Routledge Religion and Media in China: Insights and Case Studies from the Mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong (Routledge Research in Religion, Media and Culture)

This volume focuses on the intersection of religion and media in China, bringing interdisciplinary approaches to bear on the role of religion in the lives of individuals and greater shifts within Chinese society in an increasingly media-saturated environment. With case studies focusing on Mainland China (including Tibet), Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as diasporic Chinese communities outside Asia, contributors consider topics including the historical and ideological roots of media representations of religion, expressions of religious faith online and in social media, state intervention (through both censorship and propaganda), religious institutions’ and communities’ use of various forms of media, and the role of the media in relations between online/offline and local/diaspora communities. Chapters engage with the major religious traditions practiced in contemporary China, namely Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam, and new religious movements. Religion and the Media in China serves as a critical survey of case studies and suggests theoretical and methodological tools for a thorough and systematic study of religion in modern China. Contributors to the volume include historians of religion, sinologists, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and media and communication scholars. The critical theories that contributors develop around key concepts in religion―such as authority, community, church, ethics, pilgrimage, ritual, text, and practice―contribute to advancing the emerging field of religion and media studies. Review "Thanks to the diverse academic backgrounds of its contributors, this volume presents insightful comparison on how the interplays of media and religion are viewed, interpreted, and understood through the lens of different academic disciplines. (...) This volume also offers a comparative perspective for its readers to make sense of how the intersection of religion and media has been shaped differently in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities. Such a comparative perspective is particularly useful for readers who are interested in how the intersection of religion and media is shaped in communities that are similar in cultural origins but have gone through different social and political processes." - Yu Tao, University of Western Australia About the Author Stefania Travagnin is Rosalind Franklin Fellow and Assistant Professor of Religion in Asia at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands.