Religion in China

Major Concepts and Minority Positions

edited by Max Deeg and Bernhard Scheid

Book cover: Religion in China

Extent: 240 pages

Publisher: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press

Subjects: Asian/Pacific Studies & Religions, Religious Studies

Series: Beitrage zur Kultur- und Geistesgeschichte Asiens

Series volume number: 85

Language: English

Paperback (Published)

(February 2015)

ISBN: 9783700177593

Price: $58.00

In stock

Religions of foreign origin have shaped Chinese cultural history much more strongly than generally assumed and continue to have an impact on Chinese society in varying regional degrees. The essays collected in the present volume put a special emphasis on these “foreign” and less familiar aspects of Chinese religion.


Religions of foreign origin have shaped Chinese cultural history much stronger than generally assumed and continue to have impact on Chinese society in varying regional degrees. The essays collected in the present volume put a special emphasis on these “foreign” and less familiar aspects of Chinese religion. Apart from an introductory article on Daoism (the prototypical autochthonous religion of China), the volume reflects China’s encounter with religions of the so-called Western Regions, starting from the adoption of Indian Buddhism to early settlements of religious minorities from the Near East (Islam, Christianity, and Judaism) and the early modern debates between Confucians and Christian missionaries. Contemporary religious minorities, their specific social problems, and their regional diversities are discussed in the cases of Abrahamitic traditions in China. The volume therefore contributes to our understanding of most recent and potentially violent religio-political phenomena such as, for instance, Islamist movements in the People’s Republic of China.

  • Edited by Max Deeg
  • Edited by Bernhard Scheid