Modernization in Asia

This book explores the unfolding of modernity in the greater Asia that uniquely takes shape at different times and places, with a particular attention to a common thread that has been at heart of the development: religion. The status of religion has been relegated in the Western modernity to such that its effects be restricted within the private realm and not be exerted in the public or one's rationality. This edited volume sheds light on the multifarious forces of religion both in the past and present that have impacted on the essential aspects of modern society — aspects in which one does not usually have recourse to religion in the West — from science and technology, politics, and to identity in Asia. Interdisciplinary approaches in the volume allow one to broadly examine religious practices within Asian contexts, thus enabling to reevaluate the concept, scope, and gamut of so-called religion.Contents: ForewordAbout the EditorsAbout the ContributorsIntroduction (Tai Wei Lim and Satoshi Abe)Problematization of the Environment in Iran: Entanglement and Disentanglement of Modern Science and Islam (Satoshi Abe)Language, Religion, and Modernity: A Case Study of Arabic in the Iranian Contemporary Educational System (Saeed Rezaei)New Religion and Agriculture in Japan: A Case Study of Omoto (Yoshihisa Godo)The Technology of Religion and Modern Localism in Hong Kong: Christianity in the Umbrella Movement and After (Ka Shing Ng)Zheng He: Its Diasporic Historical Narratives, Deification Folklores, and Material Heritage Symbolisms in East Asia (Tai Wei Lim)Worship of the God of War: A Case Study of Guandi Religion in Japan and Hong Kong (Yee Lam Elim Wong)Changes in Religiosity in the World's and Japanese Modernizing Societies: Convergence and Divergence of Religiosity in (Un)consciousness (Koki Shimizu)A Commentary on Animism in the Modern City of Singapore: Its roles in Community Building and Development (Kenneth Wong)Conclusion (Satoshi Abe and Tai Wei Lim)IndexReadership: Students and researchers interested in the impact of modernization across Asian history and culture.China;Japan;Iran;Hong Kong;Singapore;Agriculture;Maritime Silk Road;Religion;Education;Languages;Tradition;Religion;Cultural Studies;Modernization;Technology;Occupy Central;Zheng He0Key Features:The volume content is interdisciplinary by nature and a product of exceptional contributions from a wide variety of scholars, ranging from anthropologists, linguists, sociologists, historians to economic historiansThe interdisciplinary approach employed here allows one to critically look at and understand the subject matter — modernity and religion — not just through diverse analytical frameworks but also through broader geographical and historical variationsThe existing literature suggests that modernity since the onset unfolds simultaneously across regions and even continents, while interacting with local traditionsWith the advantage of its interdisciplinary approaches examined in differing geographical locations, the volume makes a scholarly contribution to analyzing the layered ramifications of modernity that transpire across time and place in Asian contexts