Park, Albert L.; Yoo, David K. (eds.): Encountering Modernity. Christianity in East Asia and Asian AmericaOul Han

ASIEN – Nr. 144 (2017) pp. 164–65

Honolulu: University Of Hawai’i Press, 2014. 352 pp., 42 USD

This edited volume collects essays from East Asia scholars around the world. Its cover text promises “new angles of vision and interpretation” that view Christianity “within the larger economic, political, social, and cultural developments in each of the three countries and its Diasporas”. In a nutshell, the book presents eleven written derivations of the following formula: Christianity is medium of negotiation with modernity. In this setup, the role of Christianity renders a not always straightforward puzzle. The contributors of this volume are equipped
with diverse methodologies and theoretical tools from several disciplines: history, sociology, Asian American studies, anthropology, and Japanese studies. Further, their diversity of national and geographical perspectives is a necessary condition for a project of this inclination. Lastly, their sensitized perspectives are sorted into four thematic pillars: economy and religion, religion and social relationships, the sacred and social activism, national identity and religion…