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Overview |
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The Religion and Globalization cluster is dedicated to exploring global reconfigurations of religion and its diverse manifestations in Asian contexts. Our work focuses on the dynamic interactions of secularization and religious revival in the modern period, as well as to related issues of authority and tradition in contemporary religious discourse and practice. The Cluster’s research deals with major established religions such as Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as new religious movements in all parts of Asia, broadly conceived. The Cluster’s wide range of research projects is organized around a shared commitment to critically examine the diverse ways in which processes of modernization and globalization have re-framed the ways in which religion is experienced and understood in contemporary Asia.
In our work we strive to move beyond established paradigms of secularization developed for discussions of modern Europe to engage in more meaningful and nuanced ways with the different historical trajectories of religious developments in Asia. This line of approach is reflected in such cluster events as recent workshops on ‘Secularization, Religion and the State’ (co-organized with the University of Tokyo) and 'Proselytization and the Limits of Pluralism in Contemporary Asia'. Over the coming year the cluster will continue its work on issues of religion, law and society while also expanding into new areas including studies of religion and NGOs. |
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Michael FEENER
Asia Research Institute & Department of History |
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