Everything under the Sun: Buddhism and Christianity in Postwar Taiwan

THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED

CANCELLED

Dr Scott Pacey (University of Nottingham)

**This event has been cancelled due to UCU strike action.**

Abstract

Mao’s rise had profound implications for inter-religious engagement in the People’s Republic of China (PRC); at the same time, the subsequent expansion of Christianity in Taiwan meant that to understand the history of Chinese Buddhist-Christian engagement, we must consider the Republic of China (ROC) as well. With this background in mind, this talk will discuss the importance of political context in defining the parameters of inter-religious engagement and identity. It will discuss two specific examples. First, an interfaith competition for political and religious legitimacy centered on the symbol of the flag and loyalty to the ROC. And second, the founding of the Buddhist charity group Tzu Chi, and its relation to Christianity and the changing socio-political context. The talk will conclude with a discussion of how these case studies might inform our understanding of religious identity and interfaith engagement, and the importance, more specifically, of Christianity in the formation of modern Chinese Buddhism.

Biography

Scott Pacey is an Assistant Professor in the School of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Nottingham. He completed his PhD at the Australian National University on the republican-period Buddhist monastic Taixu (1890-1947), and the development of his Buddhist vision in Taiwan. He has written on Buddhism in republican China and Taiwan, and has an interest in the intersection of politics and religion on the island. His book--'Buddhist Responses to Christianity in Postwar Taiwan: Awakening the World'--is forthcoming from Amsterdam University Press.

Chair: Professor Steve Tsang (Director, SOAS China Institute)

Organiser: SOAS China Institute and the SOAS Centre of Taiwan Studies

Contact email: sci@soas.ac.uk

Contact Tel: +44 (0)20 7898 4823