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A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 November 2022) | Viewed by 25630

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Prof. Dr. Z. George Hong

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Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, USA
Interests: digital humanities; digital access justice; history; social justice
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Dear Colleagues,

Digital and spatial studies of religions have developed rapidly as the prominent research fields over the last two decades. This “spatial turn” has rippled through Humanities and Social Sciences disciplines and digital and spatial perspectives now occupy a central position in Religious Studies. However, various research efforts have led to disparate approaches to digital and spatial study of religions without providing integrated and synergized connections between digitalization and visualization of Religious Studies.

The aim of this Special Issue is to support and promote both digital and spatial studies of religions through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives, including those of all historical periods, regions, and religions. Collectively, this Special Issue will demonstrate that digital and spatial studies are unique and constructive ways of discovering, developing, and delivering Religious Studies that remain undiscovered or unaddressed through conventional research methodology. In an effort to supplement the current digital humanities in general, and spatial study of religions in particular, preferential consideration will be given to theoretical or applied research papers on Asian religious sites and mapping that are theory driven, innovative, and data based.

We request that, prior to submitting a manuscript, interested authors initially submit a proposed title, a brief bio of 100 words, and an abstract of 400–600 words summarizing their intended contribution. Please send the required materials to the Guest Editor ([email protected]) and Religions editorial office ([email protected]) by June 15, 2022. Abstracts will be reviewed by the Guest Editor for the purposes of ensuring proper fit within the scope of the Special Issue. Full manuscripts will undergo double-blind peer-reviews.

Selected References

Barney Warf and Santa Arias, eds. (2009). The Spatial Turn: Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Routledge.

Campbell, Heidi (2012). "The Rise of the Study of Digital Religion". In Campbell, Heidi (ed.). Digital Religion: Understanding Religious Practice in New Media Worlds. Routledge. pp. 1–22.

Cantwell, Christopher D and Kristian Petersen (2021). Digital Humanities and Research Methods in Religious Studies, vol. 2. De Gruyter.

Carroll, Bret (2018). “Spatial Approaches to American Religious Studies”. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Religion in America, vol. 1. Oxford University Press.

Helland, Christopher (2001). “Online Religion/Religion Online and Virtual Communitas." In Cowan, Douglas E.; Hadden, Jeffrey K. (eds.). Religion on the Internet: Research Prospects and Promises. Emerald Group Publishing Limited. pp. 205–224.

Hong, Z. and Jin, J. (2016). “Spatial Study of Mosques: Xinjiang and Ningxia as Case Studies”. Review of Religion and Chinese Society. (3): 223–260.

Kilde, Jeanne Halgren (2014). “Approaching Religious Space: An Overview of Theories, Methods, and Challenges in Religious Studies”. Religion and Theology, 20 (3–4): 183–201.

Knott, Kim (2005). Spatial Theory and Method for the Study of Religion. Temenos, vol. 41 (2): 153–184.

Knott, Kim (2014). The Location of Religion: A Spatial Analysis. Routledge.

Tsuria, Ruth; Yadlin-Segal, Aya; Vitullo, Alessandra; Campbell, Heidi A. (2017). "Approaches to Digital Methods in Studies of Digital Religion". The Communication Review. 20 (2): 73–97.

Yang, Fenggang (2018). Atlas of Religion in China—Social and Geographical Contexts. Brill.

Timetable:

Abstract submission deadline: 15 June 2022
Notification of abstract acceptance: 25 June 2022
Full manuscript deadline: 25 November 2022

Prof. Dr. Z. George Hong
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title, a bio and short abstract (about 400-600 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

digital study of religions
spatial study of religions
digital theology
spatial analysis
digital technology
digital culture
digital and virtual church
digital religion
GIS

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 17524 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Connecting the Sacred: Network Analysis of Buddhist Images on Early Medieval Chinese Pagodas from Nannieshui, Shanxi

by Jinchao Zhao

Religions 2023, 14(5), 625; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14050625 - 6 May 2023

Viewed by 1255

Abstract

The production of stone sculptures in the form of statues, steles, and pagodas was arguably one of the most prominent forms of Buddhist devotion in early medieval China. The abundant Buddhist imagery and devotional inscriptions adorning their surfaces provide rich information on their creation, commission, consecration, and worship, which is essential for comprehending the local community’s religious landscape. This paper employs a network analysis approach to visualize and analyze the spatial arrangement of Buddhist images on the surfaces of pagodas from Nannieshui 南涅水, Shanxi 山西 Province. Network analysis reveals that Nannieshui pagodas were commissioned and worshipped differently from other kinds of stone sculpture, as shown by its emphasis on the spatial and sequential order of Buddhist images depicted on the exterior of these pagodas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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17 pages, 1496 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Study of Folk Religion: “The Direction of Xishen” (喜神方) as a Case Study

by Yu Han

Religions 2023, 14(3), 379; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030379 - 13 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1541

Abstract

Xishen (喜神, the God of Happiness) is one of the folk beliefs widely known and believed by Chinese people. He has no clear image or specific birthday, and there is no place of worship dedicated to Him. Although He has no specific religious space, there are clear directions and time requirements for the worship of Xishen. The task of this article is not to present and explain the belief in Xishen comprehensively, but rather to analyze the practice of folk belief centered on the orientation of Him and people’s cognition formation process of the object of their belief. Taking the spatial study of religions as a standpoint and starting from a broad understanding of dynamic space, we compare and analyze materials from historical documents, folktales, and the practice of sacrificing to Xishen. We consider the relationship between religious, social, and cultural lives and try to prove that such folk beliefs still play an important role in our daily life. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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18 pages, 3243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Evolution of the Spatial Distribution Pattern of Mosques in the Kashgar Region from 1955 to 2004

by Shangguang Wu, Yexi Zhong, Shuming Bao, Wenhui Wang and Tanyue Nie

Religions 2023, 14(2), 216; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020216 - 6 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1484

Abstract

The spatial differences in the distribution of mosques reflect to a certain extent the diversity of the interaction between natural and human elements and Islamic beliefs in different geographic spaces. The Kashgar region of Xinjiang is one of the most developed regions of Islamic culture in China, its dominant religion is Islam, and the survival of Islamic culture in the region has a long history. The development of Islam in the region, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, was influenced by the religious policy of Chinese Socialism, and the spatial distribution of mosques in the region has changed significantly. However, the distribution pattern of mosques in the spatial features of the region that had been especially indicated by the transformations in religious practice on the development of Islam impacted by geographical conditions and social factors has been less explored. Based on the Chinese Religious Digital Map dataset provided by the China Information Center at the University of Michigan, mathematical statistics and spatial analyses are used to analyze the spatial distribution pattern of mosques in the Kashgar region from 1955 to 2004, and the causes of the pattern characteristics in the context of the historical background of the study period. The results show that, during the study period, the spatial clustering of mosques occurred mainly in the northwestern and central parts of the Kashgar region. In all districts and counties, the number of mosques had increased and there was a growing gap in the number of mosques. Islam in the area had been well developed and the trend of spatially concentrated distribution of mosques had been increasing. The mosques in the region are mostly clustered in areas with gentle terrain, rivers and a dense population. In terms of the causes affecting the spatial distribution pattern of mosques in the Kashgar region, geographical conditions and population were the underlying factors that set the basic pattern for the location of mosques. In addition, the different effects of social factors, such as the improvement of productivity, the administrative system, religious management policies, and the historical background on the development of Islam in the area had led to a variation in the development of Islam, thus causing changes in the spatial distribution pattern of mosques in the area. In the period from 1976 to 1992, for example, the end of the Cultural Revolution and the shift in China’s foreign policy had a very major impact on Islam so that during this period the spatial distribution pattern of mosques varied the most in the area. This research has implications for learning about the spread of Islam in the Kashgar region after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and the changes in the spatial distribution of mosques, and the causes of such variations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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18 pages, 832 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Flowing of the Sacred Space: How Reciprocal Exchanges with Deities Are Affected by Urbanization

by Meng Cao

Religions 2023, 14(2), 187; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020187 - 31 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1415

Abstract

Although there is a consensus on religious revival in China, it must be noted that popular religion and institutional religions such as Buddhism and Daoism adopt different strategies to survive the state’s regulations. Many temples that used to facilitate the worship of local deities have to establish some form of intangible cultural heritage or emphasize the deity’s history and folklore to de-religionize. During this process, a temple may earn its lawful place to survive, but risks its communality in the village. Based on studies of rural and urban temples in Henan and Shandong provinces, in this paper, I attempt to understand people’s religiosity and how they conduct the human–deity exchange under social transformation. Popular religion is characterized by the pursuit of efficacy and its embeddedness in rural life. The traditional binary exchange with deities could be used to maintain a relationship with deities as well as offer urgent solutions, while three-party chains of exchange not only constitute a religious gift economy but also offer a religious agent to seek answers. I argue that temples are marginalized and excluded from village life, so people need to find new means by which to continue their religious practices beyond what the state sponsors, and this has led to the flowing of sacred places. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

20 pages, 8723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Spatial Study of the Relics of Chinese Tomb Murals

by Yizhen Shi and Xiaoyang Wang

Religions 2023, 14(2), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020166 - 29 Jan 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1599

Abstract

China has numerous relics from tomb murals. Over 70 years (1949–2019), 1495 relic sites were excavated. Distributed across more than two-thirds of China’s provincial administrative regions, the relics of tomb murals span from the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD) to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). In previous studies, scholars focused on the qualitative analysis of tomb murals. In this paper, we applied GIS tools to visualize these relics and analyze their density values for the first time. In terms of academic standards, we propose the material distribution index, the regional distribution index, and the temporal distribution index for relics. The academic innovation of this paper is threefold. First, with regard to the distribution of relic sites, this paper draws a distribution map of the relic sites of Chinese tomb murals and explores the preliminary significance of these relic sites in the culture of the Yellow River basin and its ancient political center. Second, in terms of synchronic viewpoints, this paper designs a material distribution map and a kernel density distribution map based on the distribution map of relic sites. Third, from a diachronic viewpoint, this paper sketches the secondary-level distribution map of six historical periods for the overall kernel density distribution map of relic materials in nine provinces, whereby it outlines the general trend of the development of Chinese tomb murals and the contributions of nine provinces. In brief, with the use of the GIS tool, this paper obtains information on the distribution of relics and reveals the characteristics of tomb murals in terms of their regional and temporal distributions through the ranking of various density values. This paper aims to construct a frame of reference for testing traditional theoretical achievements from the two perspectives of information acquisition and theoretical analysis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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14 pages, 264 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Religion in the Digital Age: An Irreversible Process

by Kirk A. Bingaman

Religions 2023, 14(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010108 - 12 Jan 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6091

Abstract

Digital technology is fundamentally changing what it means to be human, in particular what it means to be a religious or spiritual human being, as it becomes an “irreversible” process. Indeed, the process is having a seismic impact on the religious and spiritual lives of “digital natives”, who have never known a world without the Internet. This paper will seek to determine, by way of the Digital Theology method put forward by Sutinen and Cooper, if the religious-disaffiliation trend among younger populations is connected to the digitalization of society, either causally or correlationally, and what, if anything, religious leaders and faith communities can do about it. Research on the effects of high social media usage will be given special attention, in order to highlight the double-edged nature of digital technology. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

19 pages, 1865 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatial Characteristics and the Non-Hierarchical Nature of Regional Religious Systems (RRSs)

by Jiang Wu

Religions 2023, 14(1), 85; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010085 - 6 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1687

Abstract

Based on the spatial analysis and GIS modeling of the distribution of religious sites in Greater China, we have developed the concept of regional religious systems (RRSs) as a novel way of understanding and studying the spatial distribution patterns of religious sites and their relationship with other social and cultural factors. This essay further explores theoretical issues such as its center–periphery relations in existing administrative and economical hierarchies. Drawing on our current project on RRSs in the Hangzhou region and various available studies about pre-modern Chinese religion, the author explains the spatial characteristics of RRSs, such as the role of transportation, trade and pilgrimage routes in the formation of RRSs. Using Chinese Buddhism as an example, the author argues that RRSs in Greater China should be treated as a spatial formation without an internal hierarchical structure because the political and administrative hierarchy prevents the formation of a strong religious hierarchy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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18 pages, 9404 KiB

Open AccessArticle

From the Malay Peninsula to the Shandong Peninsula: The Transmission of Buddha Statues with Tight-Fitting Robe in the Sixth Century

by Shuangqiao Meng and Peining Li

Religions 2023, 14(1), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010084 - 6 Jan 2023

Viewed by 3800

Abstract

Within the cultural integration of Indian Buddhist art and Chinese Buddhist art, standing Buddha statues carved in-the-round with thin, tight-fitting robes require special attention. Unlike other types of Buddha statues found in China, they are depicted wearing robes of a foreign style, while displaying the facial and body features of East Asians. These statues, which were excavated on the Shandong Peninsula in the last century, are believed to have been carved during the Northern Qi Dynasty (550–577). After years of academic exploration, the transmission route, transit point and reasons for their introduction into Shandong remain unclear, which are topics that this paper aims to address. According to typology analysis, the Buddha statues in question can be divided into three types, and their foreign counterparts have been identified through the iconology comparisons of Chinese and foreign Buddha statues. From this, in chronological order, the transmission route of three Buddha statue types can be inferred, namely from India to the Shandong Peninsula via the Malay Peninsula, the Mekong Delta and the southeastern coast of China. The route of contemporaneous Indian monks travelling from the east to the Northern Dynasties, as recorded in Chinese historical documents and the Buddhist Canon, verifies this conclusion. Along this route, the north-central Malay Peninsula is one of the main transit points where the Buddha statues were locally adapted and then spread further east. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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23 pages, 9942 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Reconstruction of Water Deities Beliefs in the Pearl River Delta Applying Historical GIS

by Yuqing Liu and Yuanlin Wang

Religions 2022, 13(11), 1040; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13111040 - 1 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1773

Abstract

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is one of the most typical regions in China, where people commonly believe in Nanhaishen 南海神 (the South Sea God), Tianfei 天妃 (the Heavenly Concubine), Beidi 北帝 (the Northern Emperor) and other Water Deities. This paper investigates 40 local chronicles from 9 counties in the region. It has digitized, quantified, and analyzed the temple records of the Water Deities and used the Geographic Information System (GIS) to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of the local beliefs. The results show the consistency and difference in the spatiotemporal evolution of the local beliefs of Water Deities. The consistency reflects that their original centers were all around the city of Canton and its west, namely Foshan 佛山 and Jiujiang 九江, which were in the jurisdiction of Nanhai County 南海縣, showing a similar tendency to move from the center to the periphery. The difference in the evolution is that they had apiece characteristics in distribution patterns and transmission paths. The blossoming, propagation, and consolidation of the beliefs were influenced by multi-factors such as defending against flood disasters, transportation and commercial development, the integration of national sacrifices and folk beliefs, and the connection of the beliefs with regional security. Overall, Water Deities’ status in people’s minds continued to deepen, and their supernatural powers were perceived as increasingly outstanding. It reflects people of the traditional regional society and their spiritual orientation to the material world, which was affected by institutional and non-institutional factors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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17 pages, 10563 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Making of a Sacred Landscape: Visualizing Hangzhou Buddhist Culture via Geoparsing a Local Gazetteer the Xianchun Lin’an zhi 咸淳臨安志

by Jeffrey Liu and Ziling Wan

Religions 2022, 13(8), 711; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13080711 - 3 Aug 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2771

Abstract

This project uses local sources to visualize and analyze the spatial distribution of Buddhist sites in Hangzhou 杭州, China, in the Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279). It aims to highlight regional religious features in Hangzhou as a locality—the interactions between Buddhism and sociocultural factors—from the visualization and analyses. With the advent of the spatial turn in the field of humanities, numerous endeavors have been undertaken to collect data from religious sites in East Asia. However, the collections are aimed at a nationwide-level scale rather than targeted at regional aspects. Studying religion by using the data of large-scale areas often prevents us from observing regional characteristics such as how religion interacted with local factors. Hence, this project draws spatial data from a Hangzhou local gazetteer titled the Xianchun Lin’an zhi 咸淳臨安志 (Records about Lin’an from the Xianchun Reign, a 100-fascicle local chronicle that depicted the Lin’an Prefecture in the Southern Song dynasty) to create a visualization for all Buddhist establishments in Hangzhou. We observe how a religious landscape within a locality is portrayed when it was renowned as a political, cultural, and economic center at a given time. Starting as a project led by him in 2020, Jiang Wu’s team converted all Buddhist temple locations recorded in the Xianchun Lin’an zhi into geographical coordinates. Based on the dataset, we analyze the distribution of Buddhist temples with the application of GIS via three methods: average nearest neighbor, quadrat analysis, and kernel density to highlight localism and regionalism in Chinese religious studies. Our results of GIS distant reading indicate a highly clustered congregation of Buddhist temples in Hangzhou. Corroborating the results of distant reading with factual information (recorded in historical materials) from close reading, we discover that the spatial pattern of Buddhist temples is correlated with socio-political factors including fengshui, state power, politics, and commercial exchanges. With the combination of distant reading and close reading, we can highlight the interactions between Buddhism and socio-political factors that are not easily spotted via traditional textual approaches or using data that is scaled nationwide. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital and Spatial Studies of Religions)

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