Religion 325: Religion and Politics in East Asia

How has the modern development of religion in East Asia shaped the region’s historical experiences and contemporary life-worlds? In this course, we examine how an imported concept — “religion” (宗教) — has transformed the sociopolitical landscapes of greater China, Japan, and Korea. With readings from anthropology, religious studies, and other related fields, the class will explore thematic topics set in contemporary East Asian contexts through a multi-religious lens. In addition to looking at 20th-21st-century restructurings of East Asian traditions like Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Shintoism, we also focus on Christianity’s impacts in the region as well as emerging, hybridized religious movements in the region. Topics include: religious communities’ role in modernizing and nationalizing projects; religion and violent conflict; relationships between religious organizations and the state, under democratic, socialist, and capitalist orders; and East Asian religions’ contemporary influences in globalized mass media and pop culture.