Religious Transformation in Modern Asia: A Transnational Movement

Kim, David W. (editor). Religious Transformation in Modern Asia: A Transnational Movement
. Leiden: Brill, 2015. First edition. Octavo. xxxiii, (1), 304pp. Index & bibliography. Pictorial buckram with lilac/gray spine lettered in white. Illustrated with numerous color photos and a map of Singapore. A fine but ex-library copy (with minimal markings; i.e. rubber stamps on title page & bottom of text block).

This volume explores the religious transformation of each nation in modern Asia. When the Asian people, who were not only diverse in culture and history, but also active in performing local traditions and religions, experienced a socio-political change under the wave of Western colonialism, the religious climate was also altered from a transnational perspective. Part One explores the nationals of China (Taiwan), Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, focusing on the manifestations of Japanese religion, Chinese foreign policy, the British educational system in Hong Kong in relation to Tibetan Buddhism, the Korean women of Catholicism, and the Scottish impact in late nineteenth century Korea. Part Two approaches South Asia through the topics of astrology, the works of a Gujarātī saint, and Himalayan Buddhism. The third part is focused on the conflicts between ‘indigenous religions and colonialism,’ ‘Buddhism and Christianity,’ ‘Islam and imperialism,’ and ‘Hinduism and Christianity’ in Southeast Asia. (Publisher)

Contents: PART 1. Northeast Asia — 1. Transcendence and the mundane at the edge of the Middle Kingdom : Protestantised and pragmatic Tibetan Buddhism in Hong Kong / Joshua Esler — 2. The party giveth, and the party taketh away : Chinese enigmatic attitudes towards religion / Lawrence C. Reardon — 3. From Manchuria to the Korean Peninsula : the Scottish impact in late nineteenth century Korea / David W. Kim — 4. Dangerous women in the early Catholic Church in Korea / Kevin N. Cawley — 5. Ise Jingu, Nosatsu Kai and indulgences : pilgrims in Tokugawa Japan viewed by two Swedish travellers / Catharina Blomberg — PART 2. South Asia — 6. Jalaram Bapa : miracles and meaning in nineteenth century Gujarat / Martin Wood. 7. The impact of modernisation processes in the Himalayas : Tibetan and Nepalese traditions in transition? / Lionel Obadia — 8. Indian astrology / Ronnie Gale Dreyer — PART 3. Southeast Asia — 9. Islamic identity in the secular environment of post-colonial Indonesia / Laurens de Rooij — 10. Traditional modernity : a Vietnamese response to French Colonialism as revealed in the Great Mural of Dao Cao Dai / Christopher Hartney — 11. Many in one : Malaysia’s religious pluralism driving growth and development / Laurens de Rooij — 12. Changing profiles : the historical development of Christianity in Singapore / Daniel S.H. Ahn — 13. The king and his cult : Thailand’s monarch and the religious culture / Laurens de Rooij. (OCLC)

Volume 148 in the Brill’s series, “Numen Book Series. Studies in the History of Religions.” (52970) $95