we address some of the main scholarly issues concerning the study of these religiosities, paying attention to the reasons why this topic is relevant to Religious Studies and other related disciplines, to the methodological challenges inherent to this field, and to some conceptual questions emerging from the countryrelated and thematic chapters.
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This volume aims to provide an overview of East Asian religiosities in the European Union, with the aim of shedding light on their increasingly significant presence, revolving around the informal or structured practices of several million Europeans and East Asians (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese people) living in Europe. In this introductory chapter we address some of the main scholarly issues concerning the study of these religiosities, paying attention to the reasons why this topic is relevant to religious studies and other related disciplines, to the methodological challenges inherent to this field, and to some conceptual questions emerging from the country-related and thematic chapters.
Introduction: Religion, Tradition and the Popular in Asia and Europe
transcript Verlag eBooks, 2014
Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available in the Internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de
Beliefs and Religion: Categorizing Cultural Distinctions among East Asians
Identity Politics in the Public Realm , 2012
This chapter provides a distinctive perspective on the practice of group recognition in states that are going through a process of democratization, in states that are moving from an approach that seeks to control to an approach that is more responsive to group demands. First, the groups that I examine are defined by state bureaucracies as religions. Other taxonomies exist that are based on ethnolinguistic differences or that distinguish between different categories of immigrants and Aboriginality, but they are not numerically significant in East Asia countries, which appear culturally homogeneous because of universally spoken languages and common ethnic identities with which majorities overwhelmingly identify. However, if we pay attention to the deep diversity of religious practices and beliefs in this part of the world, these societies appear far more diverse and plural in a cultural sense. Second, East Asian societies are often overlooked in normative discussions regarding recognition of cultural diversity. North American and European policy makers stand to gain a lot by studying societies whose history and culture are so different from their own, specifically by identifying more inclusive institutional designs that can accommodate demands for recognition. An analysis of East Asian democratic states’ techniques to categorize cultural distinction should help us distinguish between what is contingent and what may be more universal features of statecraft.
Challenges for the Sociology of Religion in Asia, by Graeme Lang (Social Compass, 2004)
Social compass, 2004
The sociology of religion is globalizing hesitantly, but still gives little attention to Asia. We need to extend our current debates and our best concepts to Asian societies. The many challenging phenomena include the resurgence of religions, debates and struggles over the political role of religion, the variety of religion± state interactions, and the impact of power on religions and theologies. For such questions, Asia is much more diverse than Europe and North America, and we should not shrink from trying to enhance our collective empirical and theoretical competence through study of Asian cases. We need to globalize more deliberately and here some possible suggestions are oered.
This article explores the Scuola di Meditazione (School of Meditation) established in Sardinia in 1983, one of the earliest instances in Italy of the use of 'Eastern' techniques by Roman Catholic religious professionals to promote the practice of meditation for lay people. Against the backdrop of ongoing religious diversification in the Italian context, this case study provides an insight on religion under globalization as a complex and multilayered phenomenon. In particular, the formation and activities of the Scuola di Meditazione show to be ingrained in the working of the global cultural network, with both direct and indirect cultural imports from Asia through mediatization, missionization, and mobility; to build upon the broader global repositioning of the Roman Catholic Church towards Asian and other 'world' religions through the adoption of a soft inclusivist approach; and to provide a meaningful framework for glocal practices resulting in the globally-oriented reshaping of individual religious worlds.
Religion, Culture, and the Public Sphere in China and Japan
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While various book series on Religion and Society already exist, most tend to be Euro-centric or have a North American focus. The proposed series would promote contemporary scholarship on the Asia-Pacific Region, particularly studies that give attention to the interaction and mutual transformation of religions across national boundaries and beyond their country of origin. This would be a multidisciplinary series that includes both historical and contemporary ethnographic studies, which would contribute to our understanding of the traditional and changing roles of religion in multiple socio-political contexts in the region. Especially welcome would be comparative studies that expand the frame of analysis beyond the nation-state and those that address emerging issues and trends related to globalization, such as religious pluralism and social conflict over the reemerging public role of religion, transnational religious movements, and Asian religions in diaspora communities.
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