Invitation Letter
Changing Religious Landscape in Contemporary East Asia
11-13 (whole day) July, 2017
Department of Religion and Philosophy & Centre for Sino-Christian Studies,
Hong Kong Baptist University
17 January 2017
Dear Professor :
In East Asia, various religions continue to thrive in spite of modernization.Meanwhile, these religions have been changing in response to changing social,
political, and cultural situations. Many scholars in the East and the West have studied one or more of these religions in East Asian societies. However, there
have not been many academic conferences of the social scientific study of religions that include scholars from multiple East Asian societies. We hope the
planned international conference will become an important step toward establishing the East Asian Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
(EASSSR). We have five objectives of this conference:
1.
To strengthen academic ties in the social scientific study of religions between Hong Kong Baptist University and other major universities in East Asia (mainland China, Japan,
Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam, etc.) and in the West;
2. To provide an opportunity for scholars from different cultural backgrounds and disciplines to interact with each other and learn from each other;
3.
To foster academic excellence of Religious Studies in a university setting, especially in the area of the sociology of religion, which has tremendous developments in recent
decades in both the East and the West;
4.
To provide a forum for academic exchanges in order to explore the implications of contemporary studies of religions in East Asia and to enrich contemporary discussions by
incorporating Eastern perspectives into the dialogue;
5. To encourage research and facilitate research output in the social scientific study of religions through the publication of the revised conference papers.
In order to achieve these objectives, we have set the theme of this conference as: Changing Religious Landscape in Contemporary East Asia. Under such a general theme, the
following sub-themes are listed here for your reference. Papers on or related to these sub-themes are welcome.
1. Studying East Asian Religions in Time and Space
2.
The Reality and Prospect of Contemporary East Asian Religions
3.
Modernization, Modernity and Contemporary East Asian Religions
4.
Restriction, Contradiction, and Intervention: Religion and State in Contemporary East Asia
5.
Individualism and Commitment: An Aspect of Contemporary East Asian Religions
6.
Religion and Social Movement in Contemporary East Asia
7.
Human Rights in Contemporary East Asian Religious Contexts
8.
New Religious Movements in East Asian Contexts
9.
Environment and Contemporary East Asian Religions
10. Folk/popular Beliefs in Contemporary East Asia
To participate in the conference as a presenter, please fill up the registration form at https://hkbuhk.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0rNb35afBp9jtLn
and submit it online by 15 February 2017. No registration fee is required. However, participants will cover their own transportation and
accommodation (hotel information will be provided upon your registration). The conference will provide meals and a shuttle bus between hotel and conference
room during the conference.
Yours sincerely and collegially
Dr.William Ng
For the Organizing Committee
Organizing Committee Members:
Dr. William Ng, Associate Head, Religion and Philosophy Department, HKBU
Dr. Tam Yik Fai, Religion and Philosophy Department, HKBU
Dr. Qu Li, Religion and Philosophy Department, HKBU.
HKBU REL e-mail address: rel@hkbu.edu.hk
HKBU REL fax number: +852-3411-7280
HKBU REL Mailing Address: Department of Religion and Philosophy
Hong Kong Baptist University
224 Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong,