Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity (AUP - IIAS Publications)

Modernity is surrounded by an almost magic aura that casts a spell over people all over the world. To connect with modernity, various ways and means are used, among them magic practices and religious ideas. Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity deals with the magic in and of modernity and asks about its current significance for the dynamics of religion in Southeast Asia. Drawing on recent ethnographic research in this area, the contributors to this wide-ranging volume demonstrate how religious concepts contribute to meeting the challenges of modernity. Against this background, religion and modernity are no longer perceived as in contradiction; rather, it is argued that a revision of the western notion of religion is required to understand the complexity of 'multiple modernities' in a globalised world. Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia: Magic and Modernity is part of the series Global Asia, published by Amsterdam University Press (AUP) in close collaboration with the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) Drawing on recent ethnographic research in Southeast Asia, the authors demonstrate how religious concepts contribute to meeting the challenges of modernity. Modernity is surrounded by an almost magic aura that casts a spell over people all over the world. In fourteen chapters, the authors demonstrate how religious concepts and magic practices contribute to meeting the challenges of modernity. Against this background, religion and modernity are no longer perceived as in contradiction: rather, it is argued that a revision of the western notion of religion is required to understand the complexity of 'multiple modernities' in a globalised world.-Volker Gottowik is postdoctoral researcher in the area studies network `Dynamics of Religion in Southeast Asia (DORISEA) at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, University of Heidelberg. Bron: Flaptekst, uitgeversinformatie Starting from the premise that modernity has cast a spell over people around the world, this collection explores the use of magic and religion as modern tools for connection. The contributors draw on new ethnographic research in Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia to show that residents of these countries no longer see religion and modernity as contradictory. Rather, religious ideas and magic practices help people across the region to meet the challenges of modern life. Revising our understanding of religion in Southeast Asia, this collection sheds new light on the multiple modernities that characterize our globalized world. The book casts new light on the relation between religion and modernity in Southeast Asia and beyond.

An account of the integration of recent illegal immigrants into the Dutch society.