The Modernization of Asian
Religions RELS 328-04, Fall 1999
New Seminar
Professor Todd Lewis
An Invitation to the Course: How could Chairman Mao be turned into a deity on taxicab
good luck charms? Are Japanese truly a “non-religious people?” Is
India about to abandon its secular constitution to become a “Hindu nation”
? How are Buddhist monks involved in adapting to the profound crises shaking
Southeast Asian societies? As such current case studies reveal, to study
the modernization of religions is to encounter exciting changes and pivotal
issues essential for understanding contemporary Asia. This seminar will
draw upon travels during my recent sabbatical to investigate this fascinating
field.
Our seminar will examine the modernization of Asian religions across
the region, drawing upon very recent research on Hinduism, Theravâda
and Mahâyâna Buddhism, Shinto, Daoism, and the “New Religions”
of Japan. The course will be inter-disciplinary; the textbooks accordingly
will be drawn from history, religious studies, and anthropology. I am seeking
to have authors of several course texts (Tambiah, Nelson, Reader) come
to campus to participate in the seminar.
The course is designed to be suitable for all students interested in
the topic. There is no formal prerequisite or required background. It is
expected that the course will be of special interest to Religious Studies
majors and Asian Studies concentrators/majors. It is recommended that other
students have previous coursework on at least one religious tradition
of Asia or in one Asian region.
Students who wish to take the seminar but who lack any of the recommended
coursework can still register for the course, but should prepare over the
summer by reading the Asia sections of a major world religion textbook.
(Anyone wishing to obtain such a survey text can see Prof. Lewis by May
1 and will be lent an appropriate book.)
The seminar’s assignments (oral mid-term and final) are designed to
give students time to read and reflect on a wide variety of case studies;
the final term paper will give seminar members the chance to pursue topics
of special interest to them.
III. THERAVADA BUDDHIST SOCIETIES 4. Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Donald Swearer, The Buddhist World of Southeast Asia
5. Buddhism and Civil War in Sri Lanka
S.J. Tambiah, Buddhism Betrayed? Religion, Politics, and Violence
in Sri Lanka
WEB SITE: FOREST MONK TRADITION
IV. JAPAN 6. Buddhism in the Meiji Era
Brian Victoria, Zen at War
7. Shinto Today
John Nelson, A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine
8. New Religions
Ian Reader, Religion in Contemporary Japan
V. CHINA 9. The Return of Religion to China
Donald MacInnis, Religion in China Today
WEB SITES Voice of Tibet
Final Note: Students who pre-register for the course are encouraged
to send an e-mail to Professor Lewis tlewis@holycross.edu
and indicate any special interests for the seminar, as the exact syllabus
will be determined only when the spring 99 term is over.
