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17 pages, 667 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mourning and Melancholy in The 1990s and The 2000s Korean Novels—Focusing on Yoon Dae-nyeong and Kim Hoon’s Works

by Yonghee Bae

Religions 2025, 16(4), 460; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040460 - 2 Apr 2025

Viewed by 261

According to recent appraisals, despite its pathological aspects, melancholy can be a psychological impetus for spiritual creativity and utopianism. Drawing on those appraisals, this article examines some religious implications of mourning and melancholy in novels of Yoon Dae-nyeong and Kim Hoon in the [...] Read more.

According to recent appraisals, despite its pathological aspects, melancholy can be a psychological impetus for spiritual creativity and utopianism. Drawing on those appraisals, this article examines some religious implications of mourning and melancholy in novels of Yoon Dae-nyeong and Kim Hoon in the context of Korean society in the 1990s and the early 2000s. Firstly, Yoon Dae-nyeong’s early works depict an intense sense of loss arising from the compressed pace of Korean modernity, and, throughout religious imagery, they express an aspiration for spiritual renewal. However, in Yoon’s works, spiritual aspiration soon gives way to a sense of resignation. Next, this article explores melancholy in Kim Hoon’s novels. Although Kim’s first two novels share with Yoon’s works an intense sense of loss, the melancholic traits in their characters are sublimated thanks to the characters’ openness to others and patient utopianism. They thus avoid the spiritual trap induced by melancholy’s self-destructive aspect. Kim’s utopianism is expressed again in his more recent works, such as Black Mountain and Harbin, which illustrate the Korean people’s present aspiration toward a spiritual utopia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

22 pages, 456 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transformative Tears: Genesis’s Joseph and Mengzi’s Shun

by Moritz Kuhlmann

Religions 2025, 16(3), 341; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030341 - 9 Mar 2025

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Abstract

By comparing two significant characters in a Biblical and a Confucian story, respectively, this article examines how the two traditions referred to share a common understanding of what “reconciliation” is meant to be. I compare Joseph in Genesis and Shun in the Mencius [...] Read more.

By comparing two significant characters in a Biblical and a Confucian story, respectively, this article examines how the two traditions referred to share a common understanding of what “reconciliation” is meant to be. I compare Joseph in Genesis and Shun in the Mencius, focusing on how their crying contributes to familial reconciliation. The comparison raises anthropological commonalities between these narratives concerning structures of violence and the process of personal transformation leading to interpersonal reconciliation. There is particular emphasis on the significance of emotions: the way in which tearful emotions are expressed and perceived functions either as cause (Shun) or effect (Joseph) of the aggressor’s transformation, thus triggering the reconciliatory process. Following the suggested interpretation of these narratives as historic encounters between cultures of different provenance, the commonalities found in both approaches to reconciliation can potentially serve as a source of inspiration for present-day relations between religions and civilizations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

16 pages, 336 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beyond Doubt—A Comparative Study of Divinatory Theories and Practices in Republican Rome and Ancient China

by Guoqiu Lü

Religions 2025, 16(3), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030338 - 7 Mar 2025

Viewed by 568

Abstract

Cicero’s seminal treatise, De Divinatione, demonstrates a nuanced approach that concurrently affirms and questions the significance and suitableness of divinatory practices. This dialectical perspective finds a parallel when looking at two ancient Confucian scholars, Dong Zhongshu and Xunzi, each of them offering [...] Read more.

Cicero’s seminal treatise, De Divinatione, demonstrates a nuanced approach that concurrently affirms and questions the significance and suitableness of divinatory practices. This dialectical perspective finds a parallel when looking at two ancient Confucian scholars, Dong Zhongshu and Xunzi, each of them offering a version of the conundrum highlighted by Cicero’s treatise. A comparative examination of Stoic philosophy, as expounded by Cicero, and of Dong Zhongshu’s The Interactions between Heaven and Humankind underscores the fact that both traditions assert that some form of interconnection between natural and supranatural phenomena is to be found. In parallel the comparison between Cicero and Xunzi (both exponents of classical rationalism) reveals their shared rejection of divinatory speculations, albeit with an acknowledgment of the political and cultural necessity of maintaining and supporting the associated ritualistic practices. Our dual comparison reveals the complex tension that was at play between speculative constructs and practical rationality in the ancient Chinese and Greco-Latin intellectual traditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

11 pages, 200 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nonreligious Self-Transcendent Experiences Occurred in Religious Contexts: A Reflection on Religion, Science, and Human Potential

by Linh Thi Thuy Nguyen

Religions 2025, 16(3), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16030264 - 20 Feb 2025

Viewed by 516

Abstract

Self-transcendence has been extensively studied and discussed among scholars, both theoretically and empirically. However, further academic inquiry into self-transcendent experiences (STEs), particularly their nature, religious implications, and spiritual benefits, is still needed. This paper undertakes a qualitative exploration of the topic, phenomenologically analyzing [...] Read more.

Self-transcendence has been extensively studied and discussed among scholars, both theoretically and empirically. However, further academic inquiry into self-transcendent experiences (STEs), particularly their nature, religious implications, and spiritual benefits, is still needed. This paper undertakes a qualitative exploration of the topic, phenomenologically analyzing the author’s first-person STEs within Buddhist and Christian contexts. In addition to personal journals and reflections, the dataset includes email exchanges with and reports to supervisors, as well as comparative insights drawn from testimonies shared by individuals of various religious backgrounds. The findings suggest that while religion may sometimes inhibit its adherents from experiencing STEs, it can also serve as a catalyst for such experiences among nonreligious individuals. Furthermore, the universal nature of STEs, which transcends cultural and religious boundaries, has the potential to promote interfaith dialogue and provide a theoretical framework for fostering religious harmony. Data on STEs could also act as a bridge connecting science with other forms of human knowledge, enabling shared discourse and offering a complementary perspective for understanding the world. Finally, a proposed mechanism of STEs highlights their role in achieving lifelong peace by balancing physical and mental needs, while also offering insights to help individuals maximize their potential and lead fulfilling lives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

26 pages, 21940 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Ritual Crafting of Social Spacetime in a Muong Community (North Vietnam)

by Benoît Vermander and Hang Thi Thu Phan

Religions 2025, 16(2), 229; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020229 - 13 Feb 2025

Viewed by 572

Abstract

In Vietnam, as in other parts of Asia, rural communities establish ritual markers that delineate the social spacetime in which communal existence takes shape and meaning. These ritual markers evolve according to the socio-economic, political, and ecological challenges that said communities confront. The [...] Read more.

In Vietnam, as in other parts of Asia, rural communities establish ritual markers that delineate the social spacetime in which communal existence takes shape and meaning. These ritual markers evolve according to the socio-economic, political, and ecological challenges that said communities confront. The material for this study comes from a local community of North Vietnam that belongs to the Muong ethnic group. We focus on the various spatial levels—household, village, ethnic territory, and the nation as a whole—according to which this community fashions its sense of identity, asserts its ethos, and delimitates its frontiers. We also examine how these levels take varying importance at different moments in time. Moreover, we show how specific rituals condensate different strata of meaning into one unifying event. Finally, we attempt to unearth the various ways through which an Asian rural community constructs and asserts its agency by activating the ritual resources at its disposal while respecting the constraints that weigh upon their mobilization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

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18 pages, 412 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Discourse on the Marxist Study of Religion in the New Era in the PRC: An Outsider’s Perspective

by Katja Wengenmayr

Religions 2025, 16(2), 156; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020156 - 29 Jan 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1086

Abstract

This paper contributes to the intercultural understanding of religious studies in East Asia by examining their discursive framework within the Chinese context. It analyzes the academic discourse on religious studies in the PRC, particularly debates on atheism and the Marxist study of religion. [...] Read more.

This paper contributes to the intercultural understanding of religious studies in East Asia by examining their discursive framework within the Chinese context. It analyzes the academic discourse on religious studies in the PRC, particularly debates on atheism and the Marxist study of religion. In 2021, President Xi Jinping emphasized the importance of aligning religious studies with Marxist principles, sparking renewed debate on the field’s orientation. This paper examines the responses of religious studies scholars to state directives. It illustrates how the reframing of the discipline and reinterpretations of the Marxist view on religion serve as strategies employed by scholars to answer “the call” of the official discourse. The significant representation of scholars promoting atheism in the political sphere further aligns religious studies with official discourse, narrowing the discursive space for other theoretical approaches toward religion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

20 pages, 383 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Shamanism and Christianity: Models of Religious Encounters in East Asia

by Yang Li

Religions 2025, 16(2), 128; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16020128 - 24 Jan 2025

Viewed by 1157

Abstract

When exploring interactions between Christianity and other religions in East Asia, the place given to the shamanic tradition remains ambiguous and marginal. This article analyzes the religious encounters between shamanism and Christianity in East Asia through specific and representative case studies. This article [...] Read more.

When exploring interactions between Christianity and other religions in East Asia, the place given to the shamanic tradition remains ambiguous and marginal. This article analyzes the religious encounters between shamanism and Christianity in East Asia through specific and representative case studies. This article is divided into three main parts. Section 1 introduces the core terms “shamanism” and “diffusionism”, explaining their general meanings and the specific ways they are used in this study, and provides a regional overview of the cases analyzed in this paper. Sections 2–4 present the historical context and analysis of religious encounters in regions such as Siberia, Mongolia, China (including Taiwan, Southwest China, and Northeast China), Korea, etc. Sections 5 and 6 seek to demonstrate that shamanism operates according to two models: the first characterized by “segregation” and the second by “diffusion”, noting that these models exist on a dynamic continuum. In most historical situations, this study argues that shamanism initially encountered Christianity in a segregation mode, often leading to significant conflicts between the two. Over time, as shamanism’s religious attributes weakened, it paradoxically adapted to a diffusion model, integrating its ethos into other religions, including Christianity. The diffusion model has thus become an appropriate way to understand the current existent form of shamanism in East Asia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

22 pages, 533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

(De)Globalization, the Global Imaginary, and Religious Narratives: A Theoretical Framework and the East Asia Litmus Test

by Beilei Bai

Religions 2025, 16(1), 75; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16010075 - 13 Jan 2025

Viewed by 986

Abstract

Faced with the twin challenges of globalization and de-globalization, do religions exercise agency in these trends? In other words, do they give shape to them, or are they rather shaped by them? If the influence is reciprocal, how should the process behind this [...] Read more.

Faced with the twin challenges of globalization and de-globalization, do religions exercise agency in these trends? In other words, do they give shape to them, or are they rather shaped by them? If the influence is reciprocal, how should the process behind this be described? This article sets itself two tasks. Firstly, it endeavors to develop a theoretical framework by which to conceptualize the question just posed. Secondly, it applies this framework to the case of China and, more cursorily, to the East Asian context in general. I start my analysis by approaching “globalization” as a shared vision of the world, referred to, in this article, as the “global imaginary”. The recent erosion of the latter has led to “deglobalization”, a set of narratives that remain correlated to the globalist storyline they confront. Central to the topic is that fact that the crisis experienced by the global imaginary affects the interplay between its secular and religious dimensions. The secular imaginary had fostered a homogenous narrative that has caused both ontological and epistemological crises. The resurgence of religious discourse within the narratives of deglobalization is to be understood as part and parcel of competing interpretations of the global modernization process, since the latter obeys both secular and religious forces. Focusing in the second part of this article on trends and representations proper to China in its regional context enables us to better assess how the globalization and deglobalization narratives intermingle in religious and secular dimensions in a way that reshapes each of them. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

21 pages, 2837 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Church Union Movement and the Establishment of the “United Church of Christ in Japan”

by Ziming Wang

Religions 2024, 15(11), 1377; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel15111377 - 13 Nov 2024

Viewed by 1289

Abstract

The establishment of the United Church of Christ in Japan (nihon kirisuto kyōdan 日本基督教団) marked the culmination of the Church Union Movement in Imperial Japan. Although the Church Union Movement can be traced back to the Meiji era, no significant breakthroughs were [...] Read more.

The establishment of the United Church of Christ in Japan (nihon kirisuto kyōdan 日本基督教団) marked the culmination of the Church Union Movement in Imperial Japan. Although the Church Union Movement can be traced back to the Meiji era, no significant breakthroughs were made until 1939 due to the refusal of some denominations. In this article, I aim to clarify the process and causes behind the formation of the united church, while also attempting to understand the interaction pattern between the State and Christianity under an increasing wartime totalitarian regime. In April 1939, the Diet passed the Religious Organizations Law (syūkyō dantai hō 宗教団体法), a bill aimed at strengthening state control over religions, which required Christian denominations to establish religious organizations. With the war intensifying Japan’s antagonism toward Western countries, Christianity as a foreign religion faced progressive attacks from the nationalist sects. Some denominations, like the Salvation Army, were accused of espionage due to their international connections and were monitored by gendarmerie (kenpeitai 憲兵隊). Facing harsh pressure, Christians sought to project a patriotic image, ultimately leading to the formation of the United Church as a survival strategy amidst a hostile social-political environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Religious and Theological Interactions in East Asia: Issues, Channels and Impact)

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