Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies [Hardcover]

James Miller (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1851096264 | ISBN-13: 978-1851096268 | Publication Date: April 3, 2006

Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies is an accessible, multidimensional introduction to religions in present-day China and Taiwan as well as an in-depth exploration of how religious traditions and practices have been adopted by Americans and Chinese immigrants in North America. The work covers the period since the Cultural Revolution but places its focus on the contemporary global context.

Written by religious studies expert James Miller and eight acclaimed scholars, this handy one-volume reference answers the demand for a comprehensive yet highly readable work on Chinese religions and their various forms. The work breaks down the complexities of religious traditions, highlighting key issues, themes, and movements, such as the legacy of shamanism in popular Chinese and Taiwanese religion, qigong in contemporary China, and the interpretations and practices of Chinese traditions and rituals in North America. Filling a significant gap in the literature, the handbook demonstrates the impact of social, political, and cultural factors on Chinese religion and identifies the forces behind the prevalence, adaptation, and transformation of Chinese religious practices from a global perspective.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

Confucianism. Buddhism. Daoism. Fascinating religious traditions"—traditional, local, and even Western—have resurfaced in China and Taiwan since the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and 70s—from practices such as spirit writing and self-mortification to martial arts and the mastery of inner cultivation to qigong and the emergence of sects. What are the social, cultural, and political forces shaping these practices? How have Americans, particularly Chinese Americans, adopted and interpreted Chinese religious traditions?

Product Details

• Hardcover: 317 pages
• Publisher: ABC-CLIO (April 3, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1851096264
• ISBN-13: 978-1851096268
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,284,707 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An invaluable resource for students of Chinese history and comparative religions, August 6, 2006

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chinese Religions in Contemporary Societies (Hardcover)

Since the end of World War II, the Communist Party in China has actively repressed the practice of religion whether the practitioners were Buddhists, Taoist, Confucianists, Christians, or local spirit or ancestor religions. But all these religious groups who were driven underground kept up their faith and rituals, plus a diverse number of new religious groups emerged as well. Chinese Religions In Contemporary Societies by James Miller (Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada) has brought together in a single work an in-depth survey of the forces that have shaped Chinese religious practices, along with the prevalence, adaptations, and transformations of these practices in North American communities from Confucianism to Falun Gong. Also covered are such practices as self-mortification, exorcism, spirit-writing, healing, counseling, changing fate, and self-cultivation. A core addition to academic library History of Religion reference collections, Chinese Religions In Contemporary Societies also traces the adoption of Chinese religious practices by Euro-Americans and is an invaluable resource for students of Chinese history and comparative religions, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in contemporary Chinese culture and social issues.